The Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt has been raising awareness for over twenty years. It's been bringing home the impact of the absence of those who've been lost and memorializing the people and the effects it's had on their loved ones since 1987. On the day of the Clackamas shooting Omir the Storyteller had a brilliant idea.
Follow me over the jump and let's kick around some ideas to short circuit the NRA's best laid plans.
Gun violence in America is at an unacceptable level and has been increasing for way too damned long. We all know that the NRA has acted as a gatekeeper and agitator to prevent any effective response to the growing problem. They have created a very effective choke point by basically holding a gun to the heads of legislators who dared to even bring up the subject of gun control. Or the subject of any reforms or regulation having to do with guns at all. It's never 'the right time', to address the problem. They pretend and try to convince Americans that that the majority of the country agrees with them even though polling shows that most people think there should be reasonable restrictions and regulation of firearms. So let's cut the NRA out of the equation. Viral videos, social media and crowd sourcing have become viable methods of transferring memes to the larger population, why don't we combine them and create a sort of collateral circulation that circumvents the choke point?
What if someone started a movement to memorialize and personalize all those who've been victims of gun violence? The dead, the maimed, the innocent bystanders. Men, women, children, black, white, green, everyone. Not just a list or a petition, but a place where loved ones can post pictures, stories and videos of those who've been caught in the crossfire for everyone to see.
I don't have the technical expertise to pull something like that off, but there are an awful lot of smart, talented people here who could brainstorm something, or a bunch of somethings, and provide a place for everyone affected to share their stories and their loved ones. And for others to offer support.
I would first propose that we come up with a name for the project, maybe The Victims of Gun Violence Memorial? VGV is simple and easy to remember, but I'm sure we can come up with something.
How 'bout it folks, lets make the NRA irrelevant!