As the far right swarms, seeking to discredit the activism by students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, it’s not hard to see the reality. The conspiracy theory has it that George Soros is somehow involved; the reality is that these are teenagers grappling with unimaginable horror but also finding their voice and using it. They’re getting organized, and showing discipline that many adult groups should envy:
Kasky began a group text with a few friends that has since ballooned to include as many as 19 participants. Someone built a website, while another person designed a logo. “I’ve been there [in the group chat] since basically hour one,” said Whitney. “Cameron just felt really inclined to make a specific movement. You can’t just make change. You have to be organized.” [...]
By Sunday night, as their names and movement trended worldwide, the teens regrouped in a makeshift “headquarters” in a living room. Some of the students hold leadership positions at their school, so they’re used to planning committees and meetings. (As people online tweeted that González should run for president, she joked that she already is president — of her school’s Gay–Straight Alliance.)
Although the room was big, the students worked closely together on a rug, making decisions communally. When media outlets rang to schedule interviews, the calls were sometimes put on hold so the group could plan and schedule collectively, as if they’d been doing this for years.
But they’re also kids who’ve been through something that no adult would envy:
John Barnitt, 17, could still recount seeing classmates “dropping their backpacks and kicking their flip flops off to run faster way from the crime scene.” It was only when he found his mom, who was waiting with what he described as “eager, tear-filled eyes,” that he felt safe.
Like the other organizers, Kasky said that the activism was his method for coping with the grief. “Unfortunately the bad feelings and the reminders of everything that’s happened are coming at all the wrong times,” Kasky told BuzzFeed News.
These kids’ authenticity is what makes them so powerful, which is why Republicans are trying to cast doubt on that authenticity. But it’s there for all of us to see and hear, and shame on anyone who won’t listen.