POST 7: COUNTER-POWER: MARCH FOR OUR LIVES MOVEMENT

 Please, carry out a web search on MARCH FOR OUR LIVES, a movement that can be regarded as a counter-power opposed to the gun lobby in the USA.

You may access their Website where you will find out more about this movement.

View the various videos and study the photographs and accompanying text.

Then, please write a few lines about their mission statement (= aims and values) and mottos (= slogans) and insert ONE picture (with caption, date and brief description + interpretation) that might be your individual document for the Baccalauréat oral exam next June.

First of all, March For Our Lives is a movement that started after numerous school shootings in the USA. Students want laws on guns to decrease violence. About 40 000 Amercians die every year because of suicide with a gun. The reason for this is the easy access to weapons. 

One of their mottos is "We are the revolution". This shows that marchers want a real change on gun control, and not just thoughts and prayers from the politician leaders.

As we take a look at the pictures from the march, we can see that "Protect kids not guns" is one of the most used mottos in the event. The kids represent the school shooting victims and the suicidal ones. The motto means that instead of being worried about the suffering children, people are more focused on keeping their guns with them. The problem is that those weapons are the main reason of the childrens' death. 

March For Our Lives initiators, 2018

At first sight, we see two girls and two boys behind them. These youngsters are in fact the initiators of the March For Our Lives movement. We can see that they are wearing merchandising for the demonstration that took place in 2018, after a shooting at their own school. 

These students are actually hugely respected in this context. This is due to them being capable of initiating such a movement despite their young age. Knowing that they have lived a school shooting themselves, and have lost friends there, emphasizes the respect they deserve.

In my view, when I take a look at this picture, I feel like I can trust them. I think I feel this way because of their welcoming smiles, and because they are the same age as me. I could perfectly imagine them walking across the corridor in our high school.  I believe this remark is important because it shows how these students are able to present themselves as far more approachable than politicians who send their "thoughts and prayers" to victims. They are understanding and cause an effect of comfort in us. We could also think about the strength of this movement, even if there wasn't any violence (because that's what they are against). The anti-violent personality can be seen in this photograph through their pacific looking smiles, poses and eyes.