So, I've been getting steam along the lines of "what would have the kids do?" I'll answer that. You won't like it, but there's an answer. Start with "get away from the national media." /1
Next, take time to grieve and to process what happened. That does not happen in green rooms and in big rallies. That's just giving in to the Instant Celebrity Culture (see: David Hogg) and getting hooked on jolts of publicity at an age too young to understand how bad that is. /2
Later, sit down with the adults in your family, your school, and your city. Talk to them. Ask them what they intend to do. Ask them, for example, how Cruz got his guns and evaded being locked up for so long. Demand to know the points of failure that got your friends killed. /3
Local activism works. Ask the adults in your community to reduce the number of guns in your town, near your school, in your county. Lead a drive for a gun turn-in. A short term and do-able thing; police depts have reported some successes with those drives. /4
Then demand answers -with your parents - from the sheriff. Find out who should be fired. Do all of this with your parents by your side as the people who pay their salaries. Meet with your members of Congress to ask them to call on the FBI to explain how Cruz slipped past them. /5
Hound your state reps and state senators for progress reports. Keep each other informed and hold regular meetings at school to know how much progress you're making at the local, state, county, and Federal level. /6
But make sure that you do something else, like be teenagers. Finish high school. Go to a movie. Play games. Go to a prom. Do things your classmates who died cannot do now. Do not let the media and the short-term feel good of sudden celebrity steal what's left of high school. /7
And did I mention staying out of the glare of the national media? Here's a secret, kids: TV is not your friend. A few months from now, when this is over, you will be old news. Producers and anchors not your counselors. They feel for you, but they have jobs and other stories. /8
To recap: Stay close to your parents or other relatives and friends. Get counseling. Get back in the classroom. Be an activist, at the local level, where you can do the most good, and then work with adults in your community to pressure the state and national government. /9
You will learn something very important: change takes time, it takes drudgery, and it's boring. But when it pays off, it's lasting and it means something. What's happening right now will end and you will feel a crushing letdown. This is inevitable. Do something sustainable. /10
And whatever you do, do not become the poster children - as some of you already are becoming - for issues that are being foisted on the back of this tragedy. You are not intersectional avatars fighting general oppression. You're kids who've experienced something hideous. /11
Do not let adults who will gladly take advantage of you put their bumper stickers and causes on you. You have a lot of time to figure out your politics. Give that process time. Don't just absorb them as you're swept along by others who may not have your interests at heart. /12
That's my advice. Love, family, counseling, school, and activism close to home. Less shouting and fist-pumping, more learning and participating. /13x
