The Austin #MarchForOurLives yesterday was a major march in our city, attracting some 20,000 participants, according to estimates by organizers as reported in the Austin American-Statesman. The march organizers, as was the case in the extraordinary DC march, were primarily high school students. It was so inspiring to march from our City Hall, up Congress Avenue to the Capitol and to hear all the speakers, including a student from Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS in Parkland, Fla. and students from LASA and LBJ High Schools in Austin.
I hope that students will continue to think critically about all aspects of gun violence, including the terrible gun violence of US war and militarism. Enlistees as young as 17 are issued assault rifles and trained to think of their weapon as their most valuable companion. What does this kind of training do to young people? Why are the mass shootings in war considered acceptable? As the US continues to increase military spending in its federal budget, what effect does this have on the young people in our country and around the world?
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