March For Our Lives, South Bend Style

Little Cuter was so proud of (her) little blue county in a big red state coming together for the sake of common sense. She and SIR and FlapJilly took Giblet to his first march on Saturday evening, and though the weather was frigid, their hearts were warm.

FlapJilly asked to wear her Wonder Woman costume and we said HELL YES because what we need is peace, love, and harmony, so peeking from beneath her winter jacket and and hat-with-ear-flaps-in-MARCH-for-crying-out-loud, is a 3 year old's expression of the power of children.

As my daughter went on, it’s the kids - from 3 to 18 - showing us how it’s done. 

And show them they did.  

The piece Little Cuter wanted me to share with you is this Spoken Word by Ben Fecher, a high school senior, called We The People.    
 
It's kids like this that inspire me.

 Yes, Everytown and Gabby Giffords's PAC provided introductions and financing and logistical support, but that's what they are supposed to do.  Michael Bloomberg promised to spend his last dime defeating the gun lobby, and he's well on the way to doing so (permits and security and sound systems are not inexpensive).  Gabby and Mark called Robert Kraft, and the Patriots' plane was dispatched to carry Parkland survivor families to DC.  Moms Demand Action volunteers helped sibling marches throughout the country, but the initial impetus came from the students themselves.

Their parents are starting them off right.

A young activist and her parents in DC on 3/24/18

#MarchForOurLives in Tucson

I love the notion of Sibling Marches.

I was brave enough to go to ours.

I was smart enough not to walk the 1.8 miles from downtown to the UofA Mall.

with the 7,000 or so who did.  

Instead, I went straight to the rally site, minimizing the distance between The Uv and my exit.

It was a multi-age crowd; I was tasked with keeping the able bodied out of the chairs and spaces reserved for the disabled and those with wheelchairs and walkers.

We watched the marchers join us on the Mall. 

Children already scarred by gun violence 

carried banners of the murdered and the inspiring 

Two of my favorite politicians, Daniel Hernandez and Billy Kovacs, were there. 

Billy facilitated the behind the scenes logistics, and was there, moving tables and attaching signs and doing what was needed when it was needed with a smile on his face and no name tag identifying him as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the US House of Representatives.  He's an impressive man.

Daniel spoke after the students spoke.  The kids talked of personal loss, of terror, of not going to concerts because something weird might happen.    Daniel told of holding my boss's head in my hands.... I was 20 years old.  

Then Christina-Taylor's best friends spoke, with CTG's mom by their side.  She'd have been there, leading the way, they said.  They said some more, but I was distracted by the memory of chocolate brown eyes, by the sight of her mother's controlled face beside those two-who-should've-been-three, by a sense of outrage at a murder which was preventable.

As CTG's mom said on tv that afternoon, we are in it for the long haul.... even though we wish were weren't in it at all.  The march was happy/sad ... proud and sad at the same time.

So many teachers were there, 

This delightful young man and his mother created the other side of my "gate," 

blocking the way with smiles and bulk.  

He took me out of myself, and allowed me to open my heart to this 

with courage inspired by Gabby. 

In it for the long haul.

So glad to have all these kiddos along for the ride.