Never Again: Emma Gonzalez's Story

 

            A lot of people remember February fourteenth as valentine’s day. For the students of Stoneman Douglas High School, it was the day their school was victim to the worst mass shooting in American history. At 2:19 p.m, the suspect arrived to school. At 2:21, he entered the school and opened fire a few seconds later. Students started evacuating the school, while others had to hide in rooms and under desks for what probably felt like hours to them. In six minutes, just six, seventeen students were killed, and seventeen more were injured.

            This tragedy sent shockwaves through America. Every state from east to west felt the fear and heartache of every student, faculty member, and family member. Every major news station was live reporting the shooting. Students were texting their parents from bathroom stalls and dark auditoriums in case it was the last time they ever spoke.

 It is no secret that America is home to the most mass shootings per year out of any other country. Every other time this would happen, people, especially celebrities, would take to social media to acknowledge the tragedy and offer their condolences, thoughts, and prayers to everyone affected. There was a constant revolving cycle of a school shooting happening, people discussing gun control, and then life would go back to normal; this instance was no different.

The survivors of this mass shooting were extremely resilient, and quite frankly tired of thoughts and prayers; they needed action. One of these students was Emma Gonzalez.

Before February 14, 2018 Emma Gonzalez was a regular teenage girl attending school at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida. Gonzalez was born on November 11, 1999 and is the daughter of Cuban immigrant parents. Just like many of us, she had hobbies, allergies, and enjoys watching Netflix. She was quoted in a Harper’s Bazaar article saying, “I’m so indecisive that I can’t pick a favorite color, and I’m allergic to 12 things. I draw, paint, crochet, sew, embroider—anything productive I can do with my hands while watching Netflix… but none of this matters anymore.”

 After February fourteenth, Emma Gonzalez became one of the largest gun control activists in American history. “Thoughts and prayers” quickly turned into “never again”. Gonzalez, along with other surviving students started the “never again MSD” committee for gun control that advocates for stricter gun regulations within the United States.

Along with advocating for tighter gun control, Gonzalez was also apart of a bus tour in June 2018 to encourage young people to register to vote, so they could bring the change they were so strongly advocating for.

Gonzalez is probably most known for her speech at the “March for our lives” rally back in 2018. Gonzalez spoke about the tragedy and acknowledged every single deceased victim while profusely wiping tears from her face. She then continued to stand on stage for six minutes and twenty seconds in silence; the exact amount of time it took for the suspect to kill all seventeen victims. One analyst called this, “the loudest silence in the history of U.S social protest”.

Gonzalez’s activism did not stop there. Fact, it was just getting started. She also spoke in Florida and addressed the NRA and the former president, Donald Trump at another rally. Gonzalez was quoted multiple times in this speech saying, “we call bullshit”. She called bullshit on every politician and their lack of action. One by one, she called them out for their tweets, their law choices, and other comments made about this tragedy. She also gave out shocking and disturbing statistics about the gun violence in the United States, and how easy it is to obtain such destructive weapons. Gonzalez spoke for eleven minutes and didn’t once stutter.

After the last rally, Gonzalez decided to take it up a notch and directly confront an NRA representative head on during a town hall meeting. She started off her speech by telling the representative, “I want you to know we will support your children in a way you will not”. Gonzalez asked hard hitting questions and did not give up when she was unsatisfied with the answers.

Overall, Emma Gonzalez is an amazing advocate for many reasons. Although she was apart of a tragedy, she was able to become resilient and use her trauma, fear, and anger to make a change. Gonzalez goes against every female gender stereotype anyone can name. She’s loud; not just with the volume of her voice, but with her presence. She doesn’t let things get brushed under the rug; she doesn’t let people forget about her, or any other victim of a shooting; she refuses to be silenced, and she remains persistent in her fight to create change.

Below is a link to a CNN article that has posted all of the videos that I mentioned above if you would like to watch them: <//www.cnn.com/2018/03/25/us/emma-gonzalez-what-you-need-to-know-trnd/index.html>

Chavez. (2018, March 26). What we know about Emma Gonzalez, the fiercely outspoken teen who stunned America with her silence. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/25/us/emma-gonzalez-what-you-need-to-know-trnd/index.html

This timeline shows exactly how the Parkland shooting unfolded. (2019, February 14). Business Insider Nederland. https://www.businessinsider.nl/timeline-shows-how-the-parkland-florida-school-shooting-unfolded-2018-2?international=true&r=US

Wikipedia contributors. (2021, February 13). Never Again MSD. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_Again_MSD