Parkland shooting survivor describes path to activism

[LAUGHTER] SOLEDAD: I WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO SAY JUST HOW GRATEFUL WE ARE TO ALL OF THE GUESTS JOINING US FOR THIS SHOW. STILL TO COME, BRYAN STEVENSON, AUTHOR OF “JUST MERCY,” AND FOUNDER OF THE EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE. ALSO AHEAD, TARANA BURKE, FOUNDER OF THE ME, TOO MOVEMENT. AND LATER, A LOOK AT THE LIFE OF CIVIL RIGHTS ICON CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS. SOME TRAILBLAZERS HEAR THAT VOICE WITHIN THEM MOVING THEM TO ACTION AS THE RESULT OF A TRAUMA. AN EXPERIENCE THAT CATAPTSUL THEM INTO THE CENTER OF NATIONAL ATTENTION — A SPOTLIGHT THEY DIDN’T ASK R.FO AS A HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR, X GONZALEZ, FORMERLY KNOWN AS MAEM GONZALEZ, SURVIVED THE STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING IN PARKLAND, FLORA.ID X GONZALEZ, NICE TO SEE YOU. THANKS FOR TALKING WITH .ME TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHY YOU CHANGED YOUR NAME AND WHEN YOU CHANGED AND WHAT WAS THE SORT OF PHILOSOPHY BEHIND THAT? X: I REALIZED THAT EVERYBODY HAD THIS CONSTRUCTION OF MYSELF IN THEIR BRAINS AND THAT CONSTRUCTION WAS VERY MUCH, LIKE, GENDERED. AND I REALLY DIDN’T LIKE IT, AND THE NAME THAT WAS MINE IS NOT MINE ANYMORE. SOLEDAD: FOUR YEARS AGO, YOU, I JUST REMEMBER THINKING THAT A BUNCH OF GRIEVING TEENAGERS ARE PLANNING MARCH FOR OUR LIVES. LI KE, IT SEEMED JUST CRAZY TO ME. WHAT WAS IT THAT DROVE ALL OF YOU TO CREATE SUCH A POWERFUL MOVEMENT AT THE LOWEST MOMENT OF YOUR LIVES? X: I THINK IT WAS DEFINITELY INSPIRED BY GRIEF AND RAGE, BUT OVER TIME, WE REALLY FNDOU OURSELVES MOTIVATED BY LOVE AND THE LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER. AND THE REALLY SOLID KNOWLEDGE THAT WHAT WE WERE DOING WAS RIGHT. AT THE END OF THE DAY, LIKE, THE UNIVERSE IS ON THE SIDE OF JUSTICE, AND THAT’S, LIKE, WHAT WE ARE EXPECTING, YOU KNOW. WE’RE ALWAYS TOLD, BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN T WHEORLD. ONCE WE STARTED, IT BECAME REALLY EASY TO SEE THAT THERE WAS NO REAL DEMERIT IN PLACE. WHAT’S THE WORST THING THAT THAT COULD HAPPEN? I COULD DIE? I COULD DIE ANY [EXPLEVE]TI TIME. LIKE, WHY NOT TRY TO MAKE A CHANGE AND PREVENT OTHER PEOPLE FROM DYING? SOLEDAD: HOW ARE YOU FEELING AS AN ACTIVIST ABOUT THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT THIS MOMENT? X: MAN, THIS COUNTRY IS DOING REALLY POORLY, AND IT’S REALLY HARD TO WATCH. SOLEDAD: TALK TO ME ABOUT THE METHODS AND THE CHANGES THAT YOU’VE MADE AS A YOUNG ACTIVIST AND WHAT YOU’VE FOUND IS WORKING AND WHAT’S NOT. X: I GOT TO SAY I THINK MARCHES ARE SO CLASSIC. IT’S THE TRIED AND TRUE VERSION OF ACTIVISM, YOU KNOW? IT’S LIKE ONE OF THE ORIGINAL ST RUCTURES. AND SO HOW COULD YOU EVER BE DISPARAGING OF TT?HA IT’S SUCH A GOOD FORM. IT’S A WAY TO PHYSICALLY SHOW YOUR NUMBERS IN SUPPORT OR IN AGAINST SOMETHG.IN IT’S A WAY TO BE LOUD ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENING, TO HA AVE LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE GET TOGETHER. LAWMAKERS MIGHT THINK, “OH, WELL, THESE PEOPLE ARE JUST SAYING THAT, THEY’RE NOT READY TO DO IT OR THEY DON’T, THEY DON’T REALLY EXPECT IT TO HAPPEN.” WELL, IF YOU SHOW UP, IT REALLY, REALLY SHOWS THAT YOU DO EXPECT IT TO HAPP.EN BUT ALSO WITH SOCIAL MEDIA AND STUFF, IT’S LIKE A NICE DIGITAL WAY TO DO THAT. LIKE IF EVERYBODY STARTS TWEETING ABOUT SOMETHING OR IF EVERODYBY STARTS SENDING SOMETHING AROUND TO EACH OTHER, IT’S A GREAT WAY TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT SOMETHING, IN ADDITION TO CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE FROM OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT YOU WOULDN’T HAVE EXPECTED TO EVER KNOW AND ALSO SHOW YOUR NUMBERS. SOLEDAD: SO HOW DO YOU — HOW DO YOU FIGHT AGAINST THAT SENSE OF OVERWHELM THAT CAN PARALYZE PEOPLE? X: I THINK, HONESTLY, SOMETIMES, IT’S OK TO TAKE THAT STEP BACK AND TO TELL YOURSELF, I AM GIVING UP FOR NOW, I THINK. BECAUSE I VERY MUCH HAVE TENAK THAT TIME FOR MYSELF. AND IT’S VERY IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT IF YOU FEEL HOPELESS, LIKE THAT HAPPSEN SOMETIMES, IT’S OK. YOU’RE NOT EXPECTED TO BE HAPPY ALL THE TIME. AND THERE ARE PARTS WHERE YOU ENGEGA IN THE WORLD, BUT YOU CAN CREATE YOURSELF A LITTLE HEYID HOLE JUST TO RECOVER. SOLEDAD: WHAT SHOULD INDIVIDUALS WHO’D KELI TO SEE CHANGE AND BE A PART OF POSITIVE CHANGE DO WHEN THEY WOULDN’T DESCRIBE THEMSELVES AS, WELL, YOU KNOW, MY JOB IS I AM AN ACTIVIST? X: YEAH, I THINK THE EASIEST THINFOG R LIKE THE AVERAGE PERSON WHO EITHER WANTS TO GET INVOLVED OR JUST WANTS TO THINK I’M A MORALLY GOOD PERSON, WHAT YOU SHOULD DO IS LIKE READ THE BOOKS ABOUT THESE VARIOUS TOPICS. BUT BOOKTHS AT TALK ABOUT THE ISSUES THAT YOU’RE INTERESTED IN SO THAT YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT IT, BECAUSE YOU MIGHT WANT TO CAUSE CHANGE, BUT IF YOU DON’T KNOW ALL THE ASPECTS OF ETH PROBLEM, YOU MIGHT END UP HURTING SOMEBODY WHEN YOU’RE TRYING TO EFFECT PITOSIVE CHANGE. IT’S VERY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE ENTIRE FIELD BEFORE YOU GO IN AND TRY TO START MAKING A CHANGE. YOU DON’T WANT TO STEP ON TOES OR THE PEOPLE WHO’VE ALREADY BEEN TRYING TO MAKE THAT CHANGE. LOOK INTO THE COMMUNITY AROUND YOU. TRY TO GET TO KNOW THE PEOPLE IN YOUR COMMUNITY. TALK TO THE LEGISLATIVE PEOPLE IN THE AREA. TALK TO THE PEOPLE WHORE A INVOLV.ED FINDHE WRE YOU CAN MAKE A CHANGE, EVEN IF IT’S JUST VOLUNTEERING ON THE WEEKENDS OR SOMETHING. THAT’S A BIG DEAL. THAT’S, THAT’S MORE THAN NOTHG.IN SOLEDAD: X GONZALEZ. THANK YOU FOR TA

Parkland shooting survivor describes path to activism

Updated: 2:57 PM EDT Jun 11, 2022

After the school shooting that shook the nation to its core in 2018, one of the Parkland survivors, X Gonzalez, is still fighting for lawmakers to address the issues that took the lives of their classmates and so many other students in recent years.González spoke about the work and progress they have done with gun violence prevention following the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.”We managed to actually get laws passed, even in Florida, gun violence prevention laws in Florida, which had never been done before,” González said. “That is definitely something that is comforting, to know that when you’re demanding change, that you actually are capable of making it.”Watch the video above to learn more about this story.

After the school shooting that shook the nation to its core in 2018, one of the Parkland survivors, X Gonzalez, is still fighting for lawmakers to address the issues that took the lives of their classmates and so many other students in recent years.

González spoke about the work and progress they have done with gun violence prevention following the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

“We managed to actually get laws passed, even in Florida, gun violence prevention laws in Florida, which had never been done before,” González said. “That is definitely something that is comforting, to know that when you’re demanding change, that you actually are capable of making it.”

Watch the video above to learn more about this story.