We Need To Talk About Black Lives And Gun Violence After The Florida Shooting
Gun violence is more than mass shootings in schools - it’s the most common cause of death of young men 16-19. Don’t forget the folks who have been beating the drum for other forms of gun violence - if I march for safe schools, I need to march against police violence, and gun deaths in all forms. When I say, never again, I need to mean no mother should cry over her child’s fatal gunshot wound.
In the week since a gunman killed 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida, there has been a national reckoning ― from student-led marches to wall-to-wall media coverage to White House events ― about gun violence and how to stop it.
For some black activists who have long been mobilizing around gun violence, the current wave of public attention and outrage over the issue is welcome. But it also invites the question of why there’s been comparatively little attention and outrage focused on the even more common reality of routine gun homicides in the country, which disproportionately affect communities of color, and specifically black Americans.
Prominent black organizers and public figures have also noted the largely positive public response to the student activists from Parkland ― most of whom are not black and who attended school in a largely white, relatively affluent Florida suburb ― compared to the frequent vilification of young black activists protesting gun violence, particularly police shootings.
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When black activists have taken to the streets to protest police shootings, members of law enforcement have met them in full riot gear, and at times attacked them with tear gas. By contrast, the largely non-black student activists from Parkland have been invited to a CNN town hall event with lawmakers.
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5a8f1a11e4b00804dfe6a466/amp
And this article:
"Why It Hurts When the World Loves Everyone but Us"
https://www.theroot.com/why-it-hurts-when-the-world-loves-everyone-but-us-1823253675
= new reply since forum marked as read
But isn't it interesting the difference in the way the protesters have been met by law enforcement?
I am not sure I understand your reply....
I suggested that the age limit for gun purchases be raised to 21 because the article talks about the amount of crime amongst the age group....
Nothing to do with color....age....
it is a needed discussion... but the answer lies in the same reason we started to look at "crack" vs "cocaine"... putting emphasis on "opioid abuse" when it started to increasingly affect white middle class people... why we are now legalizing marijuana because so many middle and upper white people smoke it (oh, and the money)...
we still collectively value white middle class people more than others 
