Over the past month survivors from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas
(MSD) school shooting have spoken out in hopes of influencing gun control
policy. This past weekend, these same students organized a rally called “March
For Our Lives”, which took place all over the country. I had the privilege of
attending the D.C. March on Saturday where I heard from a number of inspiring
speakers, including MSD survivors and victims of gun violence from all over the
country. A trend that I noticed throughout all of the speeches was the
direction that the conversation on gun violence went. Instead of focusing
solely on mass shootings, speakers shed light on daily gun violence that
plagues urban cities. An MSD talked about how lucky she is to live in an
affluent town where gun violence is rare, unlike many inner-city districts.
Also, a number of students from the city of Chicago spoke about how they have
been personally affected by gun violence. Some had siblings taken away from
them, some had actually stared down the barrel of a gun in fear of their lives.
In preparation for the March and this movement, the organizers created a social
media platform in order to gain support for their cause. These stories of
inner-city students are shared in a number of instagram posts on the “March For
Our Lives” instagram page.
One post in particular was curated by well-known MSD survivor,
Emma Gonzalez. The post displays a number of images with Emma and Chicago
students. Emma writes, “The strength shown by these kids is inspiring to say
the least, and the struggles that we have seen on a small scale they face on a
level that we can only try to comprehend.” This post is a clear continuation of
their effort to shed light on gun violence beyond mass shootings. Emma’s voice
has been a powerful tool in the “March For Our Lives” campaign because of her
strength, resilience and eloquence. Emma Gonzalez has become a well-known name
in the media. By posting in Emma’s point of view, it gives more power to the
message that they’re trying to send. Coming off the heels of the MSD school
shooting, the focus of the campaign has also been the country’s youth and
children, so therefore using a student themselves as a prominent voice and
spokesperson also gives a relatability aspect to the campaign to in turn garner
more support from other youth as well. The posts themselves promote a positive message. Rather than
discussing the daily tragedies that inner-city students face, Emma talks about
how inspiring the survivors are, while other posts aim to both garner support
for the cause and inform their followers on the issues surrounding gun
violence. The survivors mentioned in the posts are portrayed as the true heroes
in the fight against gun violence. Emma also writes that in order for their
cause to be effective, they must all stick together.
Using both imagery and short videos,
the campaign’s social media platform has served various purposes of
storytelling, personalizing these stories, and educating the public.
As far as the use of
foundational values from the Matthews reading, I would argue that the
campaign’s social media does exemplify both values of care/harm. The personal
stories that are shared on the social media pages tell the stories of both the
negative and positive effects that gun violence has had on these survivors. The
harm is shown in the tragedy aspect, but the way that the stories are told and
how they choose to give followers a call to action is in a careful and
meaningful way, honoring and respecting the victims. The reading also touched
upon how usually with a value like harm, the efforts particularly tend to be
more persuasive as they can appeal to both liberal and conservative audiences.
This is a major factor in the campaign’s goals and their messaging as they are
trying to make gun policy change through using the human factor that can be
relatable to almost anyone that is willing to listen. The main objective of the story contributes to the purpose of the
campaign and is well integrated. While the campaign was founded following a
mass shooting, the organizers realized how their cause affects more than just
their own community. The integration of this story into the campaign amplifies
its importance and draws attention from many communities, as seen clearly
through the turnout and support from the march.
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