In the aftermath of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland Florida, students rallied against gun violence by marching in Washington in the March For Our Lives movement. Now as they return from their Spring Break, they are facing another political challenge with clear backpacks.
According to The Independent, 86 teenagers have been killed by gun violence in the fifty days following the mass-shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. In an effort to curb the gun violence of students bringing guns to school, the state has issued ‘clear backpacks’ in hopes to snuff out any would-be firearms.
However, according to the students, this tactic is more insulting than effective. One of the students, Lauren Hogg, who is behind the March For Our Lives movement took to Twitter (@lauren_hoggs) to publicly call out these bags. She tweeted: “My new backpack is almost as transparent as the NRA agenda. I feel sooo safe now. As much as I appreciate the effort, we as a country need to focus on the real issue instead of turning our schools into prisons.” With that being said, let’s take a moment to look at how some of the students as Marjory Stoneman Douglas are dealing with these clear backpacks using some much-needed humor.
1) Here, one of the leaders of the March for our Lives movement, Cameron Kasky is using his clear backpack as an opportunity to raise awareness about the loss of privacy for female students, unable to hide when they are on their period. Cameron spoke out on his Twitter account (@cameronkasky), saying “Sizes, pricing… I’m learning new things about women’s health right now. This stuff is expensive. Steps must be taken to make sure these products are easier to access.”
2) Another student finds a very obvious loophole in the clear backpack situation. They have taken the clear backpack and filled with a regular backpack that hides all the contents inside. Funny how these things seem like band-aid fixes rather than real action.
3) Another student took to filling their backpack with contraceptives to prove an awkward point to state officials. Clear backpacks mean that all your contents, no matter how private, could be shown to your peers.
4) This student’s name is Carmen Lo, and she took to Twitter (@xo_karmen_ox) to show her distrust and unhappiness with the clear backpack regulation. The price tag you see on the backpack is not the cost of the bag, but actually, a number created to make a statement. An activist at the March for our Lives protest took to Twitter (@RedTRacoon) to explain the $1.05 price tag, saying “Each student from Marjory Stoneman Douglas wore a price tag with $1.05 on Saturday to point out how much money they say Sen. Marco Rubio got from the National Rifle Association — divided by each student in Florida.” The NRA funding political campaigns has been a central focus on the debate for gun reform in this movement.
5) Here is another political statement made by a student, explaining in their opinion that politicians care about what students are bringing into their schools, but ignoring the protests against the NRA funding politicians.
6) Another quip by a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School poses a joke about how the clear backpack isn’t effective against concealed weapons under clothing.
7) This list captures the victims in the mass shooting carried out by 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz. This student is comparing their loss as one that could have been taken more seriously rather than using clear backpacks to give the illusion of safety.
8) Finally, on a more humorous note, this student used the “mocking Spongebob meme” to make one final and very clear point on where these students stand in the aftermath of this tragedy.
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