Being a part of the change at March for Our Lives

By Eric George Tauber

SAN DIEGO — Bright and early Saturday morning, I made my way to Waterfront Park on Harbor Drive to attend San Diego’s March For Our Lives. There were several tables set up to register people to vote. This is becoming a politically active and vocal generation. One of the strongest chants for this movement is short and to the point, “Vote them out.” I conducted a few “person on the street” interviews asking folks to articulate why they were there and playing the Devil’s Advocate.

The first person I spoke to was Theo Zelkind, a bright and articulate young man who spoke with great passion:

TZ:   I’m here today because I want to go to school in safety. A couple weeks ago, a science class was doing an experiment that involved an explosion. The entire school was put on lockdown and the police were called because their first assumption is not that there’s science happening, but that there’s an active shooter. And that is utterly unacceptable to me. … I don’t want to look back and think I could have done more. I want to do everything in my power to be a part of the change that’s going to happen. It’s not if there’s going to be change it’s who is going to make it.

EGT: Do you really think that posterboard signs will stop bullets?

TZ:   I don’t think posterboard signs will stop bullets. I think millions of people on the same team will stop bullets. We’ve got something like 800 marches across the United States. We’ve got five thousand RSVPs here. … My mom was hesitant to let me come to this rally because she thought that someone might show up with a gun.

EGT: Jewish mothers, they worry.

Next, I spoke with Martin Eder of KNSJ radio (Networking for Social Justice) a new radio station, 89.1 FM.

EGT: Are you one of the adults who’s pushing these kids letting them be the front while you pull the strings?

ME:   We’re coördinating with them. It’s our sound system. But the kids are really in the lead. The young adults are the ones who are pushing and motivating the rest of us. We want to be behind the scenes and put their leadership up in front.

Arpita Iyer is fifteen years old, not quite old enough to vote. But she will be in 2020.

AI: We’re here to make our voices heard. We want specifically the voters of America and our representatives. At my school, we’ve had lockdown drills twice in the past two weeks. It’s really scary. Are we going to be next? This can’t happen.

I also spoke to Gina Austin, a retired US Navy Petty Officer and a member of Veterans for Gun Reform.

GA: As any person in the military, we all swore an oath and our oath has no expiration date. … Our children shouldn’t be going to school in a combat zone. That’s something we’re used to out of country. They should be safe and having fun and doing silly children things. The weapons that civilians are getting their hands on –though I fully support the Second Amendment- it’s gotten out of hand. … A child’s life is more important than someone’s right to own an assault weapon.

EGT: In your time in the military, did you personally use that kind of hardware?

GA:   Yes I did. I was nineteen years with the Marines as a Navy Corpsman.

EGT: What can you tell me about using that kind of hardware?

GA:   Those types weapons are made to kill. It’s very violent. It destroys tissue. It destroys bone. It rips through a human body. It is absolutely horrific. For someone to say that it’s for home defense or for hunting, get a shotgun.

Chris Kaiser’s t-shirt caught my eye, “I’m sorry that my generation failed your generation.”

EGT: How do you feel that we failed?

CK:   After Columbine [in 1999] and the Santana shooting [in 2001], at those points in time, we as adults had time to make a change. We didn’t speak up. No one ever wanted to talk about it. I didn’t want to talk about it. I admit I failed. But now I want to talk about it and I want change.

A priest with Good Samaritan Episcopal Church in UTC also showed up with her entourage.

Rev:  We are here because we’re concerned about the proliferation of gun violence in our country. And we believe that kids’ lives are more important than automatic rifles.

EGT: But every time there’s a shooting, our lawmakers offer their thoughts and prayers. You’re a reverend. Aren’t prayers going to do the job?

Rev:  Prayers will help, but what God does is uses our prayers to galvanize our will to be the same as God’s will, and then God asks us to be Her hands and feet. So we are marching today and praying with our feet.

This sentiment was echoed by Rabbi Yael Ridberg of Congregation Dor Hadash.

EGT: You’re playing hooky from shul and you’re the rabbi.

YR:   Sometimes you have to pray with your feet and stand up for what you believe.

EGT: Are you one of the adults that’s egging these kids on, that they really wouldn’t be that motivated to march against bullets ripping through their bodies if it weren’t for the adults?

YR:   I think the premise of the question is outrageous. These students have experienced what adults have not experienced first hand. Anyone who thinks that this is something that adults are pushing is not paying attention.

As you’d expect, there were a variety of handmade signs on display.

“Am I next?”

“I should be writing my college essay, not my will.”

“OK, Kids –You want change? Register – VOTE”

Of course, the right to free speech goes both ways and there were a handful of Trump supporters in red hats staging a counter demonstration, but they were WAY outnumbered. A few hoisting a Trump flag made their way to the front and center of the crowd, but they were soon hemmed in by a rainbow flag and some protest signs. Thankfully, it never got ugly.

As I looked at these bright young people looking out at the size of the crowd that had come to support them, I saw faces beaming with hope and determination to make a brighter future. And isn’t that what being young is all about?

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Tauber is a freelance writer based in San Diego.  he may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com