school shootings – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

Teens Molded by the Trump Era

David Posnett — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 21:16:07 +0000

Several recent articles have examined the influence of the Trump era on teens, at pre-voting ages. Claire Cain Miller looks at ‘What Teenagers Have Learned From a Tumultuous Time in Politics’ (April 22nd 2021 in the NYTimes). Emily Badger and Claire Cain Miller write about “How the Trump Era Is Molding the Next Generation of Voters“

Soon-to-be voters say they’re disillusioned by what they’ve observed, but many are also motivated to political action.

I was a teenager in the sixties. I remember the passion I felt when witnessing on TV a Buddhist monk sit down on a Saigon street, dowse himself with gasoline, light a fire and burn to death. I remember the passion I felt when the 6-day war broke out with many Arabic neighboring states threaten to invade Israel: I immediately went to the Israeli embassy to sign up as a volunteer! The events of the day had to have had a lasting effect on my adult views and politics.

So I understand, that for today’s teenagers the presidency of Donald Trump, the BLM protests following the murder of George Floyd and others, the pandemic, and the insurrection culminating with the storming of the US Capitol, are events that must have shaped the political views of teenagers.

In the NYT, MIller writes: “Apparently, research shows that a voting generation is typically shaped for life by what happens politically in their teen years and early 20s. What have teenagers taken away from all this? We asked 604 of them, ages 13 to 17, from around the country, in a poll by Dynata for The New York Times. A little more than half the teenagers surveyed were girls. And nearly half were Black, Hispanic, Native American or Asian-American. (We talked to more of them because Generation Z will be the first in which nearly half of the electorate is nonwhite.)”

The survey revealed disillusion, hardened political lines, but also motivation to become involved.

“Simultaneously, we have this caustic, scorched-earth politics of the Trump administration, particularly for people of color, and at the same time we see young people exercising power and influence and organizing and showing up in the marches and the election,” said Valeria Sinclair-Chapman, a political scientist at Purdue. “This is their political socialization, so we have to see how it plays out.”

A future woman president? Eighty-seven percent of them said they hoped a woman would be elected president in their lifetime; 47 percent of Trump supporters hoped so.

Confidence in government? About half agreed that government had their interests in mind. But less than half of girls or respondents who were Black, Hispanic, Native or Asian-American agreed, and only one-third of Trump supporters did. White boys were most likely to believe the government represented them. Minority girls were 21 percentage points less likely to agree that the government had their interests in mind. White boys were 20 percentage points more likely to be interested in running for office than boys of color; white girls were eight points more likely than girls of color.

Effect of the Trump presidency: In regard to political ambition it made 1/3 of teenagers of both genders less interested in running (with a larger effect on those of color.) But it also made about 1/2 of survey respondents, and nearly 3/4 of Trump-supporting teenagers, more interested in running.

By comparison, the 2020 election made 2/3 of teenagers more interested in running.

Other research has also found that for some young people who were disappointed by the Trump presidency, it awakened their interest in political involvement, according to David Campbell and Christina Wolbrecht.

“What we found is that there was great disillusionment in democracy among adolescents, especially girls, especially those who think of themselves as Democrats,” Mr. Campbell said. “Then we found this upsurge in protest activity, so the disillusionment, rather than driving them out of politics, pushed them into political activity.”

Their research also suggests that the surge of women running has been encouraging to young people — among liberals and some conservatives as well.

Young people are not likely to forget the activism they’re learning now, said Ella Robinson, a 16-year-old in Silver Spring, Md. The Trump era has taught her and her fellow students political savvy, she said, as their spontaneous school walkouts have been replaced by organized protests, with permits and tailored messages around issues like gun control and climate change.

“People in my generation are very aware that walkouts can only go so far,” Ms. Robinson said. “Voting needs to happen.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/01/upshot/trump-era-molding-young-voters.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article

Being Drilled for Armed Killer Opening Kindergarten Door

David Posnett — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 20:36:00 +0000

By Charline Spektor (with permission). She was the owner of Bookhampton stores and is now a Grandma.

My grandson began public school kindergarten a few weeks ago. He is so excited, and he comes home to tell “the best thing that happened today.” The other night at dinner he began: “Today in school we had a drill. It’s called lockdown. I thought it was lockup but it’s lockdown.”

None of us moved. And he continued. “We’re getting ready for a bad person who can come in and want to hurt us. The drill is you have to listen. That’s the drill. Listen. Don’t talk. Go into the closet. You have to go into the closet. If you don’t fit in the closet you have to go into your cubby. And you can’t say anything. And there can be a lot of noise. Close your eyes. Don’t say anything. Even if you have to pee. That’s okay. The drill is you don’t move, you don’t talk. Until someone comes to say you’re safe.”

My grandson just turned five. He is the most beautiful, wondrous gift on earth, as are all of our children, precious to us beyond words. As he told us about the lockup, lockdown drill, my daughter pressed her fingers into my hand: Don’t speak, don’t cry. And my daughter-in-law said, “Angel baby, you are such a good listener, I am so proud of the way you know how to listen. Did you go into the closet?” My grandson nodded. And then he said, “Ahma, did you ever have a drill like that? The kind where you had to be ready for someone bad to come in? Talk about it.”

Talk about it? Talk about what it means that we have created a gun-loaded society where sociopaths can be armed and murder children in school? Talk about what it means that children in kindergarten are being prepared for murder? Talk about the teachers who are teaching how to hide from bad people with guns, preparing children to be assaulted by people who have guns. Murderers with murderous intent who have guns.

I want to ask every single person I know: is this what you want for our children? Do you want our children having lockdown drills? Why didn’t we have lockdown drills? Because gun money was not controlling our country and our politics. Our childhood was not awash in the nightmare of gun-holding murderers. And yes, it is political. And yes, we have been sold and played, and our children’s lives have been put at risk.

We cannot afford to be silent for one more minute. I sat silent as my grandson told me the truth: This is what we have allowed our country to become, a freak show of random violence.

Talk about it? I wanted to say please forgive me. Forgive us.

The cash-and-carry politics of this country corrupted our moral intelligence. Our communities of silence have failed our children. We are facing a midterm election, and one of the remaining opportunities to speak up. Lee Zeldin co-sponsored a bill that permits concealed weapons to be carried in New York. When Zeldin sold out to the gun lobbies, he kicked open the door to the assault of our children.

Who the hell is responsible for my small grandchild being drilled for the day that an armed killer opens his kindergarten door? It’s political. I am voting against Lee Zeldin. I am voting for Perry Gershon.

Courage. Vote for our children. VOTE GERSHON. Please share.

Thank you,

Charline

The Truth About Lee Zeldin’s Record

David Posnett — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 14:37:35 +0000

October 1, 2018 by Jacquelyn Gavron and Amy Turner

You deserve the facts about your representative, but you won’t get them from Lee Zeldin. Here’s the truth about his record.

OPPOSES GUN SAFETY

After Parkland, Zeldin said, “This tragedy could have and should’ve been prevented.” But he voted against bills to prevent them—background checks and assault rifle ban.
Zeldin’s received $61,181 from the NRA, more than any NY rep. No wonder he co-sponsored its pet “concealed carry” act overriding our laws and letting out-of-state guns flow into NY.
Zeldin voted against a bill banning firearms in airports and prohibiting terrorists on the FBI’s no-fly list to buy guns in the U.S.

ANTI-LGBTQ

Zeldin voted against preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity
Said he believes marriage is between a man and a woman and voted against the Marriage Equality Act of New York
Supported Trump’s rescinding Obama’s rule on transgender bathroom use and all but said he supported Trump’s ban on transgender people in the military.

DISHONORS VETERANS

Zeldin’s vote to repeal the ACA would leave 340,000 veterans covered by the Medicaid expansion without any health care coverage.
Did little to address equipment and infrastructure issues at Northport VA Medical Center, which serves approximately 30,000 of the 130,000 veterans on L.I.
Zeldin received $20,000 from Koch Industries, which has been funding VA privatization PACS including Concerned Veterans for America.

ETHICAL LAPSES

Zeldin was sworn in to the House on Jan. 6, 2015. That same day, he voted to limit the power of the House and Senate ethics committees to investigate members.
Zeldin repeatedly voted against investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election–
Although use of private jets for routine travel violates federal rules, Zeldin voted against protecting whistleblowers who disclose on improper use of aircrafts by government officials.

ANTI-IMMIGRATION

Supported Trump’s repeal of the DACA, or Dream Act, which protected from deportation those brought to the U.S. as children
Defended Trump’s comment about immigrants from “shithole countries” and voted to require state/local governments to comply with ICE requests to detain undocumented immigrants
Voted to block federal funding for states and localities with “sanctuary” laws on immigration.

Gershon vs. Zeldin on Gun Legislation

David Posnett — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 12:05:19 +0000

Printed as a Letter to the Editor in The Independent, Oct. 3, 2018

More Guns?

Thank you for printing “Zeldin and Gershon Square Off,” so that voters know where each candidate stands on various topics. One important issue that was not covered in the article, however, is gun safety. Lee Zeldin co-sponsored and voted for the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which would allow any person with a concealed carry permit from another state (with weaker gun laws that don’t require a background check or safety training, for example) to carry their weapon in New York.

Law enforcement is overwhelmingly opposed to this bill, since more guns on the streets means more lives at risk. In fact, an association representing 18,000 police departments across the country sent a letter to Congress asking them to reject this legislation, noting it would “hamper law enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence.”

Perry Gershon supports common sense gun measures, and that includes upholding New York’s strong gun laws, rather than undermining them.

Sincerely,

Carol Deistler

Introducing #MarchForOurLives Long Island

David Posnett — Sat, 02 Jun 2018 17:15:39 +0000

Gabrielle and James – youth leaders in MFOL at rally

Huntington Rally

Town Hall Project organized at Knox School

If you are like me, you probably don’t know what #MarchForOurLives has been doing right here in our home towns. I just found out. They are impressive and I will share.

Julia Fenster is Chair for “March For Our Lives Long Island” (or MFOL-LI). It originated out of the Huntington Rally on March 24th and has been extremely active. They have about 2000 youth in their network in some 60 schools. About 1200 signed up on their text service and around 750 people in their Facebook page. There is a core youth leadership team as well. They started a youth ambassador program at several Long Island High Schools. Julia Fenster says “It’s been tremendously exciting working with and mentoring these terrific young people.”

Past events:

Prior to the March 24th Rally we held 3 youth forums with guest speakers. This included the American Academy of Pediatrics for the LI region who spoke about gun safety as a public health concern. Also, Paul Guttenberg, from New Yorkers Against Gun Violence on state legislation, concerning Voter Registration/Voter Suppression/Gerrymandering.

Town Hall for Our Lives at Knox School in CD1 – Lee Zeldin was a no show, but all Dem candidates were there. This town hall included a voter registration drive. About 150-200 people were in attendance and the press as well. Guest speakers included; attorney Paul Guttenberg, representatives from the Center for Human Rights and Social Justice, and Darryl Richard St George who ran for Huntington Town Supervisor in 2017.

Bi-Partisan Town Hall at Kings Park High School on 19th Anniversary of Columbine, which was sponsored and co-organized by MFOL LI and Lead by Kings Park HS MFOL LI youth ambassador Ryan McKenna and other students. Attended by Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, Rep. Tom Suozzi, all CD1 Dem. candidates, and a Republican Assemblyman Fitzpatrick, and Legislator Trotta. Voter Registration was handled by ATLI (Action Together Long Island) a social action group.

March For Our Lives Long Island activated youth voters in the special election to elect Steve Stern to the 10th Assembly District, many voting for first time!

Fireside Chat with Tom Suozzi and Leadership team of March For Our Lives Long Island – this was live-streamed and reached over 4000 viewers & with lots of press coverage.

Mid Terms Kick Off Event: featuring presentations by the NY State Democratic Party, WFP, Swing Left, TASC, and Huntington Young Dems. This included voter registration, press coverage and about 50 attendees

March For Our Lives Long Island sponsored and co-organized the Great Neck North HS walk out. Guest speakers included; Anna Kaplan, Brad Schwartz, Paul Guttenberg, Rita Kestenbaum.

March For Our Lives Long Island leadership spoke at the Democratic Kick Off on Long Island, at the NY State Convention (seconding the endorsement for Cuomo) and at several other political events.

There are many upcoming events and initiatives. On June 16th there is a “Midterms 2018-State Level Lunch and Learn” in Old Bethpage.

The March For Our Lives Long Island Group has continued to expand their outreach to youth throughout Long Island. With the mentorship of their chair, Julia Fenster, they have managed to bridge relationships with political leadership as well as learn some of the key principles of successful organizing. Their goal is to continue to educate and empower soon-to-be and first-time voters on issues impacting gun violence, learn about the political process and empower them to make their voices heard at the polls to elect representatives that would support sensible gun reform. “We have a responsibility as adult advocates and activists to work with and support our young people. If we want real change in this country it will require not only changes in legislation and leadership, but also a fundamental cultural shift and that begins with our youth.” said Fenster.

To find MFOL- LI on Instagram – go to Marchforourlives.li

To sign up for their text service – text @mfolli to 81010

To find MFOL-LI on Facebook go to –
https://m.facebook.com/MarchForOurLivesLongIslandRally/

Youth Leadership Team includes:

*Founder and Lead Organizer – Avalon Fenster (16 year old HS Sophmore at Stony Brook School)

*Operations and Production Lead – Sara Frawley (17 year old HS Junior at Huntington HS)

*Political and Legislative Lead – Max Robbins (18 year old senior at Huntington HS)

Their extended team includes; Faith Quashi, Noah Morris, Rachel Moss, and a few others.