by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Marjory Stoneman Douglas was an impeccably dressed and perfectly coiffed small stick of dynamite who made her impact felt in Florida politics for decades. Stoneman Douglas, who died in 1998 at the age of 108, spent most of her long and busy life as a writer and journalist, a perch from which she relentlessly pursued issues that tended to make established politicians uncomfortable. Her special forte was conservation and the environment, and she was an ardent supporter and protector of Florida's famed Everglades Her most famous book, The Everglades: River of Grass, was published in 1947 and became the instant go-to reference on the Glades. Stoneman Douglas was known by many as the "Grandmother of the Glades."
Marjory Stoneman Douglas was an activist who didn't back down. One admirer said that the tiny woman could "make a redneck quake in his boots," and another noted that when she bit, "you bled." Her relentless efforts stopped the creation of an airport in the Everglades even after one runway had been completed. She was a raw force of nature.
Years ago as some environmental groups were lobbying to get a portion of new highway near the Everglades named in honor of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the Florida state legislature, not any more honorable then that it is now, rushed to put Ronald Reagan's name of that particular stretch of road. Ms. Stoneman Douglas had been a political lightening rod whose activism was not always appreciated by the state's entrenched business and political interests.
And though Marjory Stoneman Douglas's name was not affixed to the highway near the Glades, it did make it onto the public high school in Parkland, Florida - the school which has been in the news daily since the massacre on Valentine's Day. It's now been eleven days since the bloody attack at the school, a length of time in which most American mass shootings fade from the news. The shooting in Parkland, however, has proven to be harder to forget.
The reason that the Parkland shooting has stayed in the news and in the public consciousness much longer than past shootings is that the students at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland have determined not to let the memory and impact of the atrocity fade away. They don't want their classmates and friends to have died in vain. Some of the brave and articulate young people who survived have gone on to organize anti-gun rallies and school safety protests and walkouts in other schools. They have lobbied lawmakers and been interviewed on national news programs pleading for the need for schools to be safe environments - and for adults to move forcefully to protect kids from gun violence.
The young people of Parkland have been so effective in their entreaties for commonsense gun legislation that some politicians appear to actually be trying to listen. Not surprisingly, the National Rifle Association and other gun manufacturing and sales groups are speaking out against this young people's movement calling the activist students "dupes" of liberals and paid crisis actors. But these are brave kids and they aren't buckling under pressure from the gun lobby. If anything, the despicable attacks by the NRA and others have added to public sympathy for the cause of the school students. At least two of the more outspoken students now have more Twitter followers than the National Rifle Association itself has.
The students at Marjory Stoneham Douglas High School have taken a page from the activism handbook of their school's namesake. They are standing up and fighting for their right to be safe at school, a basic right that has been ignored for far too long. The lady for whom their school was named would have been very proud of these determined young people. Marjory Stoneham Douglas led Florida toward a sane and sensible future, and now the students at her high school have chosen to continue her proud legacy.
May they succeed in their efforts - for themselves and for all of us.
Citizen Journalist
Marjory Stoneman Douglas was an impeccably dressed and perfectly coiffed small stick of dynamite who made her impact felt in Florida politics for decades. Stoneman Douglas, who died in 1998 at the age of 108, spent most of her long and busy life as a writer and journalist, a perch from which she relentlessly pursued issues that tended to make established politicians uncomfortable. Her special forte was conservation and the environment, and she was an ardent supporter and protector of Florida's famed Everglades Her most famous book, The Everglades: River of Grass, was published in 1947 and became the instant go-to reference on the Glades. Stoneman Douglas was known by many as the "Grandmother of the Glades."
Marjory Stoneman Douglas was an activist who didn't back down. One admirer said that the tiny woman could "make a redneck quake in his boots," and another noted that when she bit, "you bled." Her relentless efforts stopped the creation of an airport in the Everglades even after one runway had been completed. She was a raw force of nature.
Years ago as some environmental groups were lobbying to get a portion of new highway near the Everglades named in honor of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the Florida state legislature, not any more honorable then that it is now, rushed to put Ronald Reagan's name of that particular stretch of road. Ms. Stoneman Douglas had been a political lightening rod whose activism was not always appreciated by the state's entrenched business and political interests.
And though Marjory Stoneman Douglas's name was not affixed to the highway near the Glades, it did make it onto the public high school in Parkland, Florida - the school which has been in the news daily since the massacre on Valentine's Day. It's now been eleven days since the bloody attack at the school, a length of time in which most American mass shootings fade from the news. The shooting in Parkland, however, has proven to be harder to forget.
The reason that the Parkland shooting has stayed in the news and in the public consciousness much longer than past shootings is that the students at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland have determined not to let the memory and impact of the atrocity fade away. They don't want their classmates and friends to have died in vain. Some of the brave and articulate young people who survived have gone on to organize anti-gun rallies and school safety protests and walkouts in other schools. They have lobbied lawmakers and been interviewed on national news programs pleading for the need for schools to be safe environments - and for adults to move forcefully to protect kids from gun violence.
The young people of Parkland have been so effective in their entreaties for commonsense gun legislation that some politicians appear to actually be trying to listen. Not surprisingly, the National Rifle Association and other gun manufacturing and sales groups are speaking out against this young people's movement calling the activist students "dupes" of liberals and paid crisis actors. But these are brave kids and they aren't buckling under pressure from the gun lobby. If anything, the despicable attacks by the NRA and others have added to public sympathy for the cause of the school students. At least two of the more outspoken students now have more Twitter followers than the National Rifle Association itself has.
The students at Marjory Stoneham Douglas High School have taken a page from the activism handbook of their school's namesake. They are standing up and fighting for their right to be safe at school, a basic right that has been ignored for far too long. The lady for whom their school was named would have been very proud of these determined young people. Marjory Stoneham Douglas led Florida toward a sane and sensible future, and now the students at her high school have chosen to continue her proud legacy.
May they succeed in their efforts - for themselves and for all of us.
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