I remember where I was when I heard about Sandy Hook. I was in a cubicle working my first job out of college. When I heard about Parkland it was almost the same, still a cubicle just a different office.
I always think of Sandy Hook’s Noah Pozner because he was a twin, like me. I remember his mother insisted on an open casket at his funeral so mourners, politicians, and people could see what guns had done to her baby. But there was never a front-page picture of Noah, only a written description of the physical damage done.
But the media can’t sensor teenagers. Media and parents alike have been trying for years. The paper didn’t have to publish Noah’s photo, but Twitter had no choice as Florida students posted photos and videos of their hiding places near blood covered floors.
They said the conversation on gun control ended with Sandy Hook. If politicians and members of the public could allow the murder of babies at school nothing would ever change their hearts and minds. The difference is babies have not had the time to learn to speak up for themselves. It’s part of what makes the loss so jarring, so indescribable. But teenagers have had the time. And social media has given them the tools. There are not only victims there are survivors. And for the first time age and timing have come together so different voices on different platforms are amplified above the much too common noise of mass shootings in America.