National School Walkout

[Mountain Man]

I dispute that big money liberals were behind the "grassroots" walkout.

The Women's March is on record as being the organizers of the walkout, and big-money liberal organizations are behind the Women's March, so I'm curious on what basis you deny the indisputable fact -- yes, fact -- that big-money liberal organizations were at least indirectly behind the walkout.

[carpedm9587]

The Women's March is on record as being the organizers of the walkout, and big-money liberal organizations are behind the Women's March, so I'm curious on what basis you deny the indisputable fact -- yes, fact -- that big-money liberal organizations were at least indirectly behind the walkout.

First of all - it was the youth arm of the Woman's March (EMPOWER) that called for the walk-out, so kids calling out kids. I'm also wondering exactly how much funding you think was necessary, in this age of Twitter*, Snapchat, Facebook, and all the rest. I know that the walkout at our local school required no funds. Though they got the idea (and the coordinated date) from social media storm that followed the Parkland shootings, they organized the thing themselves, and the only "funds" they needed was to find paper and crayons and markers to make a few posters to put up around the school. Mostly, it was coordinated by the "very expensive" social media on their smartphones. So...it was mostly funded by parents...

I've been looking for info about who funded the youth walkout, and the only articles I can find are on right-wing conspiracy sites, and the only link they make is the Woman's March (mostly not mentioning EMPOWER) and the financial backers of the woman's march. IMO, it's a pretty pathetic attempt to disparage what these kids are trying to do.

*Emma Gonzalez, who has become a voice/face of the Parkland shootings, now has over 1.25 million followers, so was a significant advocate for this walk.

[Mountain Man]

First of all - it was the youth arm of the Woman's March (EMPOWER) that called for the walk-out, so kids calling out kids.

Because the "youth arm" is run entirely by children with zero adult oversight, m i rite?

Come on, carpe, you're trying to spin this so hard you're making yourself dizzy.

I'm also wondering exactly how much funding you think was necessary...

I'm wondering why you're suddenly wanting to talk about funding when I never said a word about it.

[carpedm9587]

Because the "youth arm" is run entirely by children with zero adult oversight, m i rite?

Come on, carpe, you're trying to spin this so hard you're making yourself dizzy.

Actually, every article I have seen, every video I have seen, has had students at the forefront, and students pushing the agenda, from the Parkland students onwards. Having worked with HS student for many years, I think you're selling them a bit short. But if you have evidence that there was a vast conspiracy to push kids to March, other than the fact that EMPOWER is a branch of the Woman's March group, by all means present it. Otherwise, I guess you can just keep posting emojis ...

I'm wondering why you're suddenly wanting to talk about funding when I never said a word about it.

You're right. The Brietbart article you linked to used the word "sponsors," a term that has financial overtones. I fell right into the trap of swallowing the disengenuous use of language. Of course, "sponsor" doesn't HAVE to mean "financial," so Brietbart can leave the impression of financial support by using a word whose connotation extends beyond its denotation, then defend itself by appealing to the denotation of the word. It's a trick they're good at (and they're not the only ones). The further left/right the media outlet is, the more likely those kinds of language tricks seem to be used.

It's why I tend to avoid far left/right media sources. It's too much work to try to sort out this kind of linguistic trickery - and I'm too likely to miss it and fall into the trap.

[Mountain Man]

Actually, every article I have seen, every video I have seen, has had students at the forefront, and students pushing the agenda, from the Parkland students onwards.

Of course, because that's the narrative being spoonfed to you by the liberal media, and you've obediently swallowed every bite. Then when someone like Breitbart pulls back the curtain and gives us a peek behind it, you dutifully shout, "Pay no attention to the big-money liberal organizations behind the curtain!"

[Charles]

Of course, because that's the narrative being spoonfed to you by the liberal media, and you've obediently swallowed every bite. Then when someone like Breitbart pulls back the curtain and gives us a peek behind it, you dutifully shout, "Pay no attention to the big-money liberal organizations behind the curtain!"

I am searching in vain for anything in your post that actually backs up any of the points in it. One could make those sorts of claims one way or the other but the interesting part is if you can actually support it with evidence or facts. So, let's see if you can.

[carpedm9587]

Of course, because that's the narrative being spoonfed to you by the liberal media, and you've obediently swallowed every bite. Then when someone like Breitbart pulls back the curtain and gives us a peek behind it, you dutifully shout, "Pay no attention to the big-money liberal organizations behind the curtain!"

Actually - Brietbart did nothing of the sort. They simply threw mud in the air to push an agenda. And you seem to have returned to "money" after denying it was part of your position...?

So...what we know...

1) Kids walked out on March 14th.
2) EMPOWER, the youth branch of the Woman's March people advocated for the March, proposed a date, and got the word out.
3) Social media was widely used to get the word out and coordinate students.

We also know...

1) The woman's march had some big, liberal, financial backers
2) That list can be found on the Woman's March website
3) It includes several organizations that are widely disliked by the right (e.g., Planned Parenthood)

What no one has done, except to insinuate and speculate, is that the latter set of facts is related to the former. I have not seen a simgle place where it has been shown that the parent organizations initiated any of this, or nefariously manipulated kids (which is what is being implied) to push a liberal agenda. Indeed, in my experience (and it is an example - so not a proof), the kids did 100% of the work, and the limit of adult involvement was to enforce the rules and leverage a possible "teachable moment."

Brietbart is doing what Brietbart does: factually reporting pieces of information in a way to insinuate a link where none has been shown to exist. It's why they're useless to me as a media source.

Here...I'm sure this post will merit another or or - you can use mine. I don't use them all that often, so I have spares....

[Mountain Man]

Actually - Brietbart did nothing of the sort. They simply threw mud in the air to push an agenda. And you seem to have returned to "money" after denying it was part of your position...?

So...what we know...

1) Kids walked out on March 14th.
2) EMPOWER, the youth branch of the Woman's March people advocated for the March, proposed a date, and got the word out.
3) Social media was widely used to get the word out and coordinate students.

We also know...

1) The woman's march had some big, liberal, financial backers
2) That list can be found on the Woman's March website
3) It includes several organizations that are widely disliked by the right (e.g., Planned Parenthood)

What no one has done, except to insinuate and speculate, is that the latter set of facts is related to the former. I have not seen a simgle place where it has been shown that the parent organizations initiated any of this, or nefariously manipulated kids (which is what is being implied) to push a liberal agenda. Indeed, in my experience (and it is an example - so not a proof), the kids did 100% of the work, and the limit of adult involvement was to enforce the rules and leverage a possible "teachable moment."

Brietbart is doing what Brietbart does: factually reporting pieces of information in a way to insinuate a link where none has been shown to exist. It's why they're useless to me as a media source.

Here...I'm sure this post will merit another or or - you can use mine. I don't use them all that often, so I have spares....

Let me see if I can unravel the logic here:

The Women's March is behind the student walkout.
There are big-money liberal organizations behind the Women's March.
These big-money liberal organizations that support the Women's March had no direct or indirect influence on the student walkout.

You're right, this seems like the only appropriate response:

[Charles]

Actually - Brietbart did nothing of the sort. They simply threw mud in the air to push an agenda. And you seem to have returned to "money" after denying it was part of your position...?

So...what we know...

1) Kids walked out on March 14th.
2) EMPOWER, the youth branch of the Woman's March people advocated for the March, proposed a date, and got the word out.
3) Social media was widely used to get the word out and coordinate students.

We also know...

1) The woman's march had some big, liberal, financial backers
2) That list can be found on the Woman's March website
3) It includes several organizations that are widely disliked by the right (e.g., Planned Parenthood)

What no one has done, except to insinuate and speculate, is that the latter set of facts is related to the former. I have not seen a simgle place where it has been shown that the parent organizations initiated any of this, or nefariously manipulated kids (which is what is being implied) to push a liberal agenda. Indeed, in my experience (and it is an example - so not a proof), the kids did 100% of the work, and the limit of adult involvement was to enforce the rules and leverage a possible "teachable moment."

Brietbart is doing what Brietbart does: factually reporting pieces of information in a way to insinuate a link where none has been shown to exist. It's why they're useless to me as a media source.

Here...I'm sure this post will merit another or or - you can use mine. I don't use them all that often, so I have spares....

I like how you present the facts in an open and honest way. Very good stuff.

[carpedm9587]

Let me see if I can unravel the logic here:

The Women's March is behind the student walkout.
There are big-money liberal organizations behind the Women's March.
These big-money liberal organizations that support the Women's March had no direct or indirect influence on the student walkout.

You're right, this seems like the only appropriate response:

Color me surprised...

Anyway, your first sentence was wrong/misleading, which is what causes the problem with your "unraveled logic." It's essentially the narrative Brietbart is attempting to push forward - with no evidence except "guilt by association."

I'll leave the last emoji to you...

[Juvenal]

I am searching in vain for anything in your post that actually backs up any of the points in it. One could make those sorts of claims one way or the other but the interesting part is if you can actually support it with evidence or facts.

This is acceptable.

So, let's see if you can.

Not in this thread, please.

[Juvenal]

Here...I'm sure this post will merit another or or - you can use mine. I don't use them all that often, so I have spares....

You're right, this seems like the only appropriate response:

Please, no.

[carpedm9587]

Please, no.

Wait...it just dawned on me you might be serious. Having struggled to preserve a thread...my apologies, Lao. I violated the spirit of your thread - and I apologize.

[hedrick]

Here's an interesting article about how the Parkland efforts are actually being organized: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...b0697dfe19a488

[carpedm9587]

Here's an interesting article about how the Parkland efforts are actually being organized: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...b0697dfe19a488

It's a good article, and does a good job of outlining the ways in which adults are supporting the kids. There is no question in my mind that the post-Parkland fundraising and activities are getting adult support, and this article confirms that. As one kid noted, 17-year olds cannot even rent a car, let alone set up a legal entity to receive non-profit funds. My objection in the earlier posts was specifically about the walk-out. As for the rest, this article, and others Ihave read, make it clear that the kids are working to keep control and lead the charge for this specific effort.

All of this makes me want to join the people going to Washington this weekend.