Rabu, 21 Februari 2018

Celebrity power taking #NeverAgain student march against guns to new heights

NOTHING gives a movement that extra touch of glamour quite like star power. So the young survivors behind March for our Lives will be delighted that Hollywood's most glamorous activists are throwing their weight behind the cause.

Famous names including Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Amy Schumer and Cher have voiced their support for the action to prevent gun violence, with Oprah, the Clooneys and Steven Spielberg promising donations of $US500,000 ($640,000) each.

"Cameron good talking to you last night. All of your bravery is amazing. I stand with you guys," Bieber tweeted Cameron Kasky, the 17-year-old student from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High who created the #NeverAgain hashtag and Facebook page after 17 people were shot dead at his school in Parkland, Florida.

George Clooney started the financial ball rolling on Tuesday, announcing in a statement that he and Amal were "so inspired by the courage and eloquence" of the Florida students. The activist couple promised to attend the March 24 rally and make a donation in the names of the couple's eight-month-old twins, Alexander and Ella.

Hours later, film producer Jeffrey Katzenberg and wife Marilyn said they would donate the same amount, calling the students "brave young leaders" who have "taken their pain and grief and turned it into action".

Director Steven Spielberg said the students in Florida and across the country were "demonstrating their leadership with a confidence and maturity that belies their ages", promising he and wife Kate would also put in $US500,000.

Oprah Winfrey said the young people reminded her of "the Freedom Riders of the 60s who also said we've had ENOUGH and our voices will be heard," vowing she too would match the Clooneys' donation.

Gaga said she was "speechless at their courage" and "proud that these kids and young adults are our future", while Schumer exhorted her Twitter followers to "demand that lawmakers do their jobs and take action to prevent gun violence".

In a tweet almost entirely in capitals and littered with exclamation marks, Cher said she believed the movement could scare Congress into action, adding "KIDS CAN BE CATALYSTS 4 CHANGE."

It is remarkable evidence of the age of celebrity activism we live in today, promising that the march in Washington and across the US will indeed be "bigger than anyone could ever imagine", as student leader and Florida shooting survivor Sofie Whitney told news.com.au this week.

This is the #MeToo and #TimesUp era, when the great and the good dress in black at the year's most glittering events to draw attention to the issue of sexual harassment and assault.

Oprah has already been tipped to run for President after her rousing Golden Globes speech about racial, gender and class divides — and her support for these determined youngsters indicates this will indeed be a historic moment.

The teenagers at the centre of the tornado are well aware of the task ahead of them, and determined to keep the momentum going. Unlike the Sandy Hook survivors, they are old enough to be heard by President Donald Trump and Congress.

They have been meeting with state senators, lobbying representatives and discussing legislation. "I think it's just our way of grieving," said Sofie, 18. "We couldn't just sit back while we let everyone forget about us, we need to make sure this never had to happen again.

"No kid should have to do this for themselves, no kid should have to watch their friends die, but we did and we have to do this now."

The gun lobby is evidently scared of what they could achieve, with a sickening conspiracy theory circulating that the young people are actually paid actors. Internet trolls have suggested students including Sofie, Cameron and Emma Gonzalez are actually "crisis actors" hired by the FBI and Democratic Party elites to destabilise the Trump administration.

That only seems to prove just how powerful today's youth really is.

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