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If you haven't seen A Bug's Life, I assure you that you have missed one of the best movies ever. Indeed, that animated classic produced by Pixar that saw the light of day in 1998, and that probably doesn't get the recognition it deserves, is probably one of the most libertarian productions ever seen.

Nowadays it is difficult to find a film that represents good ideals and lays bare the practices of totalitarianism; in recent decades, the major film producers have left aside in good proportion the stories of heroes and role models to focus on the victims and their suffering at the hands of the oppressors, without really offering any positive or hopeful message, other than to enhance the culture of victimhood.

However, in A Bug's Life this did not happen, although the film also has in Hoppera grasshopper represented by Kevin Spaceyone of the greatest cartoon villains, it also presents in Flik an innovator who never gives up, who constantly explores new ideas, and who finally decides to confront Hopper's totalitarianism to free his colony from the exploitation of grasshoppers.

Various media have published articles erroneously claiming that the film presents a criticism of "capitalism," because according to them, it is about a class struggle of exploited workers. But this has little relation with reality. In capitalist and free market systems, people collaborate mutually without coercion; private property is respected, contrary to what is represented in the film, as the ants are fighting to protect their production (private) from the hands of some grasshoppers (militarists) who through force try to take away (expropriate) the fruit of their labor.

Curiously, Flik, who only thinks of liberating his community from oppression, is constantly repudiated and rejected by other ants due to his lack of obedience and respect for the grasshoppers' authority; in this, we can find great parallels with today's societies, increasingly servile before the inclement power of the States on steroids and their refined bureaucrats. However, Flik is convinced that he will be able to save his colony from slavery and he will not rest until he achieves it.

Hopper, the villain of this story, is the closest thing to the collectivist dictators we have known in the last 100 years. Stalin, Castro, Chavez, Mao, Pol Pot, Hitler, anyone could be identified with Hopper, because in his conception of the world the ants are scum that must work to sustain the grasshoppers. It is basically the same logic followed by socialist regimes: the people must work to feed the bureaucrats. The supposed "redistribution of wealth" is nothing more than an excuse to appropriate the production of the people so that the bureaucrats can dispose of it, leaving only crumbs for its producers.

In one of his impassioned dialogues Hopper addresses the princess of the colony: "It's a bug-eat-bug world out there, princess. One of those Circle of Life kind of things. Now let me tell you how things are supposed to work: The sun grows the food, the ants pick the food, the grasshoppers eat the food...

The ant princess is completely intimidated by Hopper's threats, and he exerts his control over the little insects through fear of violence and demands absolute obedience, in the purest Castro style.

In another part of the film, the grasshoppers closest to the leader stand up to him when he says they have to go and exert more pressure on the ants to get their food, so Hopper responds with some anger: You let one ant stand up to us, then they all might stand up! Those puny little ants outnumber us a hundred to one and if they ever figure that out there goes our way of life! It's not about food, it's about keeping those ants in line.

Clearly, Hopper understands that it is necessary to keep the collective fear of the ants at bay, for if they were to think they could be free, the grasshoppers lives of privilege and idleness would end immediately, and they would have to work for their food themselves.

Flik, like the rest of the colony, is just a little ant who is not strong enough to take on Hopper and the grasshoppers, but he has big ideas and a lot of courage.

After traveling long distances trying to find help for his colony and recruiting a band of circus bugs, Flik returns to the colony to end Hopper's plans to keep them enslaved until the last of their days. Unfortunately, Flik's plan fails; however, his courage remains intact, and that manages to inspire the rest of the ants.

In the last part of the film, as a confrontation approaches, Hopper shouts at Flik: You piece of dirt! No, I'm wrong. You're lower than dirt. You're an ant! Let this be a lesson to all you ants! Ideas are very dangerous things! You are mindless, soil-shoving losers, put on this Earth to serve us!

Then Flik replies, "You're wrong, Hopper. Ants are not made to serve grasshoppers. I've seen these ants do great things. And year after year, they somehow manage to pick food for themselves and you. So who is the weaker species? The ants are of no use to the grasshoppers. It is you who need us. We are much stronger than you say we are. And you know that, don't you?

After Flik's words the grasshoppers start to get restless, the ants start to advance against their slavers, Hopper stands his ground, but his army starts to disperse. The leader of the grasshoppers gives the order to counterattack, but the ants have already realized that they are more and that they don't need the grasshoppers. Finally the ants overwhelm their captors, and the princess says to the villain: "You see, Hopper, nature has a certain order. The ants gather the food, the ants keep the food, and the grasshoppers leave!"

In the end, all the ants needed was a little courage to break free from their captors, and Flik gave them the inspiration to defeat the grasshopper army.

The message that A Bug's Life leaves us with is quite hopeful, and we should all follow the example of Flik and his colony; there is no ethical or moral reason why somebody should work tirelessly to support a bunch of bureaucrats.

The wealth created should belong to its creators, not to those who dictate the laws of unjust societies and intimidate citizens with the use of force.

This El American article was republished with permission.

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How "A Bug's Life" Revealed the Immorality of Socialism | Emmanuel Rincn - Foundation for Economic Education

Socialist fanatics have taken over the United States government and have provided just a sample of what their destructive policies are capable of doing.

Our southern border with Mexico is wide open, and uncontrollable. Our energy independence has been systematically disassembled. Our ability to fight inflation has been stymied by our president. Our ability to protect citizens and prevent crime has been deliberately diminished. Our military strength and readiness have been neglected. Every policy that creates economic prosperity has been ignored.

Our need to unite as a country has been politically and deliberately prevented. Our basic entitlements like Social Security and Medicare are technically bankrupt, and solutions are ignored. Our education system is failing our children. Our American businesses are losing their ability to compete due to mindless taxes, and regulation. Our obligation to manage government spending is ignored. Solutions to critical issues like racism, abortion, voting rights, justice, and immigration, are prevented due to socialist political objectives.

What do all these problems have in common? They are all deliberate attempts to change America from a country based on freedom of the individual to a socialist system where an unaccountable government is in charge of everything.

This is not incompetence. This is not an accident. This is a concentrated strategy to gain political power. The reason that President Biden refuses to accept the responsibility that "the buck stops here" is because he created the problems that "the buck" is intended to stop.

These socialists must never be allowed government power again. They are enemies of the people, and enemies of freedom. The socialists are euphemistically called "progressives." There is nothing progressive about this movement. This is "systemic socialism". Socialist power depends on lies, deception, disinformation, and covering up the truth ... on every single issue.

Climate change derangement syndrome is a perfect example of the socialist goal of destroying the American dream. Every U.S. agency has to consider climate change regardless of its key mission. Even the military must now consider climate as part of its mission!

Gullible supporters of climate change believe the lie that America is creating an example for the rest of the world. The example we are creating is what not to do. Sadly, whatever we do will have zero impact on the climate! No other country is going to stop using gas and oil. The economic damage caused by eliminating fossil fuel energy is incalculable! America alone cannot save the planet.

Major structural changes are required to fight this socialist virus.

First, redefine CO2 as a necessity for life on earth. Revoke every single environmental regulation that prevents energy independence. Terminate all subsidies, and mandates for green new deal projects. Transfer these funds into research on renewable energy. Renewables must become competitive with carbon-based energy sources so the rest of the world will follow.

Finally, publicize the astronomical cost and time it will take to replace fossil fuels and the overwhelming likelihood that the destruction of Americas economy will not achieve the goal of controlling the climate.

James T. Holland is a resident of Frederick County.

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Open Forum: America's policies are being created by "Socialist fanatics' - The Winchester Star

InCapital and Ideology,Thomas Piketty proposes a vision for a fairer economic system grounded in participatory socialism. Thisencyclopaedic, rewarding work merits thoughtful engagement and is essential reading, writesEwan McGaughey.

Capital and Ideology. Thomas Piketty (translated by Arthur Goldhammer). Harvard University Press. 2020.

Thomas Pikettys Capital and Ideology is an encyclopaedic, rewarding work that merits thoughtful engagement. I think this is a much better book than the previous one, said Piketty, referring to Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2014). So if you read only one, please read this one! Personally, I would read both: while Capital in the Twenty-First Century has a positive thesis that with our current laws, the rate of return to capital exceeds the rate of growth (r > g), Capital and Ideology builds a normative thesis, driven by this data, that we should adopt democratic or participatory socialism. Piketty argues all societies use ideology to legitimise inequality; this dominant narrative leads to rules and rules entrench inequality (1). Our era wants to see itself as postideological but is in reality saturated by ideology (961). So, if things are going wrong, we should have a better ideology.

This review engages three key ideas in Capital and Ideology: first, what democratic socialism involves; second, how votes in our economic constitution are even more unequal than wealth inequality; and third, how laws build markets and power sets prices.

With inequality out of control, Pikettys answer is democratic socialism. First, Piketty calls for extending the right to vote to workers in all enterprises. Workers should have half the board seats in all private firms, large or small and we should create true social ownership of capital (972). We must overhaul the labor code and, more generally, the entire legal system to achieve a just wage for everyone and a more equal distribution of economic power (1003).

Second, Piketty calls for fair tax, including progressive taxation of wealth based on ability to pay (996). With this we can create a universal capital endowment, and an ambitious social state (1000-16). This goes to the heart of Pikettys definition of a just society where all members have access to fundamental goods like education, health, the right to vote, so that even the least advantaged can enjoy the highest possible life conditions (678-79). Thus, Piketty emphasises both predistribution to get things right (that is, ensuring law doesnt drive inequality in its construction of the market or the state), and redistribution to undo the wrong.

Third, international trade needs to be balanced by fiscal cooperation, such as pledging at least 1 per cent of GDP for developmental assistance (1022-24). For the climate crisis, Piketty favours carbon taxes at 100 per tonne of carbon. However, fundamentally all reserves of fossil fuels would be better kept in the ground to prevent global warming (654).

Image Credit: Crop of Thomas_Piketty_2086 by LSE in Pictures

The value in Pikettys work is that socialism is well tested, but the democratic part less so. A good contrast is Albert Einsteins Why Socialism? (1949). Einstein argued that capitalism means we are unceasingly striving to deprive each other of the fruits of their collective labor [] in faithful compliance with legally established rules. Law makes productive capacity the private property of individuals, workers dont share fairly in the value they create and private capital becomes concentrated. The crippling of the social consciousness of individuals is the worst evil of capitalism and one from which our whole educational system suffers. But if there were a more socialist economy, asked Einstein, how do we prevent bureaucracy from becoming all-powerful and overweening to protect the rights of the individual? With 70 years of experience, we can now provide a better answer to this question.

With fair tax and trade, Pikettys democratic socialism turns on who has votes in the economy, but this deserves some unpacking (full disclosure: Chapter Eleven draws on my writings on German, British and US law and history). First, most EU and OECD countries have a system for large corporations to have worker representation, typically one-third in large companies. Some of the best universities have majority-elected governing bodies, such as Oxford, Cambridge and Toronto. A growing body of research shows that we are poorer, more unequal and less innovative if we let shareholders and unaccountable managers monopolise enterprise governance. Pikettys work could be valuably extended if we collect more systematic data on voting systems and their effect on economic variables.

Second, Pikettys call for true social ownership of capital leaves much to discuss. Most major corporations are nominally controlled by shareholders, who may fire directors. (The big exception is Delaware, USA, where directors tend to be much harder to remove.) Shareholders, however, are not individuals but overwhelmingly asset managers or banks with other peoples money.

The big 3 in the US are BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard, and combined they would be the largest shareholder in 435 of the 500 biggest companies. The shareholder votes they control come mostly from workers saving for retirement. About 12 people set all the priorities of corporate America including wages, fossil fuel use, political lobbying and production decisions in those asset managers. Much the same goes for Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank,Socit Gnrale and Unicredit: power without responsibility. These middlemen should be strictly tied to the voting preferences of the real investors, who want fair pay, clean air and democratic politics. Similarly, sovereign wealth or national pension funds need to be strictly accountable to the people whose money is at stake. Fair tax, and fair wages, will vastly broaden the equitable distribution of capital.

Third, if competitive markets fail, the public needs a voice too. In education, health, municipal energy and water, and in media organisations, students, patients, residents and users often have voting rights but not in any coherent way. Pikettys thesis could usefully be extended here: votes at work, in capital and in public services.

A third key idea is that the level of wages and profits [] depends on prevailing institutions, rules and bargaining power [] as well as on taxes and regulations (641). This is groundbreaking and deserves discussion. Micro-economics theory has often asserted that prices are set by supply and demand, and in a competitive market they should reflect the marginal value added to production. However, Adam Smith saw that those with more power can hold out longer in negotiations. When the first supply/demand charts were sketched by Fleeming Jenkin for corn, he was adamant that the same logic could not apply to labour, where workers were in a weaker position.

All markets are shaped by inequality of bargaining power, but for workers, tenants, consumers and small investors unequal power is systematic. Unequal bargaining power comes firstly from unequal distribution of resources, protected by our laws of property, contract, corporations, taxes and more. Second, bargaining power is driven by differences in collective organisation. Third, there are differences of information. Supply and demand merely set outer constraints on prices (the lowest a seller will go, the highest a buyer will pay if they can go elsewhere), and the actual place where a deal is struck depends on the actors power. If we chart unequal bargaining power with supply/demand, instead of lines and a single equilibrium point, there are bands and a range of equilibrium outcomes (in the central diamond):

The result is that when rules set prices, such as a minimum wage, an energy cap or drug costs, or when rules require fair taxes, there is no distortion of efficiency compared to rules that allow a stronger party to impose prices on the weak. Very often there is an improvement of welfare if the rule prevents corporations taking an unjust gain by exploiting their unequal bargaining power. This theory is simple, intuitive and established in law, in contrast to complex explanations that markets are monopolistic or monopsonistic (relating to powerful buyers), dating from John Hicks, helpful as many have found them. It explains why most countries use fair wages, rent and price regulation successfully.

Paul Krugmans review of Capital and Ideology stated he was not even sure what the books message is. Yet on reading the book, its crystal clear that Piketty successfully puts forward a superb, data-driven normative defence of democratic socialism. The principles that Piketty proposes fair tax, fair trade, clean air and, above all, a democratic economy have a huge amount to commend them, and make this book an essential read.

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Note: This article gives the views of the author, and not the position of USAPP American Politics and Policy, nor of the London School of Economics.

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Ewan McGaughey Kings College, LondonDr Ewan McGaughey (@ewanmcg) is a Reader at the School of Law, Kings College, London, a research associate at the University of Cambridge, Centre for Business Research, and a volunteer for the Free Representation Unit.

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Book Review: Capital and Ideology by Thomas Piketty - London School of Economics

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The recently recalled District Attorney Chesa Boudin and the successful recall of three socialist-leaning members of the San Francisco elected public-school board show that SF voters realize socialism doesn't work in practice.

I never thought I would say this but I applaud SF voters, who threw out three socialist-leaning school board members weeks ago and a socialist DA this week.

Based on this weeks successful recall vote, SFs voters are saying:

Where did the DA go wrong?

Chesa Boudin's high-profile failure stems from his thought that he could rehabilitate criminally-minded youth by letting them loose after each criminal incident without bail, without jail time, and without a criminal charge. In the process, he frustrated the police, who arrested the law breakers and were faced with arresting them again and again after repeated crimes.

His policies appear to assume that being nice to criminals would change them and end their life of crime. The reality defied his assumptions.

If people are not held accountable for their crimes, why would they change their criminal conduct? A DA is expected to hold people accountable that is the DAs job description. After the DA recall, San Francisco Mayor London Breed was quoted as saying, voters are really frustrated about a lack of accountability for crimes being committed in San Francisco...

But if Boudin's criminal justice policies didn't work, what other options do we have?

The true rehabilitation of the criminally minded

After Boudin was voted out, I spoke to a pastor friend in Philadelphia who was a former police officer. I asked his opinion about San Franciscos recalled DA and his be nice methods to rehabilitate young criminals, which backfired.

The former police officer was clear in his answer, one needs a change of heart before quitting a life of crime. He has seen it as a police officer and as a pastor for decades.

The truth is, to rehabilitate youths who are committing crimes, one must seek a change of hearts and minds.

Faith-based ministries rehabilitate errant youth by conveying the following:

There is no substitute for faith-based solutions for rehabilitating youth engaged in repeated crimes. Cities must seek help and programs from churches and pastors. In addition, cities engaged in true rehabilitation of youths must seek policies that will keep families together and end fatherlessness.

Paul Swamidass, PhD, is Professor Emeritus, Harbert College of Business, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama. His newest book is Greater Things: The Qualifications of a Biblical Leader, Vide Press, 2020. He and his wife, Nimmi, worship at Redwood Chapel Community Church, Castro Valley, CA.

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Behind the recall in San Francisco: A failed socialist youth rehabilitation program - The Christian Post

Attend an online meeting in your area, co-sponsored by the International Youth and Students for Social Equality and the Educators Rank-and-File Committees, to discuss the causes of mass violence and what must be done to stop it.

On Saturday, thousands of youth, parents and workers participated in over 450 demonstrations in cities across the US to protest against gun violence in schools. The protests were organized by March for Our Lives (MFOL), originally a student movement that emerged in the aftermath of the 2018 Parkland High School massacre.

Since the birth of the movement in 2018, the Democratic Party has done everything in its power to transform it into a campaigning mechanism for various Democratic Party politicians. By narrowly framing the issue of mass violence as one of gun control, it has sought to convince youth that school shootings will be ended simply by electing Democrats to office.

Four years later, the MFOL movement has lost considerable support among youth. The protests in the aftermath of the horrific Uvalde, Texas elementary school shooting drew significantly smaller crowds in most cases. However, many students and youth who did attend expressed outrage over mass shootings and were eager to discuss the broader social and political issues behind them.

The International Youth and Students for Social Equality spoke to youth, parents, and workers at protests around the country. IYSSE members also distributed copies of the recent statement, The way forward for students and youth in the fight against school shootings.

In Chicago, the IYSSE spoke with students, teachers, and young workers at a rally in Federal Plaza.

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One 9th grade Chicago Public School student spoke on his frustration with politicians and with capitalism, I am tired of not seeing any action from politicians on this issue. Its honestly really scary to see them not care and let this continue. He continued, I think its connected to capitalism. Its getting more and more unequal and more and more barbaric as time goes by. Its like what Rosa Luxemburg said: We are faced with a choice between socialism and barbarism. That could not be more true right now. I think capitalism has to end.

The student also said of the response to the pandemic by the US government, which has produced new levels of hunger and inequality, Its a failure of the capitalist system.

Another Chicago high school student had similar comments. Gun violence is happening every single day in America. It is worrying, you dont know where it is going to happen next. The young man continued, There is bigger inequality in America than during the French Revolution... Billionaires rule America as if they were oligarchs. I think that's definitely one of the big causes [of mass violence].

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Emma, a young office worker said: I hear that phrase, to vote people out at this rally, and I just keep thinking, with a Democratic president, a Democratic Congress voting, I dont think they have the material interest in their minds. For politicians saying that only the military or the police should have access to high caliber weapons or things like that: I dont think that they should even have access to those.

This is how I feel about it: emotionally exhausted, said Brooke, a young legal assistant. I grew up in Denver, Colorado after Columbine, and I remember every time another shooting happened we had to do a drill. And if we didnt take it seriously enough the teacher would have us watch news clippings from Columbine. Its been here forever, and it seems kind of ridiculous that at 25 [years old], growing up in elementary school with these types of drills, living our entire lives post-Columbine, and nothing has changed.

Theres been so much talk, but no action. Its just gotten worse and worse, and so many people have gotten hurt. And its wild to think that its even a question that guns are more important than peoples lives and childrens lives. The government is also like taking away rights to abortion, forcing people to have children, but then they turn around and dont care that those children may get murdered?

A customer service worker named Katie also spoke to the WSWS. She criticized the role of the Democratic Party in exacerbating the social problems that lead to gun violence. I thought there was going to be a lot of change after [the Parkland shootings]. I really, really hoped that maybe that maybe that would spark something. And now, nothings changed at the end of the day.

Rebecca, a librarian, said she does not think that arming and pouring social spending into the police are the answers to the problem of mass shootings. Weve been told so much that like the police are good, the police are protectors. And they did nothing [during the Uvalde school shooting], so that whole argument just came crashing down. And people are still like, We just need more police. We need more security. And that did nothing.

I think you look at most places like most, most budgets, its going to policing and the military-like guise of safety and protection, and were no safer. I think thats why emotionally exhausted as for how I feel. There has to be a shift.

Paige and Anita are elementary school teachers in districts south of the Chicago metropolitan region. Im a kindergarten teacher, Anita said of the gun violence affecting schools. Theyre hard conversations to have. You try not to scare your kids, Oh, itll never happen here. But it could happen. Seeing all that and trying to navigate those waters with your students and letting parents know Its been so difficult. Were frustrated.

I teach first grade, Paige said. Its hard to have conversions with young children who dont understand. I dont want them to feel fear coming to school. Were being trained for things were not ready for. We have to have a lot of hard conversations.

Were still seeing the same problems over and over, Paige added, in schools, grocery stores and movie theaters. Its everywhere.

Both of them expressed frustration with the political system. Its hard to ask our political leaders to do more and theyre still not doing anything, Paige said.

Anita also spoke out about how the social crisis is affecting teachers. Were currently in a teacher shortage, she said. No one wants to be a teacher anymore if youre asked to be the shield or be the social worker.

Its causing a lot of teachers to leave the profession in droves, Paige added.

And its really hard on the teachers that are staying, Anita concurred. Were getting to the breaking point. Ohio just passed a bill to allow teachers to carry [weapons] in the classroom. We were talking, I guess Ill quit and say No more. Teachers continually get stepped on.

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I taught remotely for half the year last year and then we wore masks the other half. This year, the masks started coming off and it was hard with COVID still prevalent. It still is. The restrictions went lax so parents stopped having their kids getting tested. Kids would be out sick. In my district we were having at least 15 cases a building. It was high. Its been frustrating to go from that straight to [more] gun violence

While teachers have faced dangerous conditions throughout the pandemic, Paige and Anita were forced into bad contracts by the teachers unions and the school districts. In our past contract, we have a no strike clause, Anita said. We were stopped from ever speaking. Theres a lot of districts by us that have a no strike clause. Theyre stopping you before you can ever use your voice.

The cost of living and our wage are not equal. Its something we are trying to fight for. Its a constant battle. Its hard. We need jobsthis is what we went to school for.

Paige added, Its what I want to do, but its getting harder and harder every year.

And we end up getting students who are so depressed and sad and they end up taking it out, Anita observed of the effects of the social crisis and the pandemic on students. Our students with low socioeconomic standing, you can see every day in the classroom how difficult it is with a difficult home life.

And schools should be a safe haven, Paige said, and not a place where they should worry about someone coming with a gun. Its a good place for them to be, but when things like the [events in Texas] happen, thats not so much the case

In San Diego, the WSWS spoke with Paul, a survivor of the March 5, 2001 Santana High School shooting during which 15-year-old student Charles Andrew Williams shot 15 people, killing two students.

I am a survivor of the Santana High School mass shooting that happened back in the early 2000s. Its actually difficult to talk about what happened that day. Im sick of this! Every time I see news of another shooting, it brings back PTSD. I will say that these events really affect everyone.

Responding to the indifference to human life at the hands of the ruling elite in response to the pandemic, war and these mass shootings, Paul said: The government, both Democrat and Republican, are ignoring the facts and the rest of us. They just want to support their base at the top. Im here because Im so angry that this keeps happening. The Democrats have capitulated again, and the people continue to be battered. Im actually surprised by how many people showed up to the protests today. People are so fed up!

Milly, a high school student in San Diego, said, These shootings have me terrified and angry. When I was in kindergarten, there was an active shooter on our campus. Luckily no one got hurt, but Ive been terrified of this at school since I was four years old.

Leia, a student at Helix Charter High School, recalled how earlier shootings impacted her political outlook: Sandy Hook was the first one I remember. It happened to kids our age at the time or a year younger, and it has just gotten worse and more frequent. Its little kids, its horrific and disgusting. The way people take money from the NRA and do nothing in Congress, its ridiculous!

Leia also spoke to the US interest in carrying out imperialist violence abroad through endless war while violence runs rampant within the US: The US spends so much time worrying about places like the Middle East and the names that they call them! Such as shithole countries and so on, and are consistently sending troops for war, when we have in our country, a leading cause of death for children is gun violence. They are just not affected by it People in Congress are rich, they have money, they are at the top of the food chain and are not affected like the rest of us. This is why there have not been changes, they care about their own interests. They do not care about ours.

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Alina, a student from Helix Charter High School, said: It's just extremely frustrating. Shootings at schools have happened for years. Even before I was born there was shootings. Regarding the Democratic Party, we like to think of them as better because they are more left, but they are just the same [as the Republicans]. They are not doing anything, they dont care about our lives. They dont understand the fear we have to go through every day. We risk our lives just going to school. Anytime a fire drill goes off, a lockdown drill goes off, there is always that thought in your mind, Oh my god, is this the day that my school gets shot up, that Im going to lose my life or my friends life, they dont care, they dont understand, they just care about their money and their control over us. They do nothing!

The very next day [after the Uvalde massacre] at the elementary school I had to drop my little sister and brother off, and I was going to cry because I could not fathom anything happening to them! They [the government] dont care! They dont care at all!

She went on to say: We are the ones who keep this country running, and also we are going to be the future and will decide what continues to go on. I want to say, Dont lose hope. So many times I have felt a complete feeling of hopelessness that nothing is ever going to change. But you have to stop there and continue working on it. Im determined!

A first grade teacher who wished to remain anonymous said: In my class, one girls parents called me to tell me that she wont go into a room alone anymore. My coworker taught his kids how to play dead. What really made us cry was that we tell our students we will protect them, but we dont know if we can. It is so heartbreaking and we feel so conflicted.

In New York City, several hundred people gathered in Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn.

A group of young people from New York Citys theater industry spoke to the IYSSE at the rally. Ris, a theater technician, explained, I just graduated from college. I have had to experience shooter drills for the last sixteen years. It sucks to grow up this way. In Santa Cruz, California schools, we could not wear blue or red because those were gang colors. Our parents talk about how We had the nuclear threat when we were young. This is worse because of the frequency. We had bomb threats at school and cops banging on the door in active-shooter drills.

A lot of student shootings are a result of mental health problems, and not being noticed. There is so much pressure on young people with social media. They break down easier. I want gun controls but I dont think the politicians are going to listen. I am here because I would rather do something than not, to be able to tell my grandchildren I did something.

Kyleigh, one of Ris friends, became an accountant to supplement her income because of the difficulty in getting acting jobs, especially with pandemic theater closures. I learned the NRA [National Rifle Association] is a nonprofit and does not pay taxes, like a religious organization. If teachers are taxed, they should be, too. There are a lot of guns on the street because there is access to all those excess guns made for the military. I think if the higher politicians are not going to do anything, maybe we have to do a lot more at the local level.

In Detroit, a young student named Gray, 17, told our reporters that he has never felt safe in school: School shootings happen so often. Government officials say that something will change and then it never happens. It is always empty promises and I got sick of it. I shouldn't have to feel like my life is in danger when I am trying to get an education and go somewhere with my life and fear that my life will end at the hands of someone else.

On the question of the impact of thirty years of war, Gray added, I don't believe in war. I shouldn't have to give my life for things to change. My life shouldnt be a number in a rising percentage of violence in this world.

Marcus and Lucas, two students from Oakland Community College who attended the Detroit rally, spoke on the way forward for the movement to end school shootings.

We cant do the vote blue no matter who thing anymore. It does not work. The two-party system is what is killing this country. I think people fail to realize that once the workers come together and join under a common cause things will start happening. And that is what they are scared of because once it happens, they are screwed. It is the workers that put [the rich] in these positions. It is the workers that allow them to make 11,000 times more than their employees. Its the workers that line their pockets.

Lucas added, Once the backs that they walk on walk away, then they are in trouble.

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Students, teachers and workers rally against gun violence in cities across the US - WSWS