David Hogg

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December 21, 2018

David Hogg; Fighting Against Gun Violence “If you don't make your voices heard in the real world nothing will change,” said David Hogg (Twitter). This quote means that in order to create long lasting change locally, nationally, and globally. There needs to be people speaking up for things they believe in. David Hogg believes that people should be safe from maniacs who wield guns.

David Miles Hogg is an American author and student who survived the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting on February 14, 2018. David Hogg’s dad is a former agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. His mom was also a former teacher. He grew up in with his two parents and little sister. David Hogg chose to attend Stoneman Douglas High School because of the production classes offered.

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On February 14th, Hogg checked social media and discovered that a shooting was occurring at his high school. He used his cell phone to record and interview other students in his classroom. Hogg reunited with his sister, who was in the school as well, and father later that day. Afterward, he became a gun control advocate and an activist against gun violence in the United States. He is one of twenty founding members of Never Again Marjory Stone Douglas, a gun control advocacy group led by Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students (​The New Yorker). ​ Hogg has helped lead several high-profile protests, marches, and boycotts. Hogg organized, alongside other members of Never Again MSD and March for Our Lives, a rally and protest that took place on ​March 24, 2018, in Washington, D.C. ​He has also been a target of several conspiracy theories. Some of these conspiracy theories state that Hogg lied about being on campus during the Parkland shooting. Another big conspiracy theory Hogg and the other students are paid crisis actors.

Mahatma Gandhi, a widely recognized political and spiritual leader, has four principles that many activists follow. These principles are are sarvodaya, swadeshi, swaraj and satyagraha. As an activist, David Hogg follows the Gandhi principles of sarvodaya and satyagraha. Sarvodaya means the​ universal uplift of all, no matter their status. Satyagraha is a form of nonviolent resistance. Hogg is implementing these principles by helping the survivors and family of people who were killed in any of the shootings around the country. Hogg influences people to speak with their government officials about what change they want to see. Supporting organizations and marches try to create change in a peaceful and non-violent manner. Using these principles are the

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most effective way for for Hogg to achieve his goal. By implementing these principles, Hogg and his organization can follow a similar path MLK and Gandhi took to achieve their goals. By implementing the principle of satyagraha, this shows that the people within this organization do not wish to cause harm, but instead wish to save and make the lives of every human being better.

Hogg uses rallying, die-ins, stand-ins and to express that the people supporting him and his cause want change. Hogg and his supporters use die-ins to help trigger emotional feelings seeing people “dead” from shootings. Many of these die-ins take place in government buildings. Another form of activism similar to die-ins are stand-ins.

Many of these take places in government offices and buildings of those who do not create laws to stop senseless shootings in schools. Like the die-ins, many of these are broadcasted around the nation because usually the police is called in and has to arrest and take those taking part in the die-ins and stand-ins, off of government property. Hogg uses rallies to help express his organization's goal and feelings on the way the government is currently handling it. Rallies help broadcast to a larger group of people.

This helps the movements reach people around the nation and world who did not know about this issue before. The organization Hogg is a part of pushes for non-violent forms of protest because, the problem they are fighting for is caused by violence. As Gandhi said, ​"An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind” (BBC). This means that violence can not be solved with violence.

“In a world full of hate and anger the one thing I think we all need is love and a good hug” (Twitter). David Hogg believes that everyone should focus on becoming

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nicer to each other. Hogg believes that by uniting a large group of people, they can overcome anything. Hogg united millions of people to help reform gun laws. This action made it safer by helping to implement laws that will keep guns out of the hands of bad people.

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Works Cited “BBC World Service | Learning English | Moving Words.” BBC, BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/movingwords/shortlist/gandhi.shtml.

Cassidy, John. “Will the March for Our Lives Lead to Real Change?” ​The New Yorker,​ The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2018, www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/will-the-march-for-our-lives-lead-to-rea l-change.

Hasday, Judy L. Forty-Nine Minutes of Madness; the columbine high school shooting.

Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publisher, inc., 2013.

Hogg, David. @davidhogg111. “If you don't make your voices heard in the real world nothing will change”. 10:05 AM - 7 Apr 2018. https://twitter.com/davidhogg111/status/982635601642995712 Hogg, David. @davidhogg111​. “In a world full of hate and anger the one thing I think we all need is love and a good hug”. 9:00 AM - 26 Mar 2018. https://twitter.com/davidhogg111/status/978270389582299136

Witt, Emily. “How the Survivors of Parkland Began the Never Again Movement.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2018, www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-the-survivors-of-parkland-began-thenever-again-movement.