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Americana and the March against Gun Culture
The recent incident in a school in Parkland, Florida, where a 19-year-old school dropout randomly gunned down several innocents, raises pressing questions about a “gun culture” that has become an intrinsic part of Americana. While this is, by no means, the first incident of its kind, its significance lies in the large-scale mobilisation of students who have emphatically come out demanding gun control and questioning deep-rooted institutional support within the American establishment for a mindless culture of violence.
On 14 February 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz walked into his former high school in Parkland, Florida, just before students were about to disperse for the day. Cruz, a school dropout, proceeded to Building 12, a three-storey structure that, on a typical day, would have held 900 students and some 20 to 30 teachers. Armed with a semi-automatic rifle, Cruz started choosing targets and firing at random; he said not a word, nor is there anything to suggest any provocation. Six minutes later, he dropped his rifle and made good his escape by blending into the crowd of panic-stricken students fleeing for their lives. Having done his work for the day, Cruz descended upon two iconic American fast-food restaurants to satiate his thirst and hunger. He apparently stopped at a Subway for soda, then wound up at McDonald’s, before being spotted by a police officer who took him into custody.
Americana
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