John Oliver returned on Sunday night after a months-long absence, just in time to discuss the latest mass school shooting in America, this time at the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. As with every time one of these shootings occur, a familiar pattern develops.
“These events are now so familiar, we basically automatically know how each side will play out,” explained Oliver. “‘Thoughts and prayers,’ ‘f*ck your thoughts and prayers,’ ‘it’s a mental health problem,’ ‘yeah, but it’s also a gun problem,’ and then someone says ‘now’s not the time to talk about gun control,’ and then everybody moves on until it inevitably happens again.”
Only this time, Oliver continued, it’s different. “Because when that ‘now’s not time’ argument’ came out, the kids from that school said, ‘You know what? Yes it f*cking is.'”
Indeed, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas students spoke out to demand gun control in the immediate wake of the tragedy, such as senior Emma Gonzalez, who delivered a moving plea at a gun control rally in Ft. Lauderdale over the weekend, calling “B.S.” on the various excuses used by those in the pocket of the NRA.
“We call B.S.,” stressed Oliver. “It is a little ironic that the people who are acting with the most maturity in this horrifying situation aren’t even old enough to say the word ‘bullshit’ in front of their parents.” Oliver then pointed out that those kids have already announced a gun control march next month, “and in doing so they’re challenging adults to participate in a real conversation about gun violence.”