power of the people (as a unit)

After our joint class discussion today in class regarding the past 72 hours of hate crimes and tragedies throughout the nation, I walked away feeling empowered by the words of my teachers and peers. Realizing that we are only a joined class of 48, it made me think about the influential power of those around us, and the power in the people as a unit. I remembered going to March For Our Lives and hearing the chant, "ain't no power like the power of the people, 'cause the power of the people don't stop..." It really sank in that even though we are encouraged (and very much able) to use our individual voices to speak up and defend our beliefs, we are much more likely and much more enabled to speak up as a whole, knowing that as a group, we can defend each other. I think this sense of place really combats the issue that Mrs. Palmer astutely brought up about the fear of the cynic that will always have negative feedback. Being in a group gives many the voice that they otherwise might not use as an individual, and also truly shows the power of the people to make a difference. So applying this to current events, I think organizing even a school-wide event, similar to the walkout, to show our dissatisfaction with the recent violence would go a long way in making a statement about our ideals as high school student activists.