Going Hogg wild

show playing out on their screens.

Nearly every news report mentioned the instant-replay aspect of what transpired. “Thoughts and prayers” fell uselessly upon ears deafened by gunshot and hearts numb to their meaning. The same debates followed the same questions: What will it take? How many children have to die before “they” do something? I’ve written this column before.

In a fresh if disconcerting twist, the student survivors at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School almost seemed to be performing in their media appearances. Like well-rehearsed actors, they seemed to know their moves, what to say, how to speak to the camera. It was spooky listening to some of them, so articulate and calm in the aftermath of such carnage. Their reactions seemed more studied than real. But then, why wouldn’t students adept at drills and color-coded alerts have a few bullet points in mind for the day just in case a gunman showed up at their school?

David Hogg was a standout that day. A 17-year-old senior and school news director, Hogg happened to have been among the few dozen students stowed in the dark just happened to detach himself from the ongoing mayhem long enough to interview and record his fellow students about what they were experiencing and, in a scene worthy of a future teen cult movie, record their thoughts about gun policy.

When Hogg later appeared on camera, he spoke like a seasoned combat correspondent. Seemingly mature beyond his years, he looked straight into the camera and, speaking concisely, he addressed the sad reality of our nation’s failure to put an end to gun violence.

“Ideas are great,” he intoned. “What we really need is action.”

Despite sounding more adult than many adults, Hogg was nonetheless keen to remind viewers that he isn’t really a grown-up. “We’re children,” he pleaded to the cameras. “You guys are the adults.” Indeed.