American teenagers have taken to social media to publish their final wishes in case they die in a school shooting.
In the wake of the recent Santa Fe shooting, the hashtag #IfIDieInASchoolShooting began trending on social media on Sunday, with students - and many teachers - from all over the United States taking to Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to take part.
The tweets varied, with some teenagers posting what they wanted to be done with their bodies afterwards, making their funeral preferences known, and speaking of the life events they would miss out on if they were to die in a school shooting, such as fulfilling their career goals, getting married or having children.
Their emotional posts were seemingly designed to drive home the point that the Parkland survivors have been trying to make: that legislators should pass more gun safety laws to protect school children.
Deemed "one of the most tragic hashtags ever" by social media users, the need for the hashtag has been described as "a new level of unacceptable" by some adults, who claim that America's children deserved better.
The trend was started by #NeverAgain activist, Andrew Schneidawind, who wrote: "I'm gonna try and get a hashtag trending called #IfIdieInASchoolShooting. If you wanna join, feel free. #IfIdieInASchoolShooting I will never be able to finish my animated TV series, I'll never be able to see my sister again, and I will have to become a martyr. #NeverAgain"
Soon enough, hundreds of students took part. Many made their posts even more political by requesting their bodies be delivered to NRA headquarters or to be dropped off at the White House with a tag addressed to the Trump administration.
Many Parkland survivors helped the hashtag to get off the ground, taking to Twitter to post emotional tweets that harked back to the devastating events that unfolded on February 14, 2018 when 17 people – 14 students and three staff members – were fatally shot, and 17 others were wounded.
Well-known teen activist and #NeverAgain public speaker Emma González simply wrote "#IfIDieInASchoolShooting I’d get to see Carmen again", while Ryan Deitsch, another student from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, posted "#IfIDieInASchoolShooting I could finally bring Feis the Starbucks he never took me up on".
Soon enough, their tweets had caught the attention of adults, who lamented that the hashtag shouldn't have to exist, but it did anyway.
The tweets come as Parkland families and survivors continue to call for reform, with dozens of them continuing to do interviews and arrange events. In addition, two of the Parkland students-turned-activists, siblings David and Lauren Hogg, recently announced an upcoming book titled #NEVERAGAIN: A New Generation Draws the Line.
