It seems like our country is constantly at battle. I’m not talking about our soldiers either. I’m talking about our citizens.

Every few months, there is something new to argue about. For example, there was “Black Lives Matter,” which promoted the value of the lives of African Americans and shamed police brutality against them. Shortly after that slogan was released, others shot back with “All Lives Matter” or “Blue Lives Matter.” Even though “Black Lives Matter” did not in any way, shape, or form promote that African American lives were more important than any other life. It merely stated that their lives matter, too, and they should not have to fear being unjustly attacked by police.

There’s always something to argue about, and today it’s unfortunately still about gun control. The political topic really took off after the devastating school shooting that occured in Florida mid-February. The shooter was former student, Nikolas Cruz, and he was equipped with a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle and multiple magazines, as well. There were 17 deaths that day.

Since then, many students that survived the shooting have been coming forward with their stories and views about gun control, and action has taken place since. One of the biggest is the school walkouts that took place all over the nation on March 14, where students walk out of their classroom to protest gun violence. There is so much pride in my own heart at the fact that these kids stepped forward about such serious issues and demanded that they be listened to, but not everyone seems to share my sentiment. There are those who decide that they have a better solution.

“Walk up, not out” is one of the worst sentiments that I’ve ever heard, not only ignoring the true issue at hand, but also placing responsibility on the children to befriend someone who may make them feel uncomfortable.

The phrase basically is a means to encourage school-aged students to walk up to their peers and make friends with them. While I have no issue with basic human kindness and think that should be spread daily, there are other problems with this statement, like the fact that the potential shooter in question could be have serious issues, like anger and aggression, or being a racist and/or a sexist. You’re asking children to befriend people that could potentially put them in danger or make them feel worthless about themselves. You're victim-blaming.

A friend put it perfectly into words for me, that I would now like to share with you:

Simply being kind to someone that could very well be a sociopath will not stop them from shooting up the school if their mind is set on it. You're telling these kids that "maybe if you're nice, you won't get shot," and that's not an okay message to send.

As I said before, these kids are trying to stand up for themselves. They’re trying to make themselves, their needs, and the needs of this country heard. These walkouts, as much as some may not like them, are a necessity to this--to make their points heard, loud and clear. It’s time for change to take place, instead of more conflict.

Instead of trying to belittle these kids and silence them by twisting their idea to bring attention to an extremely relevant and serious issue by means of peaceful protest, instead of trying to make them feel uncomfortable by making them befriend someone who could be a danger, we should be supporting them in their current actions. We should show them that we do hear them and we stand by them. We should show that we care.

This is not a time for more conflict amongst ourselves. This is a time for action, and these children are trying to take that.