Recognizing Wyn Thomas

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHNEIDER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of an outstanding high school student in my district: Wyn Thomas, a senior at Stevenson High School, Wyn was one of eight student winners nationwide selected in the #Enough: Plays to End Gun Violence Competition for her outstanding play, Write Their Wrongs.

I had the honor of sitting down with Wyn to discuss her play and the importance of ending our nation's gun violence epidemic. When I first read Wyn's play, I was incredibly moved at how she captured the frustration and devastation that we all feel about school shootings.

I am grateful for students like Wyn who will continue to advocate that we address our Nation's devastating gun violence epidemic. Congratulations to Wyn on this incredible honor.

I include in the Record the text of Wyn's play: Write Their Wrongs (Wyn Thomas)

Location: A high school classroom after school, where the Writer's Club used to meet before there was a shooting in the school. Maya was locked down in this room during the shooting.

(Maya sits at a table anxiously. She has notebooks and a laptop set up. Jimmy, with his arm in a sling, and Emily enter.)

Maya: You're late.

Emily: Well, we got here before Lydia.

Maya: Did you hear from her? Is she coming? Jimmy: Why would she?

Maya (pulling out chairs for them)

Because she can take . . . everything that happened to us, and do something with it. We can write something that makes a difference in the world.

Jimmy: Yeah, we already heard your soapbox speech over the phone. Emily: I don't know if this is up Lydia's alley.

Maya: Why wouldn't it be? She's in the writer's club, isn't she? (They sit.)

Maya: So, how are you guys?

Emily: I'm fine.

Jimmy (sarcastic, bitter)

Never been better.

Emily: Jimmy.

Jimmy: What? (To Maya) Did you want the real answer?

Maya: Yeah, I do. That's how we're going to write something meaningful.

Emily: That's how we're actually going to make a change.

Jimmy: Fine . . . um . . . (vulnerable) The surgery was hard. Recoyery is harder, because I can't really move, which means I can't go to the places I love. Like your mom's house.

Maya: Jimmy, this is serious. Do you have any actual ideas?

Jimmy: No.

Emily (under her breath): Tyler always had ideas.

Jimmy: Well Tyler's not gonna show up, now is he?

(Awkward silence.)

Emily (breaking the tension): Are we writing an essay?

Maya: Maybe a play? Or a poem?

Emily: You think Republican senators can understand poetry?

Maya: True, but we have to write something, so . . . let's start with an idea. We never thought it would happen here, but then it did. Shock people out of ignorance.

Emily: The thing is, I didn't think it could never happen here. I did the walk out in eighth grade and went to protests starting freshman year because I knew it could.

Maya: But, like, you were surprised when it actually happened.

Emily: Yeah, but . . . (referring to herself and Jimmy) we're walking down the hall, and we hear it and-- . . . (She breaks off.)

Maya: Then what happened? What did you see?

Emily: He-- . . . (She can't find the words.)

Maya: He what?

(Emily pushes away the memory.)

Emily: I just thought ``today's the day.'' Like it was inevitable. Which it practically is with current laws.

(Lydia enters slowly, but the others haven't noticed yet.)

Jimmy: And I just thought . . . Thank God I don't have to take that math test. And I stand by that.

Emily (ignoring him): Let's drop the ``it can't happen here'' and dig into policy, because it did happen here and it can happen anywhere else in this country.

Maya: Ok, but . . . we still don't have a story.

Emily: We could use me and Jimmy's experience, and use Tyler.

Lydia (quiet): What about my brother?

(They turn and see her.)

Emily (surprised): You came.

(Beat.)

Jimmy: Does that mean that you're less broken or more broken than we thought?

Maya: Jimmy.

Lydia (unphased): You said you're using my brother?

Maya: That came out wrong. She didn't mean use him, she meant use his story . . . for the piece.

Lydia (unreadable): Huh.

(She sits down, and fidgets with the zipper on her jacket. The others look at her, then at each other.)

Maya (hesitant): Do you have any ideas, Lydia?

(Lydia doesn't say anything).

Okay.

Emily (to Maya, breaking silence): I don't think an essay is enough to get people to listen. People write essays on gun violence every day, and look where we are.

Maya: But ours is gonna be different.

Emily: What about a song?'That would be different.

Maya: The medium isn't what's gonna set us apart, it's the fact that our story will be real. We have the power to write something real, because we're the ones that actually went through it. (Slight beat.)

Are you sure you're okay, Lydia?

Lydia: You never asked if I was okay.

Maya: Are you?

(Lydia doesn't answer. She keeps playing with her zipper.)

Jimmy: Let's go back to the poem idea. Uhhh, let's see . . . Roses are red, I was almost dead, I may have been shot, but I'm still good in--

Maya (interrupting): Jimmy!

Jimmy: What?

Maya: Stop making a joke out of this. Jimmy: What else do you want me to do? Maya: Be real.

Jimmy: This is real. You want to join hands and sing kumbaya and cry? Fine, but count me out. Also, you've got a stupid cliche story.

Maya: That's not funny.

Jimmy: Did it sound like I was trying to be funny?

Maya: Well--

Jimmy (mocking): Everyone copes in different ways, Maya.

Emily: How about we just make sure this never happens again? So nobody else has to cope with this kind of thing ever again.

Maya: Exactly. Maybe . . . Ok, wait, remember that musical we saw that once? About the kids in the school shooting?

Emily: Yeah, it was horrible.

Maya: Well, maybe it was horrible because it wasn't written by people who knew what they were talking about. We know what we're talking about.

Emily: No, it was horrible because it focused on the shooter.

Maya: Well, that was a unique take. It was trying to get a different perspective, but--

Emily: No it wasn't, every article and new story and tweet and church has the thoughts and prayers and ``forgive the shooter'' bulls--- It's ridiculous, in real life, nobody forgives the shooter, they--

Lydia (looking up): I forgive him.

Maya: What?

Jimmy (surprised): She speaks.

Emily: What do you mean you forgive the shooter?

Lydia: I mean I forgive him.

Jimmy: Because of your Christian guilt s---

Emily: No, because it's easier than actually making change. Lydia: You think it's easy?

Emily: It means you get to just be okay with everything that happened. You don't have to do anything about it.

Maya: Write that--

Emily (talking over her): You can go ahead and be okay with it, but I'm not going to. Lydia (soft): You think I'm okay with my brother being dead?

Emily: That's--that's not what I said.

Lydia: It's what you meant.

Emily: Lydia--

Lydia: I didn't forgive . . . Jack because it's easy, I did it because . . . it feels really good.

Jimmy: Huh?

Lydia: Like I couldn't stop him, but I canbe better than him.

Emily: That won't stop it from happening again.

Lydia: Well, what will? Talking about how kids were shot and killed? Everybody talks about the school shootings every time. We did before we were the kids. Do you know how many people died in Parkland?

Emily: I don't know, like--

Lydia: 17. Nothing changed when 17 people died in Parkland, so why would it when only 3 kids die here? It doesn't really matter, does it?

Emily: We have to keep trying. We put enough pressure on Congress, and they have to make a change.

Lydia: Do you guys read the articles? The ones about us? (Beat.) You shouldn't. Maya: I read them.

Lydia: Did you see the one where they mentioned Tyler had just gotten back from a suspension?

(Slight beat.)

Maya (soft): What?

Lydia: It wasn't a big news outlet. You couldn't cite it in English class. But it was there. (Beat.) Maybe if they can see I'm good, if I'm so f---ing good I can forgive the man that killed my brother, I'll be worth listening to. Because they don't care about Tyler because he got suspended. If I'm just a good enough person, they'll want to save me, right? (Beat.) Right?

Jimmy (quiet): Were the first graders at Sandy Hook not good enough people?

Maya: That's not funny, Jimmy.

Jimmy (genuine): It wasn't a joke.

(Beat.)

Lydia: He's right. They aren't going to listen. So I forgive Jack--

Emily (interrupting): Don't say his name!

Jimmy: You sat next to him in freshman chemistry, you know his name.

Emily: Don't give him the notoriety!

Jimmy: Do you think not saying his name is going to make any of us forget what he did?

Emily: He doesn't deserve the recognition!

Jimmy (referencing his arm): Since when did all of this become about what anyone deserves?

Lydia: Exactly. I don't forgive Jack because he deserves it, I forgive him because it's really really hard, so it feels really good to do it. Being angry isn't going to do anything but hurt me.

Maya: Write that down.

Lydia: No.

Maya: What do you mean? We finally have something!

Jimmy: Maya, chill the f--- out.

Emily: Stop being a d--- Jimmy! She's actually trying to do something here!

Jimmy: Yeah, and it's annoying!

Emily: Because you haven't done anything?

Jimmy: I did something, I became your martyr, you're f--- ing welcome.

Emily: You're not dead! What are you doing to help the people that are?

Lydia: Writing isn't going to bring them back.

Maya: It might not, but I--

Lydia: You can take two seconds to grieve.

Maya: But nothing happened to me! I'm totally fine! (to Jimmy) You got shot, and (to Emily) and you saw it all happen, (to Lydia) and you--Tyler. So you're all survivors, and I'm just someone who hid in that f---ing corner, so I have to do something! I have to write something!

Lydia: No you don't.

Maya: But--

Lydia: It's not going to undo anything.

Emily (to Lydia): No, Maya's right. If we tell our story to politicians, or voters, or foundations, they have to listen. They're going to listen.

Lydia: Do you actually think you can talk about what happened, Emily? Have you even let yourself remember it? (Beat. She hasn't.)

Maya: But everything happens for a reason. Maybe our reason is so we can get something done.

Lydia: Maya--

Maya (before she can object): Isn't that what the church says about it, Lydia?

Jimmy: That's stupid. I'm not good enough of a person to be God's vessel for getting s--- done. It didn't happen so we could do something. It happened because nobody did anything to stop it.

(Beat.)

Lydia: Yeah.

Maya: That doesn't matter anymore. What matters is what we do next.

Lydia: We don't owe the world that. They owed us safety. They owed Tyler safety.

Maya: We can't--I can't just do nothing.

Lydia: Nothing's okay.

Maya: But--

(She trails off. Beat.)

Lydia (gentle): You can put the pencil down, Maya. (Maya holds onto the pencil for dear life.)

(End of Play).

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