Kids Shooting Kids

"My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever"

 

Chief Joseph Surrender Speech

There was yet again another very sad article in the hometown newspaper today. Although portraying an incident which happened a while ago, it was as timely as if it occurred yesterday. Another young black youth shot by another young black youth. It is an all too familiar tale of confusion, sadness and anger. The end result was two young lives changed forever, with dozens of other lives suffering collateral damage. I hope anyone who reads this article states in the strongest of all terms, "This is NOT okay with me".

Since 2001, over 100 kids have been killed in Minneapolis alone. The number of youths killed in Chicago by other youths is chilling. Cities have become war zones, and many of the victims are young.

After reading the article, I have more questions than answers. The young man who was the shooter bought a powerful handgun when he was only 14 years old. He was a kid growing up in a part of town which was in the grip of poverty and blight. When I was 14 years old, I grew up in a middle class family in the suburbs. The young shooter bought this .357 handgun along with six rounds (illegally of course) for $300. When I was 14, I did not even have $30, nor any idea of how to get it.

Both the shooter and the victim had very similar backgrounds. Both lived in Chicago, both in poverty, both being raised by a single parent, both families moving to Minneapolis to have a better life. Unfortunately, the die had already been cast - the gun was purchased by the shooter in Chicago before he left. Again, when I was a youth, my Mother knew how much money I had (not much), and what I spent it on. She knew my friends and what was in my bedroom. Trying to hide something from my Mother's prying eyes was a fool's errand at best.

Once the shooter had retrieved the gun from his "friend" in Chicago, it was not long before it was used. The irony (and there always is in a sad story such as this), is the shooter did not intend to shoot the victim. He was looking for someone else. By accident, both the 16 year old shooter and the 16 year old victim found themselves face to face. When the victim turned to walk away, the shot rang out. In broad daylight, in front of witnesses. Consequently, it only took four hours to catch the shooter. When caught and asked "why", the answer was "It was aim and shoot - just like in a video game".

This very sad tale, with a very sad ending is an example of the reality of unreality. The statement "It was just like a video game", speaks volumes. Life has become cheap, so cheap many today accept this outcome as the norm. As we have seen in Chicago, more youths die in the streets outside their homes than soldiers who die in the mountains of Afghanistan. As a society, we ALL need to believe what Chief Joseph said at his surrender - "My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever." What is happening in Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, or where ever, is not okay. No more kids killing kids. No more - no more killing forever.