So I'm sure by now many of you have heard, read about, or saw the video of the death of Derrion Albert. I just want to begin by saying do not point fingers at any person this act of violence is a true depiction of what we ourselves pride ourselves on being nowadays, "The Baddest" and in sooo many ways we are right.
We have the worst drop out rates than ever before.
We have the worst unemployment rates in a VERY LONG TIME.
We have the most profane language and provocative things being shown on our TV sets.
We listen to the most degrading music, and we do the worst kinds of immoral acts to one another.
In all these things, I too am guilty, and this young mans death has truly opened my eyes to realize such.
For those of you who attack the "Attackers", STOP yourself. Think about the amount of times you've jumped in a fight for your family member or best friend. You too could have killed someone without knowing. So at the simplest viewpoint we can say the "Attackers" initially were "helping" their "friends". Although we may not see it as so, these young men feel empowered that they were able to do something to someone else and gain recognition, fame, or respect from it. It has nothing to do with rap music and videos, because there are movies and books and even fairytales that teach you to do the same thing. When we go to war we are teaching our kids that in standing for you country you will gain great honor. Well this is the same basis those boys were running of off. They were fighting for THEIR country, their unit, their "family" they were defending whatever they felt were there's whether they admit it or not. At the same token if it was a gang initiation then they were doing what they "had to" to gain their position.
Now before we attack the parents or the community, STOP again. That's the main reason these kids go out and do this crazy stuff because we're constantly attacking so they attack back. There are so many more enforcers of violence than there are of peace, note I did not say of nonviolence, I said of peace. Because nonviolence can simply mean not doing anything violent but still being aggressive about a situation. Being peaceful is to put the issue to rest PEACEFULLY without hate, anger, or any type of negativity. The parents of those children I'm sure did not all expect their kids to be out killing other people's children. For some parents there is no saving of your child. Some children just don’t want to be saved they want to live the life that is most appeasing to them. Some of the greatest serial killers {I say greatest because they accomplished their goals} were simply reenacting what they read in BOOKS!!! So are we to erase the libraries and texts from the communities too? Take away the very thing that is "supposed" to bring us knowledge? So I guess we can't criticize media or the environment we surround ourselves in. So who you ask is who I think is to blame?
US!!! Not the U.S. but US me, you, and every other person who has the power to help and don't. When you know there is something you can do whether it be offer a shoulder or ear, or just to listen sometimes to someones' needs. You could have helped, I could have helped. We all have the power to help these children no child is bron a killer they become one, they are miseducated, misunderstood, and misinterpreted. Instead of listened to, helped, talked to, and loved, AND SUPPORTED!! We lack so much support in our communities nowadays. The kids striving and trying aren't getting any support because they are told they should be better than what they are happy with. Yes you should never SETTLE for less than what you deserve but if you are "content" with what you have then happiness and settlement is only a figment of what society wants. It is not what you yourself enjoy, or find peace in. The happiest people in life are those who enjoy it. As a whole not the bits and pieces but the entire life that they live is enjoyable. And those people do exist.
I truly wrote this blog to ask that we not ridicule those who are not "in their right minds". Those boys need help, healing, and humbling, and by that I mean they need to be taught why and to be understood, to be able to come to terms with what they've down not for the glory but for the remorse, and to make a change. No one has the right to tell anyone else to change because no one is perfect but we do have the means to help someone who needs it. By simply giving your ear and your time to kids like Derrion and his attackers you become THEN and only THEN part of the solution. There are always 2 sides to a story, to listen to both sides is when you will find the true outcome.
Derrion your life was not in vain sweetheart, and although you may have thought it cut short, know that God is always on time. You have lived a beautiful life, I'm sure, and you were a vessel to those who needed you. Be not afraid that you will not be missed or grieved, because even those of us who never knew you, know you now more than ever before. And you truly deserve all the praise that you are receiving. Even the hatred in itself is a form of praise.
To the boys who were a part of this horrendous act, I wish you all well-being, and better understanding of what you've done. I hope you all get to know who you are, and realize that your life too has been taken away. I can only hope now the thought of "Riding or Dying" for someone will not be something you would like to be a part of. In the act of "riding or dying" you've killed an innocent young man, whether he was innocent to you or not, he did no harm worth dying for. And now your life too has vanished, the opportunities you all could have had have been washed away with his blood, only to stain your lifespan with horrible memories of this crime.
C.Siobbhan