Is This How It Ends?

13 year old shot in the head, another 16 year old beaten to death, even worse a group of young ladies around the ages of 19 to 21, the largest of which 5’7” 120 lbs robbed for a devilish hat and a 2-liter if Mountain Dew. I must ask what the hell is going on?
    We live in a world where you can go to a major wholesaler and buy babies diapers and a shotgun if needed. Our country has been in conflict with other countries as far as our history books date back, but yet that does not seem to be the biggest issue. I come from a family where it was insane to think you would even get to play with toy guns, knives, or swords, and if you thought you were going to play a video game with any of that nonsense in it you had another thing coming. My grandmother always spoke about the importance of loving my brothers, and everyone in the world is a brother or sister of mine so there is no reason to play that way. Point being, our people have no idea how to love themselves, let alone someone else. I have never seen a person die, but I have attended many funerals. I have never killed anyone with my own hands, but I have intensely hated someone so I myself spiritually murdered that person. Am I claiming that we are to live in a world that is covered with bright flowers and everyone just go around smiling and galloping through the daisies together, by all means no but if it would cure the hatred of one another then by all means.
    I read an article by rapper Nas aka Nasir Jones, called “An Open Letter to the Young Warriors of Chicago”. He speaks about the commonalities of growing up in a poverty stricken area among many other daily hardships and feeling as though there was something that must be proven. He says, “I know that frustration with life and needing to take it out on someone, anyone, but we choose the dumbest things to go the hardest for. I remember seeing deaths over 8-ball jackets, Fila sneakers, and even name plate chains. Deaths over he say, she say, I’m from this block or I’m from that block, or my mom and pop are ‘messed up’, so now the whole world gotta pay. I remember feeling like the hardest [man] breathing, and I couldn’t wait to prove it, but lets think what are we proving, and to who?” Now the only commonality I have with these individuals is that I come from a lower-income household and many times I felt I had something to prove. Although, mainly as an African-American male, many of us feel that same way. Now truth be told, not only Af-Am men feel this inferiority to others in certain places, but point being the result is hardly the same in our own homes or neighborhoods. Lets face it, more black men and in many cases latinos are attracted to this sort of behavior, but why? I was taught that in order to come against something you must attack it. But how do you attack something that tends to attack everything that seems to come in its path whether involved or not? Simply put, you love and uplift! I have seen more people change with simple loving than I can put into words. Many of these men were not raised by their fathers but rather by men who also themselves were not raised by men. Many of these individuals were either raised by women who had to try their best to be mommy and daddy, or really didn’t do much of a job being mommy alone. If you took a poll of the people who are the culprits to crimes such as these, you would probably find that they are extremely depressed, dealing with intense anxiety issues, have been neglected in more ways than one, and are crying out for attention. Many were probably beaten themselves as children, and honestly whatever it is probably dated back to when they were very young. Prior to that, if anyone is able to speak on it, they were probably really good kids.
    So am I saying that is it not right to deal with people who commit these crimes, no not at all. If a person kills another person, he should suffer the consequences of his actions. But I am a man of solutions, and frankly just continuing to put these men in jail is clearly not going to cut it but probably make matters much worse. We the people should stop being the victims and start standing up not only for ourselves but for our fellow, misguided brothers. Take note of the people on the corner huddled together looking for something to be apart of. Better yet, just start with one. The power of one is more significant than we can even imagine. We ourselves must believe that we have the power to change the world and in the end we will. We should inform our fellow man that the real war is one that we are all apart of and we can all be apart of the winning army if we fight together. We should be going into business to create jobs, because it is not a guarantee that there will be one tomorrow. We should be informing each other of the power that can be displayed if we only come together. Is this how the war ends? We know that many lives will be lost, possibly our own. The revolution will most certainly not be televised, but I can assure you that if you have God on your side, then victory is already yours!

Peace, Love, and Continual Blessings to YOU My Brothers and Sisters!