Sleeping Baby Shot Dead In His Car Seat—How Did We Get Here?!?!
by Aiyana Ma’at As I sit here and type these words I struggle to hold back the tears so that I can see the computer screen. I cannot describe the hurt, pain, anger, and disgust that I feel in my heart right now. 20 month old Rashad Walker Jr. was killed while sleeping in his car seat in the back seat of his mother’s minivan this past Sunday, November 28, 2010 at 4:30pm. He was shot with up to 10 bullets. Witnesses say the target was the child’s 19 year old father. Why? Why? This innocent baby didn’t do anything. He didn’t deserve this. This is crazy! As a mother of 4 young children my heart hurts as I imagine what this mother must be going through. One minute all is well and the next minute your child is snatched from you. Only God can truly heal the hole that has been left in this family’s heart….only God.
I am outraged! And, what really gets me heated is that I don’t have to listen to the news or read any article to know that this senseless murder was caused by some foolish folks in the community who, more often than not, look like me—a young black person who’s more than misguided & doesn’t realize that he (or she) is killing himself. The reality is that we’ve got to save our children—victims and perpetrators alike. I shudder to think about something like this happening to one of my children. I would LOSE MY MIND and the phrase “an eye for an eye” would take on brand new meaning. I need a word today ya’ll cause’ I’m mad as hell. Here’s an excerpt from an article that Dr. Boyce Watkins, a regular contributor on Black Voices.com, wrote about this horrible tragedy:
Excerpt From Black Voices.com
The story of Rashad Walker is clearly one of the most tragic incidents we’ve read about all year. It takes us back to the police shooting of Aiyana Jones, the 7-year old in Detroit who was shot while sleeping during a police raid. This story is also personal to me because I live in Syracuse, a city that (like so many others) continues to be plagued by gun violence.
Events like this emphasize the importance of community policing and helping officers to apprehend those who are responsible for creating this kind of pain in our communities. Also, these incidents tell us that we’ve got to do something to slow down the gun violence in America’s cities. The weapons that are killing our children should be taken off the streets.
Another thing about Syracuse, as well as many other urban areas around the nation, is that the educational system is plagued with significant inadequacies. There are not enough activities to keep young people off the streets, and there are few, if any, jobs available for inner-city youth. Such dire conditions breed the kind of hopelessness which leads to violent incidents like this one.
The criminal justice system serves to make matters worse by showing an insatiable willingness to abuse and incarcerate defendants rather than rehabilitate them. By removing so many Fathers from the inner city, we have children who grow up to become either victims or perpetrators of violent crime. This cycle has got to stop.
B Intentional Family, What can we do to lift our communities out of this senseless space of self-destruction? Everyone (including me and you) is accountable.
CLICK HERE for more details on this tragic story.
Wow. I have no words. This hurts my heart. I just had to stop and pray.
This kind of senseless violence makes me sick. But what makes me sicker is reading articles like the one from Black Voices. There is NO excuse for viciously murdering an innocent child. NO bad momma, NO bad daddy, No bad schools, NO bad teachers, NO bad prison, could justify this craziness. Unfortunately the person who did this has a circle of folks who allow them to act in this fashion. Someone in his circle needs to realize that this "person" needs to be turned in to the bad justice system. Our folks have got to JUST SAY NO to cruelty & bad behavior. Anyone who can do this is dangerous to everyone around them. Get real people. No one is going to save us, but us.
Can we stop it, uhmmm yes if we as a nation cared deep enough. Is it to late, well ask 50 people to walk with you and clean up the roads 50 miles from where you stand and you tell me the answers.
However at the same time there is something that we can do. We can reach kids that are around us. A next door neighbor child m suggest something fun, Support groups,, they are filled with broken spirits of children.
The political arm speaks to the world, no we need to speak for ourselves. They have other things that's in teir favor mean while we common people have to make a difference around us.
I will never ever for get this line from Bush, "No child left behind" bullcrap what does this mean. Our kids are all wondering around in America praising rich basketball palyers, Rap Artist. Movie stars. People wanting to hook up with Usher just because they heard he can screw.
Young men and women now walking around with their underwear showing their ass crack come one, sorry for my lingo here. Turn on your TV. Go do a survey on 20 maybe 60 kids. Ask them a series of complex but simple questions. I bet you get something that will blow your mind from all of them.
Hey I know this sound dumb, but in my opinion "This is how we got here".
Again! place mentally ill persons, that seems normal. may be cute has swagger even blue green eyes with silky long hair in the mix of all of this.
Peace! But there's Hope in all of us if we as a nation care hard enough about change.