Thank you protesters for making my world just a little bit freer

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The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth

I saw an article about the sister of a comedian I am familiar with.  Her sister was recently arrested as she protested sexual inequality in Israel.  It really does not matter who the comedian or her sister are, nor exactly what she was protesting.  What matters is that a simple google search showed me hundreds and thousands just like her all over the world, from all walks of life, all ages, body types, religions, races, and national origins. As I looked at all the pictures something about the way I saw them changed.

When I first saw a picture of the two sisters, I thought to myself how pretty one was compared to the other.  Initially I saw the younger, thinner, longhaired sister as prettier, but then I saw a photo of the older sister during the protest and I paused for a while to look at her.  As I looked at her noticed something stunning about her, something that transformed her, and made her so much more beautiful, the same thing was true of the other women in the photos. 

I noticed that she had a sense of purpose, a sense of being part of something much larger than herself, it was almost like an aura, it just radiated from her.  To be honest for the first time in my life I envied something another woman had.  As I looked at picture after picture of women protesting I saw that same raw beauty in all of them.  It really did not matter what they actually looked like physically, it was irrelevant, regardless of if they were protesting in the nude, or covered head to foot, with only their eyes showing.

It is a beauty we should spend so much more time on and celebrate, as much as we do mere physical beauty, as this type of beauty is available to any, male or female, young or old.  It can cost nothing, or it can require from you the ultimate sacrifice.  It is a type of beauty that we are all indebted to, regardless of how far a way geographically or temporally we my live from the particular protest. 

What is remarkable about these protests is that while the women in them are ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for what they believe in, what they are asking for often is so very little.  They are asking to be able to live their lives as equals, in the manner of their choosing.  They ask to be able to vote, to participate fully in their societies as equals.  They ask to be given the same opportunities for success as others enjoy in their societies.  They ask to be free from violence, to have access to education, food, housing and economical success, They ask simply to be given a chance to work for all of it. 

They are often not just asking for themselves, but for those that have gone before them, for those that are there marching with them and for the children that have not yet been born, that one day will reap what has been sown, and will have no idea how much blood was used to fertilize that fruit.

 

I am grateful to each and every one of them for they are all fighting for each one of us to be a little freer.  A world or a society enslaved by slavery is not free, that does not treat all its citizens fairly, is not free, that favors some over others for economic success is not free.  Thus each victory by a single protest brings all of us closer to freedom.  It is true that some protests have had less than virtuous reasons, that some have resulted in less freedom for some, rather than more for all.  But I think, perhaps because I am an optimist, that the vast majority of protests through out time have made the world a better place to live for all.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and as I looked through those photographs I saw a beauty that I had been blind to for quite a while now.

Women Protests

Peaceful Protests

How many children must be killed before Americans start to care?

 Yes, how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind. 

~ Lyrics by Bob Dylan

When the tragedy at Sandy Hook happened, everyone in the US stopped and took notice.  With such a horrific crime, how could it not be the case?  It shook people from all walks of life to the core, it united us all (briefly) in deep pain.

I wish the same would happen when it is just one life that is taken in a senseless act.  The crimes that happen in middle to upper class America, those that happen to beautiful white girls, those that happen to the children of the privileged are splashed all over the news, and repeated until the images, names and situations are burned into our collective memories.  And yet these crimes are tragic, sometimes spectacular, but truth be told very rare.  But when the child is a minority, poor or male all too often their deaths, no matter how tragic, no matter how 'innocent' the child, are mourned only by their families and the communities they grew up in, this is despite the fact these crimes occur almost daily.
 
Although we can never completely eliminate random crime, until we start caring about all these deaths equally, we will never get rid of those spectacular crimes that seem to capture our collective imaginations and fears.  Because until we can start caring about the poor kids, the minority kids, even the 'not so innocent' kids, as much as we do about the kids that we can identify with, we can't start having the difficult conversations that need to be had.

We can't start talking about discrimination, poverty, gun control, the US culture of violence, or even about how special interest groups currently have control over how these conversations are approached in the media.  We can't start talking about how our inability to accept those who are different can affect children who are bullied, teased, or even just ignored.  We can't talk about how we always assume that more violence will solve problems, when history clearly shows that violence simply begets more violence.

We can't even start these conversations until we start caring enough for the children who die in random acts of violenc, even if they don't look like us, don't come from the same neighborhoods, don't dress the same way as our kids, or who scare us because they just seem so different.  We can't start these conversations until we look at each other as Americans, rather than as different types of Americans.

Below are a collection of killings of teens, it took me about 10 mins to google these stories, they are almost all recent and to me they are all tragic and depressing.  And yet my guess is most of you reading this might be familiar with one or two of these cases but have probably have never have heard about the others.

4-Year-Old Shot In The Head During Bronx Basketball Game

» by Latifah Muhammad (@TheLatifah) July 23, 2012, 14:33pm

Read more at http://hiphopwired.com/2012/07/23/4-year-old-shot-in-the-head-during-bronx-basketball-game-video/#YIoWCY5JDD6P9P5D.99

Two days after New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg called for a more concrete plan to combat gun violence in America, another youngster has lost their life in a senseless shooting. A 4-year-old boy from the Bronx was shot and killed during a basketball game at the Morrisania public housing unit Sunday (July 22) night. The child was struck by a stray bullet, and was one of three people shot during the violent eruption.
Little Lloyd Morgan, was at a playground near the basketball court at the Forest House when he was shot in the head. He was transported to Lincoln Hospital where he died.

Posted: 8:21 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013

Ellenwood teen shot and killed in Atlanta

By Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta police are investigating a shooting that left a teenager dead.

Slain teen's mom calls for justice in shooting

 ATLANTA - The search continues for the suspect who gunned down a teenager along a northwest Atlanta street Monday afternoon.  Police say 17-year-old Wilton Smith-Muirhead was shot in the head outside a convenience store.

Detectives hope to talk with witnesses to the shooting who might help them identify the killer.  Meanwhile, Muirhead's mother told FOX 5 on Tuesday that what frustrates her most about her son's senseless death is that it appears the shooting was a case of mistaken identity. 

Mom of teen killed: ‘They took a lot from me’

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 

A Gwinnett County teenager killed over his fancy basketball shoes went to the same school as the people accused of robbing and shooting him.
Two teenagers and an adult have been arrested and charged in connection with the December death of Paul Sampleton Jr., police said Friday. All three suspects went to Grayson High School, where Paul was a freshman, according to police.


 

Teen shot on the Las Vegas Strip may never walk again

Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) - A family is working to deal with the harsh reality that their son may never walk again. Jeremy Miller was shot several times in a parking garage on the Las Vegas Strip earlier this week.

Jeremy is recovering at University Medical Center. Among his most serious injuries is a bullet wound to his back that doctors say will leave him unable to walk again.

Shooting Could Leave Young Man Paralyzed

LAS VEGAS -- A young man ambushed in a parking garage elevator may be paralyzed for life.
A gunman shot 18-year-old Jeremy Miller several times near a Las Vegas Strip movie theater just after midnight Wednesday.
Miller's family said they are hoping for a miracle.
In an instant, Miller and two others came under fire. The gunman, apparently jealous over a girl, shattered lives in just seconds.
Miller has overcome challenges before, his father, Atom Miller, said.
"His mother passed away when he was 11," Atom Miller said. "He's had a diverse situation in his life, and he's always made the best with things."

Teen killed for his coat in lower East Side

Police say Raphael Ward, 16, was shot in the chest during a scuffle with a group of teens on Columbia St. at 9:10 p.m. on Friday night. The gunman remains at large.

By Thomas Tracy / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Saturday, January 5, 2013, 3:06 PM

Raphael Ward, 16, may have been shot to death for his jacket.

A teen gunned down on the lower East Side Friday night may have been killed for his coat, the Daily News has learned.
Police say Raphael Ward, 16, was shot in the chest during a scuffle with a group of teens on Columbia St. at 9:10 p.m.
“Someone was trying to take his coat, but didn’t get it,” said a police source.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/teen-killed-coat-eastside-article-1.1233796#ixzz2KQc96dmH

Police: Teen Killed In Downtown Triple Stabbing Did Attend Ravens Parade

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — As Ravens fans celebrated, violence broke out not far from the parade route. One teenager is dead and two others were injured in a triple stabbing.
Now homicide investigators are trying to track a killer.

Mike Schuh reports the teen that died was, in fact, downtown to attend the Ravens Super Bowl victory parade.
City police say they believe all the victims are around 15 or 16 years old. The stabbing happened after they had words with their attacker.

Marty Kent Funeral Fundraiser Held After California Teen Takes Bullet For Mom

Friends are raising money for the funeral of Marty Kent, 17, who died protecting his mother from being shot in Modesto, Calif.

Marty Kent, 17, paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect his mother.
On Jan. 2 the Modesto, Calif., teenager was shot and killed on his front porch after jumping in front of his mother to take a bullet headed in her direction, according to Fox 40.

Trayvon 2.0: Teen shot to death for playing loud music

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

A software engineer is in a Brevard County jail charged with murder and attempted murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old high school student Jordan Davis.
The incident occurred at a Jacksonville gas station on Southside Boulevard on Friday. Michael Dunn, who is white, told police he “felt threatened” by Davis and his friends after he complained about the loud music coming from their car. Davis is African American.
(His Killer was brought to Justice 2014)

First lady joins hundreds at Hadiya Pendleton funeral 

Tribune staff

10:29 a.m. CST, February 9, 2013

Hundreds of mourners lined up early to pay respects to slain teen Hadiya Pendleton this morning at a visitation and funeral attended by first lady Michelle Obama.
Hadiya was a majorette for King College Prep's band and performed during President Barack Obama's inauguration festivities just days before she was slain, shot in the back while hanging out with friends at a North Kenwood neighborhood park.

Even if you don't read a word of what I have written, please spend a few moments reading about these children (and the many others that I have not included here), I think they deserve at least few minutes of your time.

2 questioned in shooting of teen killed hours after sister heard Obama’s speech

BY BECKY SCHLIKERMAN Staff Reporter  bschlikerman@suntimes.com February 16, 2013 9:26PM

Janay Mcfarlane, 18,

McFarlane was shot to death hours after her little sister, Destini, 14, sat just feet away as President Barack Obama as he spoke in Chicago Friday about the violence plaguing the nation.

McFarlane, 18, was in North Chicago visiting friends and family. She was with a friend late Friday night when a bullet meant for a friend struck McFarlane, Blakely said.

McFarlane was shot once in the head around 11:30 p.m. in an alley in the 1300 block of Jackson Street in the far north suburb, Lake County Coroner Thomas Rudd said.

Chicago baby, shot with father during a diaper change, dies

By Matt Pearce s.

March 12, 2013, 11:34 a.m.

6-month-old Jonylah Watkins shot 5 times as her father changed her diaper

 

In Chicago, certain names have become synonymous with a specific type of tragedy for girls, which can be recalled with bleak and brief synopsis: Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old majorette, shot in the back after coming home from President Obama's inauguration; Janay McFarlane, 18, gunned down in North Chicago while walking with friends -- her 14-year-old sister had just heard the president give a speech about gun violence.

Now there is another name to add. Six-month-old Jonylah Watkins died at a hospital Tuesday morning after being shot while getting her diaper changed by her father, who was shot too.

 

BOB DYLAN LYRICS

"Blowin' In The Wind"

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

Yes, how many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, how many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn't see?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

Yes, how many times must a man look up
Before he can really see the sky?
Yes, how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.