A Young Life Lost and the Hidden Hypocrisy of the Unaffected

After reading an article titled “15-year-old girl dies after suffering gunshot wound” written by Audrey Moon for WREX-TV.com, I like many was wondering where were the parents.  I like many was thinking what parent would allow their 15 year old to break curfew, hang out with a 19 year old especially any time after 10 pm.  Then I was slapped by a reality, a reality that said my hypocrisy was clearly showing and that before I attempted to pass judgment on another person, I must first make sure that I was clear of this failure as well.  I found myself silently begging the parents for their forgiveness and asking my God to forgive me for attempting to declare how others should live according to my will and not his.  I then began to read some of the comments left by others about the subject and felt compelled to pen this article to say to them.  Let thee who are without sin cast the first stone.

Normally I would include some or all of the article so that those who are unaware of what happened would be informed as told by the author of the piece I am commenting on but this time, I wish to direct this full article toward those, like me, who felt the need to begin condemnation before contemplation.

I would like to first address the concern of a few who was quick to seek blame of the parents and kindly remind all of them that at the ripe old age of 15, how many of them remember sneaking out of the house to attend or hang out with people that our parents may have warned us about?  How many times within that age range did we not think we knew everything and that nothing would ever happen to us because we were smarter than those kids who got caught or killed during our era of development?  How many times did we defy our parents’ wishes and ignored those that raised us in pursuit of the wishes of those within our peer structure?  How many times did say that our parents just don’t understand and the only ones who really know and care about us was those who would insist on us doing something that we knew within our very being was wrong?

No parent can control their children unless they wish to receive legal charges by locking them away in some secret room at home or in a plastic bubble.  All any parent can do is educate their children on the potential dangers which exist within this world and trust that they will hear them and make the right decisions.

The second group of commentators, I would like to address are those who used this tragedy to point to the lack of protests surrounding her death.  Think maybe the true meaning of the protests was to show the disparity of justice where some are dealt with through the justice system while others is allowed to escape justice.  Regardless of what the media wishes you to know, the true meaning of those protests should have been to call us to attention that the justice system is not equal and that if I fire a weapon and take a life, I will be prosecuted to the extent of the law while certain people, certain sections are not.  If the protests mean anything else than this than it is not the fault of any group but the individual who allows themselves to be trapped in pushing another’s agenda instead of their own.

Bottom line, another young life is gone and if God is willing, that young soul will return to us one day but those who commit such a crime against others and their communities soul may never be seen again.  This is the tragedy people and nothing else matters.