CAN WE LIVE…PLEASE??
It is Saturday January 9th, 2010 and as I prepare to participate in this event, I think to myself how many more of these will I attend? I should be excited because this is an opportunity for me to see all my loved ones and friends I haven’t seen in a long time. We never get to hang out anymore. But there is no happiness today.
This is a home going celebration of one of my lil homies and I’m the DJ. A crew accompanies me with no equipment in hand as we witness the double funeral of Donte Pearson and Don Hamilton who were struck by suspects fleeing police. In the distance, some neighborhoods away, another family prepares for a similar fellowship in memory of Shanica Adkins, a 21-year-old senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who shared the same cause of death.
Police pursuit deaths are on the rise in my city as Melinda Moore was struck yesterday morning when she stepped into the street in the 2700 block of N. 20th St. According to Police Chief Edward Flynn, officers pulled over a van they believed to be stolen. The van took off and eventually struck Moore. The van later was located and three people were arrested, but the driver was still at large, Flynn said.
They’ve been singing that same “If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime” song forever but as corny as it sounds, the lyrics are true. A crime like this is unfair and as wreckless as texting while driving. As unfortunate of an incident this is, there aren’t too many ways to prevent them. We must make smarter decisions about life and consider those that are effected by our actions.
My prayers go out to the families of them all. But what’s even sadder about this is these are four people that hadn’t even really had the chance to live life to its fullest and they died over something they didn’t have anything to do with. All four victims were between the ages of 20-23 and they all occurred within the last two months. The individuals responsible are either twice the victims age, which is a shame or the same age and that’s an even more negative aspect to consider.
We can’t keep playing with life, CAN I LIVE??? CAN WE LIVE…PLEASE???
