Wouldn't it be nice if we could simply add something to the water in Atlanta, so black youth would stop killing each other at parties?
Call it happy juice, peace serum or whatever you want. But added to the water, it would somehow help black teens understand that their is something sick, something subhuman, something that defies all logic in their willingness to take each other's lives with no more thought than the average person has toward swatting a pesky fly.
It won't happen, I know, but it is sad that my imaginary solution is as practical as anything else I have heard proposed by our leaders to address youth black-on-black violence, which erupted yet again in Atlanta this weekend.
Dequavious Stephon Mapp (pictured), 18, died and two other teens were seriously wounded by gunfire that erupted at a party in Conyers, Ga., outside Atlanta. Two suspects, Tevin Williams and James Edwards are being held without bond.
Mapp's mother has now lost two sons to gun violence.
The shooting comes on the heels of last week's fatal attack on Atlanta-area youthBobby Tillman, who was punched, kicked and stomped to death in a random attack outside a party in Douglasville.
Emmanuel Benjamin Boykins, 18; Horace Damon Coleman, 19; Quantez Devonta Mallory, 18; and Tracen Lamar Franklin, 19, have been charged in the Tillman attack and have offered conflicting reports of who delivered the killing blows.
And to make matters worse, the four were observed by dozens of party-goers beating Tillman so brutally in the unprovoked attack that his heart was ruptured.
Authorities in Atlanta are saying they will begin to restrict youth from having large parties, where a good time often leads to violence. That might be a good stop-gap measure to reduce the violence in the short-term but think about it for a second. Isn't that like putting a band-aid on a cancerous growth?
How sad is it that our children can't be trusted to socialize with each other in large numbers? What does it say about the next generation?
12-Nov-10 - Devante Swing, a former heartthrob and member of the R&B group Jodeci, was arrested last weekend for drunken behavior at a Burbank, Calif., Subway restaurant.
12-Nov-10 - Devante Swing, a former heartthrob and member of the R&B group Jodeci, was arrested last weekend for drunken behavior at a Burbank, Calif., Subway restaurant.
11-Nov-10 - Nicole Richie sent her legal team to an L.A. court to take out a restraining order against a paparazzo who has been stalking her daughter at the preschool she attends.
04-Nov-10 - Lil Wayne, who has been behind bars for eight months for attempted criminal possession of a weapon, was released early this morning from New York City's famed Riker's Island prison.
04-Nov-10 - Aimee Michael caused a massive car accident in Atlanta, a chain reaction that caused the deaths of five people, including a newborn baby, a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old. She now faces 36 years in prison.
I may get a lot of angry replies for this one but parents please stop giving your kids these ridiculous names. I can't help but think that sometimes this predetermines their behavior/lifestyle.
What in the world does someone's name have to do with getting killed at a party?!? How about parents teaching their kids right from wrong, and making sure a parent is in the house when these parties are going on?!
That comment was ignorant & unintelligent. What does somebody's name got to do with somebody being killed at a party We are products of the environment in which America has played a major role in creating & now is facing itself in the mirror America eats it's Young
i was thinking the same thing.. i'm like are they girls or boys..
but back to the topic @ hand.. how bout they should make it mandatory for their to be security @ these parties and the parents should be responsible for paying for it... it's obvious these heathens don't know how to act when they get together..
It's dumb a$$ parents' fault for birthing kids in stupid environments.
I brought this to my mom's attention and guess what her a$$ isn't raising my brothers in that mess anymore.
It's not hard to choose not have kids if you're in a dumb a$$ enviroment and to ground yourself somewhere safe.
It's not hard to get an inexpensive residence somewhere safe and to send your kids to safer schools unless you're addicted to the gross energy of the hood that's you dont get mad when you're burying your kids.
This dummy DONT FRONT SHE'S DUMB didnt even use her head after her first sons death.
NO FU-CK you alls comments. They sound smart at first glance, but if she's not putting thought into the connotation (the way a word makes you feel, like the difference between fat stocky plump) of the name that she is CHOOSing, then
GOES TO SHOW HOW FAR SHE CAREs to THINK!!
She doesnt think things over which is the effect of how she is raising children in a dangerous atmosphere which is the effect of their deaths, NOT ONE BUT TWO, remember she didnt even THINK to make a change after the first one!!
lack of forethought early detected in her son's name that's all this lady up here is saying and I see what Rachel means!!!
I'm glad that you said it Rachel you might encourage a few to THINK.
What do you think the first thing a potential employer would think looking at such a name? Doctorate in ebonics. I agree with Rachel. It shouldn't be about names but we've been on this earth long enough to know that discrimination takes on many forms.
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Comments: (54)
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By: Rachel on 11/16/2010 11:32AM
I may get a lot of angry replies for this one but parents please stop giving your kids these ridiculous names. I can't help but think that sometimes this predetermines their behavior/lifestyle.
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By: K Mac on 11/16/2010 4:41PM
What in the world does someone's name have to do with getting killed at a party?!? How about parents teaching their kids right from wrong, and making sure a parent is in the house when these parties are going on?!
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By: DROPPNBOMBZ on 11/16/2010 1:42PM
That comment was ignorant & unintelligent.
What does somebody's name got to do with somebody being killed at a party
We are products of the environment in which America has played a major role in creating & now is facing itself in the mirror
America eats it's Young
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By: oknow on 11/16/2010 3:44PM
i was thinking the same thing.. i'm like are they girls or boys..
but back to the topic @ hand.. how bout they should make it mandatory for their to be security @ these parties and the parents should be responsible for paying for it... it's obvious these heathens don't know how to act when they get together..
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By: blackbear72 on 11/16/2010 7:21PM
You are right Rachel, I'll go one step further....no human being would name their child Dequavious!
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By: COAST COOKER on 11/17/2010 9:55AM
I AGREE WITH YOU...
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By: -ncb on 11/17/2010 2:29PM
I absolutely agree.
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By: DollBaby1o1 on 11/17/2010 1:01PM
It's dumb a$$ parents' fault for birthing kids in stupid environments.
I brought this to my mom's attention and guess what her a$$ isn't raising my brothers in that mess anymore.
It's not hard to choose not have kids if you're in a dumb a$$ enviroment and to ground yourself somewhere safe.
It's not hard to get an inexpensive residence somewhere safe and to send your kids to safer schools unless you're addicted to the gross energy of the hood that's you dont get mad when you're burying your kids.
This dummy DONT FRONT SHE'S DUMB didnt even use her head after her first sons death.
Report This
By: DollBaby1o1 on 11/17/2010 1:01PM
NO FU-CK you alls comments. They sound smart at first glance, but if she's not putting thought into the connotation (the way a word makes you feel, like the difference between fat stocky plump) of the name that she is CHOOSing, then
GOES TO SHOW HOW FAR SHE CAREs to THINK!!
She doesnt think things over which is the effect of how she is raising children in a dangerous atmosphere which is the effect of their deaths, NOT ONE BUT TWO, remember she didnt even THINK to make a change after the first one!!
lack of forethought early detected in her son's name that's all this lady up here is saying and I see what Rachel means!!!
I'm glad that you said it Rachel you might encourage a few to THINK.
Report This
By: KitC on 11/17/2010 12:29PM
What do you think the first thing a potential employer would think looking at such a name? Doctorate in ebonics. I agree with Rachel. It shouldn't be about names but we've been on this earth long enough to know that discrimination takes on many forms.
Report This