Sometime last year Djuan Boyd was shot by an unknown assailant. Given Djuan's line of work that was to be expected. According to police reports Djuan Boyd has an extensive criminal record, and he actually served time for a drug arrest in 2004. As the story goes, Djuan became paranoid and started packing a cannon everywhere he went.
Fast forward to 2007, and the tragic death of Mr. Boyd's four year old son in his Grandmother's Southwest Philly home. Sadly, Mr. Boyd chose to play cards with his friends, while his four year old son, Dyshon, was left unattended. Mr. Boyd had a loaded 9 mm Glock in his coat pocket and casually hung it in an upstairs bedroom. Left unattended, little Dyshon found the gun, and, well, you can imagine what happened next. The poor kid shot himself in the throat and later died at Children's Hospital.
To add insult to injury, or I should say death. Mr. Boyd chose to throw the gun out the window and hide the magazine. (it's still missing) Fortunately the authorities found the gun and charged Mr. Boyd with involuntary manslaughter and some lessor charges.
This is the kind of environment we are creating for our children. This is the world we are giving them to live in. I have said this before, but it's worth repeating: If people are going to be just sperm donors and not real parents, what's the point in having children in the first place? If you can play cards and party with your friends while you know you have a loaded Glock and a four year old in your house, you might as well pull the trigger yourself.
Reading this story and the one about Alexis Goggins, almost brought tears to my eyes. And believe me, given the shit that I have seen, and continue to see on a daily basis, that's not easy to do.
"Nahairah Jaamar, little Dyshon's cousin, had this to say about Mr. Boyd: " [he was] a great father" to Dyshon. "Everywhere you saw Dyshon, his father wasn't far behind.
He gave Dyshon the world."
Sorry Nahairah, he took his world from him way too soon.
When a bunch of white men were writing the US Constitution, they subsequently wrote an Amendment that gave all (white male) Americans the right to keep and bear arms. That enormous error was the beginning of the 380 gun deaths you see this year in Killadelphia.
ReplyDeleteThere isn't a single other country in the world in which the consitution gives people the right to buy and carry any guns they want, regardless of the number. That's why the US has more gun deaths than most any other country in the world.
So let me as you a question: We now have a gun for every many woman and child in America. When we have ten guns for every person in the US, will the gun death rate go up or will it stay the same. If you are among those who believes that more guns equals more gun deaths, do you think anything should be done about that?
If the Constitution had given every American the right to keep tarantulas and dis so, then there would be more tarantula bites. If we all had the right to keep rattle snakes and did so, then there would be more rattle snake bites. It's not rocket science.
where i'm from, its against the law to own a gun. i'm glad such regulation is instilled. from what i been reading lately, gun don't seem to safeguard your family but bring more harm than good.
ReplyDeleteI gave to Goggins' fund on Black Planet. That case made me sick to my stomach and is a reason why this radical believes in 'hood justice.
ReplyDeleteIf the myth that prison justice is not a myth,then Goggins' shooter is going to get his.
"Shortly after midnight Dec. 2, Alexis and her mother climbed into a friend's vehicle to go to a late-night birthday get-together."
ReplyDeletefield, i feel for this girl. i have thought about this thing pretty hard since i heard about it, and i have troubling coming up with anything close to sympathy for this mother. taking a learning-disabled 7 year old child to a party AFTER MIDNIGHT? c'mon. along with keeping handguns in your jacket hanging upstairs where your 4 year old is, while playing cards and partying with your buddies downstairs, this mother needs to be made accountable for some of this shit. of course she and her daughter are victims here, but what kind of parent takes a 7 year old to an after midnight party? and i hate to do this, but we all know what kinda shit was likely going on at that party. brotherkomrade, i think it's really honorable that you gave some dollars to the detroit kids' fund, but i can say for sure that i won't be doing the same.
"Shortly after midnight Dec. 2, Alexis and her mother climbed into a friend's vehicle to go to a late-night birthday get-together."
ReplyDeleteWhere do I start? I guess there are sperm donors and fetus carriers.
WTF?
Sometimes I honestly want to agree with brotherkomrade about street justice. But as an officer of the court, I just can't go that route.
shy giraffe, where do you live?
I bet they have less violent crime there.
"If the Constitution had given every American the right to keep tarantulas and dis so, then there would be more tarantula bites"
Well said Francis!
Anyone can get a gun in Murika.
ReplyDeleteLegally or illegally. If you have a criminal record or you are criminally insane, open the want ads of the newspaper or go to a gun show. Shit, even WalMart sells rifles.
Why do we need so many God damned guns? Guns are meant for one thing: to kill. You can't eat a gun, or fuck someone with a gun, or ride a gun to work.
The only purpose of a gun is to kill and with 300 million (FBI estimates) guns in Murika, that's a lot of killing.
12 19 07
ReplyDeleteWhat a heartbreaking story FN. I was coming by to ask you to weigh in on my current post too. Wah!
On another note Happy Holidays to you and yours!
Yeah, but in A-merry-ca, everyone wants to scream about their 2nd Amendment rights when talking about gun control. ::rolls eyes & neck roll::
ReplyDeleteEspecially when you get in their face about children being killed because some jackass was exercising his constitutional right to bear arms when he keeps a loaded Glock 9mm in their home where the child can get it.
My mother told me when I was two years old, I stumbled upon the .38 pistol my dad kept in the house for protection. One day, she walked into the room and found me with the gun with the barrel pointed in the wrong direction. Calmly coaxing, she got the gun away from me, and yeah, it was loaded.
She damned near divorced my father behind that stunt. He started keeping the gun where he could get to it in a hurry, but locked up away from curious eyes (me).
And that was before gun control advocates came on the scene.
My father wasn't a sperm donor. He did what he needed to do to make the house safe for me and my brothers (they were much older, but I was a toddler at the time).
I have no memory of this, but my mom had no reason to lie about it, so it's a true story.
I'm here today because of a near accident that taught my parents a lesson in child-proofing the house, but an old-fashioned ass-whipping for going near electrical sockets and whatnot made me a less curious child, too.
Dyshon's father was a sperm donor. He knew he had his child in the house and even if he wasn't paying attention to him, his first order of business would have been to lock up that Glock.
Sad all around.
"Why do we need so many God damned guns? Guns are meant for one thing: to kill. You can't eat a gun, or fuck someone with a gun, or ride a gun to work."
ReplyDeleteChristopher, you are too funny, even though I know you're being serious!
What I don't understand is: don't guns cost a good bit of $$$? Where are a lot of people getting the $$$$ from to buy these weapons (I ask semi-rhetorically).
God bless the soul of Dyshon though. I'm not a parent yet, and I know there are some parents out there that will try to make excuses for Dyshon's "father": "he may have forgotten!" "no one is perfect!" "accidents happen!" "you can't watch your kids all of the time!" OK, fine, but why leave a loaded gun in your pocket??!! Why did he feel he needed to carry a loaded gun? To "smoke" somebody for bumping into him on street or something??!!
And yes you can and should watch your kids all of the time, esp. instead of playing cards (and I'm sure there was some smoking and drinking going on too)! I have to tell my 19 year old sister this all the time,who now has a 1 year old: when you choose to have a child(ren), your social life is practically gone (not saying it in a bad way, but it's the truth. That is why one would wait until he or she got older to have a child)! Esp. with childish social outings like card games and parties, a la Alexis Goggins' mother.
On another note, why are toymakers still selling those realistic looking toy guns? There was a story on the local news in Michigan about a mother who went into a dollar store and saw a whole arsenal of toy guns that looked like the real thing.
ReplyDeleteIt's scary because police can't tell the difference from a distance. It also makes children even more interested in guns.
Randi523,
ReplyDeleteSometimes, often, I make a joke so that I don't cry. The state of this country is a sad, sad thing.
I concur 125%, Christopher. This country is in a sad state, and don't know what is going to change it.
ReplyDeleteJulie P: I have a 1 year old nephew now, and I decided that he will NOT receive anything that looks like a gun or weapon as a toy. There's enough gunplay on TV.
This is so heart breaking. I'm just tired of all this madness. "Gave his son the world?" No he didn't.
ReplyDeleteHis son is gone due to his negligence and what's even more despicable is that he tried to cover it up by tossing the evidence.
Damn! When will it stop?
Where are people getting guns? They steal them from "law abiding citizens" and trade them on the street. The law abiding leave their guns in their cars, in their unprotected homes, and even in coat pockets. If you wanted a gun in Oakland, you could go to any number of street corners and get one, and not pay very much for it. When your overhead is zero, you can sell a gun for very cheap.
ReplyDeleteAlso, a major gun dealership in San Leandro is being investigated by either the state or the federal government for having a substantial number of guns traced back to it that were used in violent crime. A year ago, there were talks that it might have to close. As bad as it sounds, it must have been worse than what we know.
The big urban myth in California is that The Man leaves rail cars loaded with guns on railroad sidings so that gangs can break in and steal them. It makes no sense on any number of levels but as a person who works in transportation, I'd love to know just where these mysterious sidings in the 'hood are located.
However, recently, I heard that gangs are trying to or already have insinuated themselves in Port operations. That seems a lot more plausible and would be a good place to smuggle/steal a load of guns. After all, drug dealers have been working in the airline industry for decades.
Gun control is only part of the answer. Seriously, Field, at this point we need to start from scratch and just make sterilization available at a booth at McDonalds and street corners, etc. yeah, I said it. There is nothing else to do. Literally, Field. We are at the point now where it's better to call it quits and start fresh. Nazi like, you say? Sure. Throwing money at the issue, or making inane comments about "street justice" etc yields NOTHING.
ReplyDeleteLook, a millionaire hillbilly like Britney Spears' 16 year old sister can get pregnant. Our girls can't, and our boys are even more at risk.
Let's pinch off the crazy folk now, and give fertility drugs to you and Mrs Field.
Field,
ReplyDeleteAnother great post man.
I guess you have heard about the little girl in Detroit that saved her moms live by taking 6 bullets meant for her mother. The cops got the asshole that did it, but still, what kind of monster is cold enoungh to shoot through a 7 year old innocent child to get to her mother? And of course the shooter was a "number 1 male". I am so tired of this bullshit day in and day out I don't know what to do. Field, something has got to be done, but what?
According to the article I read on December 5th (when this story was breaking) they were NOT going out to a party. The mother had problems with her heat and asked her friend if she could stay at her house because they were cold. The friend said yes and came by to pick them up.
ReplyDeleteI strongly suggest you read the article from Detroit News for a clearer picture of what happened article is here: Girl, 7, shot 6 times saving mom.
What also disturbed me about the above is that according to the friend, when she initially called 911 to report that they were being held hostage (and this was before any shots were fired) the 911 operator told here there was no car available...!
baatin. & FN:
ReplyDeleteSorry above should read "the 911 operator told her there was no car [unit] available..."
Depro provera. Repeat it to yourself goddammit...
ReplyDeleteI find it disappointing that tragedies such as this, tragedies which occur far too often, are instantly blamed on guns rather than the real problems-no viable escape from a life of crime, a culture of violence, and a noticeable lack of role models.
ReplyDeleteTake away the guns and there will be more knife deaths. Take away the knives and there will be more baseball bat deaths. Take away the bats and there will be more hand-to-hand deaths. What are you going to do then, chop off people's hands?
"Take away the guns and there will be more knife deaths. Take away the knives and there will be more baseball bat deaths. Take away the bats and there will be more hand-to-hand deaths. What are you going to do then, chop off people's hands?"
ReplyDeleteBut woozie, with the types of deaths you are talking about there would be far less collateral damage. Guns add a toxic ingredient to that mix. Death comes quicker, more often, and with less accuracy for the intended target.
And knives, bats, and fists, make the killings more brutal, painful, inhumane, and bloody, albeit fewer in number. It balances out, in a morbid sort of way.
ReplyDeleteHow about trying to enforce current gun laws before instituting sweeping bans that have been proven to not work anyway?
field negro said...
ReplyDelete"Take away the guns and there will be more knife deaths. Take away the knives and there will be more baseball bat deaths. Take away the bats and there will be more hand-to-hand deaths. What are you going to do then, chop off people's hands?"
But woozie, with the types of deaths you are talking about there would be far less collateral damage. Guns add a toxic ingredient to that mix. Death comes quicker, more often, and with less accuracy for the intended target.
================================
I completely agree with this statement.
Going back to the poor babies, Lord sometimes I weep for our children because this is the next generation and they are not faring (sp?) very well.
The posters who slammed the mother for taking the baby out to a late night birthday party on Dec. 2nd are right on point.
Are you for real? I don't like keeping my son out past 8 pm at my mother's house 5 minutes down the road, much less going to a party so late. Forget about it......
I'll say this yes what Djuan did was wrong however you have NO RIGHT to judge anyone. Speaking as someone from Djuan's family and no I'm not his cousin I'm related to the mother I know the love that Djuan had for his son. It pisses me off when someone that has no clue to a world like the one our young black men suffer from make such RUDE, UNSENSITIVE, AND DISRESPECTFUL remarks. Did it ever occur to you that one of his family members may read this page and have to relive something you make seem so careless. NO I will not say that we should just sweep it under the rug and let it go, nor will I say that if you decide to carry a gun you shouldn't be more responsible, however I will proudly let you and anyone else that feel they are in the place to judge when they haven't lost a DAMN thing to fall back. Do you realize that not only has my cousin lost her son, she also lost her bestfriend. Those two have been together for ever, and even though he made mistakes as a young man Djuan was more than just a "SPERM DONOR" as you say he was a DAMN good father. He made sure that his son had, and spent time with his son, so the next time you feel like judging someone you get ALL THE FACTS!!!!! You running around with all your name calling this man already has to be judge by 12 let alone the weight of guilt he holds because he knows that him protecting himself caused the death of his child, he has the childs mother to deal with. Everyone here lost, so watch your comments cause baby plz beleive this is just a preview of what i have to say to the media and anyone else with a comment. Let my family mourn without ya'll being such RUDE A--!!!!!!!!
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