A culture of madness.

"We challenge the culture of violence when we ourselves act in the certainty that violence is no longer acceptable, that it's tired and outdated no matter how many cling to it in the stubborn belief that it still works and that it's still valid." ~Gerard Vanderhaar~
What on earth would possess someone to shoot a six year old eleven times??!!

We always think that the human soul can't get any darker, but, sadly, somehow it always does. We thought Columbine was as bad as it could get, but here in America alone there has been 31 deadly  school shootings since Columbine, and we are all left wondering when the madness will end.

Maybe this tragedy in Connecticut will be a tipping point in this ongoing debate about where we should stand with guns in our culture. There is no doubt that we live in a violent society. Guns (and the glorification of them) are everywhere. They are in our games, our movies, and in our art. We embrace guns and we celebrate the fact that it is in our Constitution. Now, astonishingly, pro gun advocates are saying that if the kindergarten teachers were armed this tragedy would not have happened. (Yeah, that's the ticket, arm kindergarten teachers in every school in America.)

Now we are learning that the animal who slaughtered these children in Connecticut was raised by a mother who embraced the gun culture.

"Nancy Lanza took her son, Adam, to a shooting range and taught him how to use a firearm before he turned a gun on her and shot her dead, then executed more than two dozen terrified children and teachers at an elementary school.

Fifty-two-year-old Nancy Lanza was an avid gun collector who had legally purchased five firearms, all registered in Connecticut, according to police records.
'She said she would often go target shooting with her kids,' Dan Holmes, owner of the landscaping firm Holmes Fine Gardens, told Reuters.

He recalled that she once showed him a 'high-end rifle' that she had purchased.
'She was very proud of it,' he told the New York Daily News. 'She loved her guns.'"

Unfortunately, so did her son.

If a child dies in the desert.....

Over a year ago, a colleague of mine who happens to be a very successful personal injury lawyer, was telling me about one of his more successful trials. Homeboy was explaining to me what a great case he had because the victim in this particular case had a very bright future and was from a very solid middle class family. In the personal injury world, that meant dollars, because the award for damages are often based on the future earnings of the victim in a particular case. (Think of the recent settlement for those NASA astronauts who perished on the Columbia space shuttle)

Fast forward to April 18, 2007. And I am thinking about those horrific killings up at Va Tech,and the poor families of those students. For some reason I started thinking about that discussion with my colleague. All those bright futures, all that potential, and all those dollars. I shudder to think what will happen if the first family that sues the University (and someone will sue) gets a favorable judgement. Virginians, your taxes could be going up soon. But this post isn't even about that. It's about the value we as Americans place on peoples lives based on who they are, or where they live. Looking back at it now, I still can't believe how matter of fact my colleague was when talking about that case. It was as if he was talking about a bunch of spread sheets, or profits and losses, and not someones lost loved one.

But isn't that par for the course with most Americans, and not just heartless lawyers? Unless of course,we are talking about upper middle class college kids in Blacksburg Virginia, or upper middle class high school students in Columbine, Colorado. A life is as valuable as a mere glance at the nightly news, or a passing eye on the front page while we make a dash to the sports section to read the latest scores. Let's think about it for a minute; 183 dead Iraqis today and counting, did we even give it a second thought? Of course we didn't. After all, they are just a bunch of Iraqis. They are not white, they are not well to do, and they are not smart kids in one of our finer schools. But does that make their lives any less precious, or their deaths any less news worthy? We certainly act like it does. We have become almost numb to the daily killings in Iraq, and the young black males in America's inner cities who seem to murder each other for sport. Only when something like this happens do we wake up and say; "what the f**k is happening in our country"?

How many will die in Darfur before I finish this post? "If a child dies in the desert and no one gives a damn will anyone make a sound?" I doubt it, because it's just some African child in the desert. But this isn't just another rant from the field who thinks he has all the answers, because I don't. And honestly, I am more curious than anything else; I am really not preaching here, I am just wondering, because I really don't know what to make of all this s**t.

So the beat goes on, we will be inundated for the next few days with more news about this sicko. (he even sent NBC News a f*****g press kit for crying out loud) and like everyone else, I will be watching, because I live in America, just like you do.

Before I go, I would like to say that I am so proud of a project that I am fortunate to be a part of. Five brothers and sisters, who to me, are some of the brightest and most insightful people blogging out here. They have started the AfroSpear, which is something that I and many other progressive black bloggers have been screaming to see for awhile now. Well now it's here, and the beauty of it is that everyone will be a part of it. Whether it's with links to your individual blogs, or comment posts, and even your own essays. It will be your page too, and your chance to truly become interactive with other like minded people out here.

We will be sharing ideas, thoughts, and different ways we think we can improve our race and ultimately, our country. And We will be wanting your input, as well as an honest no holds barred debate on the issues and subjects that we confront on a daily basis. Issues that are so important, that we just can't afford to ignore them anymore.

So head over there, check it out, and start writing!