15-Year Old Boy Set On Fire By His Peers…
Fifteen year old Michael Brewer escaped death… barely. This 15-year-old boy was the victim of a ruthless attack by other youth which landed Brewer in the hospital where he is expected to stay for 5 months. A few weeks ago another youth, Derrion Albert was attacked by a group of his peers and Derrion was beaten to death.
Michael Brewer was not beaten, he was set on fire! That’s right, you read it correctly. 15-year-old Michael Brewer of Deerfield Beach, Florida was set on fire by a group of his peers. Brewer suffered 2nd degree burns over 80% of his body. Michael Brewer is in critical condition in a hospital and is expected to be there recovering for the next 5 months. Read the CNN news story about Michael Brewer HERE.
You may wonder what would possess a group of teens to set another teen on fire and then laugh about it. What was the motive for this heinous crime?? Well the apparent motivation is snitching! Yes, snitching. Michael Brewer owed one of the suspects $40 for a video game and had not paid it yet. So in retaliation the suspect stole Brewer’s father’s bike. Well Brewer told (or snitched) who stole the bike. The suspect was arrested and later released. Then a few days later in the Deerfield Beach, Florida apartment complex where Brewer lived the suspect and four others surrounded Brewer, threw rubbing alcohol on him and then set him on fire. Nothing justifies setting someone on fire, especially not $40 or snitching!
Our Youth should be declared an endangered species! Every day I look at the news there are stories of youth being killed, murdered, dying. It is not just black youth that I am concerned about, but ALL of the youth! This is an epidemic. Our youth are leaving this earth in epic proportions! Our parents are crying oceans of tears and our graveyards are becoming over-crowded with the dead and empty promises of youth stolen away.
What CAN we do?
What SHOULD we do?
What WILL we do?
Nigger, Nigga – Let Mr. McCoy Enlighten You!
I just wrote a post a couple days ago that highlighted death, destruction, murder and mayhem. It broke my heart having to write it but in the post I also wrote that I would try to find some good news to blog about. Finding good news to blog about has proven to be a rather difficult task. However, as I watched CNN today I heard a news story that lifted my spirits and renewed my hope for the younger generation.
An 11-year-old boy named Jonathan McCoy was being interviewed about his feelings surrounding the use of the “N” word. Yea, you know the word I’m talking about… Nigga or Nigger. This little boy evidently wrote a speech for a competition, gave the speech in a church service and further more started a petition to ban the nigga. In his speech young Mr. McCoy talked about his utter disgust in the use of the “N” word in movies, music, and on television. He further talked about his displeasure over people using the word in everyday life as if it’s a badge of honor.
It always astounds me when the youth have more common sense than adults. This young boy has obviously taken the fight and struggle of our past great African American leaders seriously. He does not want their fight, struggles or deaths to be in vain and he is willing to put himself out there and be heard on the topic. He knows and understands that the word NIGGER is derogatory no matter who uses it. I saw this very articulate young man in an interview with CNN’s Don Lemmon this morning and was as proud of him as if he were my own child. The fact that this young man at the young tender age of 11 years old is trying to make a difference is very admirable! Young Jonathan believes there should be some sort of legislation to ban the “N” word. I applaud his drive and his tenacity to make a difference in the lives of African Americans.
It is amazing how black people get upset to the point of wanting to kill someone if they are called the “N” word. HOWEVER black folks use the “N” word all the time as a term of endearment, a term of greeting, a term of expression one to another and as a term of camaraderie. Then black people say that by us using the word it takes the power away from those who use it to degrade us. Huummm, OK, let me get this straight, A black man will fight a white man for calling him a nigger, but this same black man will then turn around and call his friends nigga. Him saying nigg(A) instead of nigg(ER) has magically taken the power away from the white man who initially used it…{{{Blank Stare}}}. Riiiiiiiiiiiight. So anyway, I will leave you with a quote from Jonathan McCoys speech as well as the speech itself.
“It’s now 2009, Leave the “N” word behind. Choose words that speak purpose and not defeat (Jonathan McCoy, 2009)”.
Matthew 21:16 (King James Version)
16And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?
Out Of The Mouth Of Babes!!
My Heart Is Heavy, I Have Been Watching The News.
I have not blogged here since August 5th. I have made a decision to be more regular with this blog and my other blog “Regina’s Family Seasons“.
This blog was originally set up for me to just talk about the news, but alas it was depressing me. I am going to dig a little deeper after tonight’s post to find some news that is uplifting and positive.
But for tonight my heart is heavy…
I am highlighting and linking to 5 news stories that have me on my knees crying out to the Father.
- Derrion Albert 16 year old honors student beaten to death on the way home from a Chicago school. Video of Derrion Albert’s beating HERE.
- China Arnold, 28 years old found guilty of killing her 1 month old baby Parris Talley. The drunken China Arnold allegedly put the baby in the microwave and cooked her for more than 2 minutes.
- 240 Dead in Philippines flooding. Bodies are still being discovered amongst all of the devastation of last weeks floods in Manila.
- According to Fox News, a mother Larhonda Marie McCall was arrested in Oklahoma City for allegedly abusing and holding her 14-year-old son captive, often in a closet for 4 1/2 years.
- McKenzie Phillips former child star of the sitcom “One Day At A Time” comes clean about a drug induced, molestation turned consensual, incestuous sexual relationship with her father. Her father was famed singer/musician John Phillips of the 60’s pop group Mamas and Papas. McKenzie’s stepmother, Michelle Phillips also of the Mamas and Papas is denying the story, but McKenzie’s younger sister Bijou Phillips (also an actress) says she knew about it. Now whether this “relationship” started out as abuse/molestation and then over the years turned into a consensual relationship only they know. The fact that her father not only introduced her to drugs BUT also supplied her with drugs; and the fact that her father repeatedly had sexual relations with her, for a period of 10 years is my issue. Our jobs as parents is to love, protect, nurture and train up a child. What this “parent” did was beyond disgusting, beyond despicable, beyond horrific. There are no words for this atrocity. I pray that she can move beyond the media backlash and finally move on with her life.
So as you can see the news is definitely weighing on my heart. As I sit here typing this post, I look up at my daughter across the room, watching television, as she rubs her belly perhaps soothing the child inside. I am thinking what kind of world are you about to enter into little one? What lies in wait for you? The harder it gets to pray means the more needed the prayers are…
My heart is heavy…
This Brought Tears To My Eyes…
I feel for any parent that has to deal with the death of a child. I especially sympathize with the parents of soldiers who have died. These men and women are giving their lives to protect this country and many of them are dying very young, too young.
Knowing that my son will be one of the many on the way to Afghanistan very soon I found this story to be especially sad.
According to CNN, PFC Anthony Lightfoot age 20 died on July 20, 2009 in Afghanistan. He was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. May PFC (Private First Class) Anthony Lightfoot Rest In Peace, and may his family find the strength to go on…
Parents & Discipline…
I came across the story of Melissa Catherine Smith-Means who was arrested in Georgia on felony charges after she was seen dragging her son through a store by a leash. I am not judging this woman in the least, I will just say that I would not do such a thing(but then again when my kids were younger all it took was a certain look and they knew to straighten up and fly right!!). I have NEVER been in favor of putting children on a leash and I am not at all condemning those who do. At the risk of sounding racist I’ll say that to me it seems to be an ethnic, cultural practice because I have only ever seen certain types of people doing it, but I could very well be wrong!
I have seen PLENTY of children out and about with their mom and the child will literally throw a tantrum complete with kicking and screaming. I have also seen children throw themselves down on the floor and lay there motionless while the mother tries to coax them into getting up.
I do not know the particulars of what happened in this situation and I do not want to speculate. Is this discipline? Is this abuse? Is this a Felony? You watch this CNN video and then voice your opinion…
Our Troops, My Son In Afghanistan…Why?
The Army Reserves…
Brave men and women who sign up to protect and serve the people of the united states of America. They are commissioned to take care of domestic issues like riots, natural disasters, etc. So why is the National Guard sending troops to Afghanistan, aren’t we loosing enough lives already?
I have always been concerned about the armed forces on foreign soil. My father was in the army and fought in the Vietnam war. I remember the effect it had on him and my family. My father was traumatized, which resulted in him self medicating for years, which resulted in numerous health issues for him, which ultimately resulted in his death in 1999. Yet and still we keep sending our men and women to foreign territories to fight.
America will always be a target. Whether it be because of our superiority or our arrogance other countries find fault with us and make us targets. So I understand the need to have protection but when will it be enough?
We have the Army, Navy, Marines. Air Force, and the Navy Seals and not to mention the other covert under cover branches that us regular people will never even know about. So why is the government sending the army reserves to foreign countries?
You may wonder why this is a big issue for me. Well last year my son joined the national guard army reserves.
We were told that he would assist with things domestic issues like helping to find and assist evacuees in cases like hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters.
Well, I just found out that my son is being deployed to Afghanistan in September…
I also read this news story on CNN.com Four U.S Troops Killed In Afghanistan.
Four U.S. troops were killed in eastern Afghanistan on Monday in what NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said was a roadside bombing, according to a senior U.S. official there.
U.S. Marines take part in an operation to push Taliban fighters out of Herati, Afghanistan, on Sunday. The deaths would raise the total of U.S. military fatalities in Afghanistan to 30 in July, the highest monthly toll since the United States launched Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in October 2001.
As an American the constant killing of our troops pisses me off, as a mother, my son going over frightens and saddens me. My sincere condolences and prayers go out to the families of ALL that were killed. May those who perished Rest In Peace…
God bless America, Lord protect my son…
The First U.S. Death From H1N1 Virus (Swine Flu)…Right Here In Texas.
Upon waking up this morning and turning on CNN’s morning fix I heard the sad news of a child’s death here in Texas. This is the first U.S. death being attributed to the H1N1 Virus, widely known as the swine flu. Reports are saying that a 23 month old child died in Houston Texas due to this virus. However further reports are saying that the child is actually from Mexico and was taken to Houston, Texas for treatment where he later died. The child allegedly died on Monday.
My prayers and condolences go out to the family of this child.
Again And Again And Yet Again… ~Sigh~
Saturday evening, browsing the web and while on CNN.com I come across the story of a man who … wait for it … Yes, you guessed it. A man who killed his family and then killed himself. I don’t know about you but I am so tired of reading these types of stories. It seems like every week there is some fool killing his family. Was there some sort of convention that all of these people went to where they were all brainwashed and then sent home with the assignment of killing themselves and their families?? This is getting out of hand and utterly unbelievable.
Christopher Wood aged 34 of Middletown, Maryland is believed to have killed his wife, their three children and then himself. Some of the victims were stabbed as well as shot. According to CNN.com,
Christopher Wood, 34, may have slashed at least some of his family members in the killings and used a small-caliber handgun on others, Frederick County Sheriff Charles Jenkins said.
He was found dead of an apparently self-inflicted shotgun wound at the foot of the bed where the bodies of his wife and 2-year-old daughter lay, the sheriff said.
Wood’s sons were 5 and 4 years old, authorities said. His wife, Francie Billotti Wood, was 33.
The boys were found in their beds in a single bedroom, the sheriff said. Authorities did not release the names of the children.
The investigators have reportedly found five notes inside of the house written by Christopher Wood. The reports did not say if any of the notes were suicide notes but the notes may help investigators figure out what went wrong.
However no matter what the notes say or don’t say it is too late for the wife and children…
Washington Father, James Harrison Kills 5 Children & Himself
Saturday afternoon at a trailer park in Graham, Washington, five children ages 7 to 16 were found dead from apparent gunshot wounds. Who would commit such a gruesome senseless crime?? Apparently, James Harrison… the father of the children. A sad domestic violence situation which ended in a murder-suicide. Not only did he murder 5 children, but about 20 miles away from the home in a still running car the father was found dead from an apparently self inflicted shot from a rifle. Four daughters and one son (Maxine, Samantha, Heather, Jaime & James) were found in the home after a relative alerted the authorities. The relative, while visiting the trailer could not get an answer at the door and upon looking through a window glimpsed a child’s body lying motionless in a bed. Four children were found slain in their beds and one was found slain in the bathroom.
A motive is not known in this case. Angela Harrison the mother of the children was not home at the time. According to the Associated Press (Entire Story Here),
“Ryan Peden, a classmate of the eldest daughter, said she told him Friday night that her parents had gotten into a fight and her mother had left. The father followed the mother and tried to get her to return, said Peden, 16.”
The father was a diesel mechanic and the mother works at Wal-Mart. According to Yahoo News, Apparently former neighbors of the Harrison family feared for the children after hearing the father yelling at the children on several occasions.
Carolyn and Raymond Bader, a former neighbor of the family, told The Seattle Times they often heard the father yelling at the children. The Baders said they called the sheriff’s department and Child Protective Services several times with their concerns.
Did the system fail these children? Could these five deaths have been avoided?
My most urgent question about this tragedy is why did NO ONE heard the five shots…
Blagojevich Indicted…
Well, I am sure he saw this coming, we did…
Former Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich was indicted on 16 felony charges. If you recall I blogged HERE and HERE about former Governor Blagojevich being accused of trying to sell then Senator Barack Obama’s senate seat and about him being ousted from office. Well now it seems that he has indeed been indicted. According to CNN.com (Full Story),
The 19-count indictment charges Blagojevich and some of his closest aides and advisers with a wide-ranging “scheme to deprive the people of Illinois of honest government,” according to a statement by the attorney’s office.
Blagojevich, 52, faces charges including racketeering, conspiracy, wire fraud and making false statements to investigators, according to the release. Three counts in the indictment are against the aides and advisers.
So, for Blagojevich the saga continues. This is like a bad movie…
