Memorial Bench for Meleia Willis-Starbuck
From The Daily Californian:
A memorial bench for Meleia Willis-Starbuck was built at the corner of Dwight Way and College Avenue, near where the 19-year-old was killed on July 17, 2005.For some background read the posts on: The Violence Must End - A Memorial to Meleia Willis-Starbuck.
4 comments:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20050729/ai_n15824510
People seem to have forgotten the information given by the following article, but let me recap:
Ms. Willis-Starbuck got in an argument with some college football players. Instead of walking away, she called her friend and told him to "bring heat". He did, as requested, bring heat. He fired. Ms. Willis-Starbuck got shot and was killed by the gun she requested be brought to her little spat.
Am I supposed to explain to my kids, when they ask about the bench, that it is there to remind us that if we ask a friend to bring a gun to settle an argument, that we should duck when it arrives?
She doesn't deserve a memorial bench. She deserves a Darwin Award.
Get rid of this horrible memento of idiocy in action.
Ms. Willis-Starbuck was an amazing young lady who made one bad judgment call and paid the ultimate price. How about you focus on the amazing things she did for her community throughout her short life? Instead of passing judgment about a subject you know a limited amount of information about, how about doing research into exactly why she was such an impact on the Berkeley community. How about doing research into why of all the murders that happen everyday why she was honored and able to receive a memorial unlike so many others. She was a mentor to the community, went on to help many less fortunate by volunteering her time, spread knowledge throughout the Berkeley High School campus about youth rights and education for minorities. She came from an "urban" neighborhood and was able to get a FULL academic scholarship to Dartmouth University. That is what you should educate your children about instead of the ignorance you displayed.
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2005/07/18.html
Just for starters...
Ms. Willis-Starbuck was an amazing young lady who made one bad judgment call and paid the ultimate price. How about you focus on the amazing things she did for her community throughout her short life?
Unfortunately, our country is sliding into a posture of negativity and scapegoating, for Anonymous #1 could be the poster child.
And, yes, "social Darwinism," used in previous centuries to justify slavery and poverty still seems to be entrenched in our me-first, the-hell-with-you, ignorant-and-proud-of-it society.
The comments of Anonymous #1 are mild compared to the racist epithets I've seen on some sites. I guess if she were white and an NRA member she might be applauded for thinking that a presence of a gun would be just to the thing to have in a sidewalk confrontation.
Those now celebrating our Second Amendment "freedoms" would to well to remember that the vast majority of gun deaths are caused by accidents and suicides -- and that well-meaning people with deadly weapons can quickly turn minor confrontations into deadly ones.
Post a Comment