Another Shooting...

These closing lyrics to Lori Rosolowsky's "Another Shooting" are sung to America the Beautiful: "America, America, was made for you and me/And even though kids kill with guns/At least our country's free." The song's ending is very powerful but not strong enough to change guns laws in this country. What's it take?

I posted this when I was just a kid on Tuesday, December 19th, 2006. After blogging, I shaved my head and started wearing a Mohawk. My parents thought I was nuts. They were right. I am nuts. And angry. This was  6-years before Sandy Hook. ​

"As the young bodies keep dropping all around us in Miami because someone was "disrespected" or someone wanted someone's rims or someone's girl or last, but not least, someone's money, check out these stats while listening to this catchy little ditty with a message: "Another Shooting" by Lori Rosolowsky.

• In the last 18 months, 31 young people died from gunfire in Miami.
• In a 2004 study by Sperling's BestPlaces, Miami was singled out as having the highest violent crime rate as well as one of the highest property crime rates.
• In 2003, one kid or teen in the US was shot to death every three hours, nearly 8 every day, 54 a week, nearly 3,000 a year. 4 to 5 times that number survived bullet wounds.
• The number of kids killed by guns in 2003 exceeded the number of American soldiers killed in Iraq for 2003 to April 2006.
• More 10-19 year-olds died from gunshots than from any other cause in the US other than motor vehicle accidents.
• Almost 90% of US kids killed by firearms in 2003 were boys.
• Black kids are most likely to be victims of firearm homicide. In fact, the firearm death rate for Black males ages 15-19 is more than 4 times that of White males in the same age group.

Something ain't right in America. Something ain't right in Miami. One stat that isn't mentioned: 45,000 people are walking around with bullet wounds. That's a freaking city's worth of angry young people prone to "acting out." Lots of attitude. Lots of anger. Lots of bragging rights. We think about them "begatting" a new generation in a violent world that is the norm to them. Papa be bad. Papa be dead. Look at me wrong and you be dead too. So much anger and hatred. Where does it all come from? And what, if anything, can be done about it?"

As long as the NRA loving Republicans run the country, apparently nothing. But then we knew that when nothing was done to put some common sense guns laws into effect after Sandy Hook. If our children don't matter, we are doomed.