A summer of sadness and violence

Sadly, our young people are killing each other and our community appears to be stymied on a course of action to arrest the escalating number of homicides in the City of Milwaukee, which have surpassed the number of homicides which occurred for all of 2014. As depicted here, it seems our attention is focused on when the next shooting will occur and having another memorial service to erect another sidewalk memorial, which withers away from the elements or possible vandalism by an unfriendly foe. The disappearance of these memorials, after a few days, weeks or months, are startling reminders of the lives of sons and daughters cut prematurely by gun violence. A few people have been stirred into action, but not nearly enough. The entire community must become involved to solve this crisis of gun violence and many of the other social and economic conditions germinating in our community and are subject to worsening conditions if we don’t start respecting and loving each other. When are we going to become sick and tired of being sick and tired and become angry enough to chase people possessing a firearm out of our community? Weeping tears and consoling one another after a tragedy isn’t enough. We must do more.