STOP THE VIOLENCE

“I’m on my way, give me 30 minutes! Those were the last words I was able to speak to a very close friend: Fabian Elam. That night he needed a ride home, gave me a call to pick him up, and asked me to hurry. The urgency in his voice told me something wasn’t right. I rushed across town speeding through traffic, nearly stopped by San Antonio police. When I arrived at out meeting spot, it was a very chaotic scene! Police, ambulances, fire trusts, and a large crowd of spectators.

I parked the car and ran to the closest person I saw.

I asked, “What happened?”

She said, “Somebody’s dead!”

As I weaved through the thick crowd, my head started spinning with the worst thoughts, while I wondered, “Where’s Fabian?” When I felt someone grab me and tell me not to go over there, it seemed like reality slapped me in the face. At that moment, I knew Fabian was dead. I inched closer to the crime scene and saw an image that will stick with me for the rest of my life - Fabian lying on the ground with 2 bullet holes to the chest, under the phone he called me from.

To this day, this event still messes with my head. I still have this deep feeing that it’s partly my fault that Fabian is dead. I took too long to make it to him and if I would’ve just drove a little faster, he might not be dead today.

Violence is a common occurrence in my neighborhood and many others across America. It was rarely brought to our attention that violence was not the answer to the numerous situations and confrontations that contributed to it.

Now as I sit back and look at the violence that’s going on around the country, today in the communities, it’s plain to see where this way of thinking came from. Every time I open some “cooperate media propaganda” such as USA Today, Newsweek, and The Week, just to name a few, they promote violence from front to back. If you turn on the television, the Internet or the radio, they all promote violence. As the youth are brought up through the school, they’re taught to salute a flag that represents violence, recite an anthem that says, “Bombs bursting is air,” and learn a history that’s full of wars and occupations.

How can we expect our youth to “Stop the Violence” when corporate America, and mainstream media steadily promote it? We need to stop showing our youth so many problems without showing them numerous solutions. Violence is not the solution to every problem.

This incident was not the first, and nowhere near the last incident that I experienced, but had one of the most shocking impacts on my life because I felt like I could’ve saved Fabian.

There are many men and women around the world who can relate to this situation, but we can stop things like this from happening.

We need to encourage out youth to participate in more youth programs (i.e. little league sports, YMCA, Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs, etc.). This is a good way to bring children and teens tofeyjher to learn and utilize better social skills. Social skills are a great way to stop situations and confrontations from escalating into violence.

We need to teach youth to value human life more. A lot of youth today don’t care about anyone besides family and close friends. This attitude alone leads to violence.

Plus, neighborhood patrol units need to develop better social skills to dead with our youth. The same men and women that took the oath to “Protect and Serve” are killing more and more children, teenagers, and elderly people each year. “Protect and Serve” was a slogan meant for the community, but officers today have disregarded the communities and started to protect and serve only themselves.

This also correlates with our criminal injustice system. More and more youth are being put in reform homes, youth punishment centers, and sometimes, adult jails! Subjecting a child to this kind of treatment also leads to violence after they’re released.

Let’s save our youth now, it’s not too late. They are the future and change in the communities can still happen. We need to utilize all resources, teaching mechanisms and most of all, lead by example.

Save our youth, stop the violence!

R.I.P. Fabian Elam and the many others that lost their lives to violence.

Jasiri Kalinda Watu

a.k.a. Christopher A. Young #999508

Polunsky Unit

3872 FM 350 S.

Livingston, TX 77351

e-mail: christopher.anthony.young@gmail.com

D.R.I.V.E.

DEATH Row INNER-COMMUNALIST VANGUARD ENGAGEMENT