Requiem

      Going through my room to double check my clothes-pack which I usually do before traveling, I stumbled across one of my old Ebony magazine piece-sheet from July 1999, I'd read it quite a number of times in the past since the time I saw it in our storage room. The first time I read the page that discussed the columbine massacre of April 20th 1999 of a teacher and 11 student of Columbin high school including the main target, a 18 years old football player Isaiah Shoels, whose skin color popularity and athletic prowess brought upon him the scorn of the two classmates who hunted him down and shot him to death in the library of his suburb high school. They were all brutally murdered by 18 years old Eric and 17 years Dylan, both hitler loving extremist as the article had posed it. Reading it, I'd made a mental picture of the vicious slaughter, even though it was 21years ago, then I'd wondered how this people's family felt after all this many years of losing their wards especially the Shoels who had Isaiah as their only son, the young people that died, what they could have become, I couldn't help but wonder, what they could have done to the advancement of humanity at large, this all made me realize how hate could be so deep and wallowing, what we have lost to it, how lives can be put to a full-stop because of it's ravaging effects. I started to think how evil minded this kids of my age could have been and how they've come about this unimaginable acts, learning to careful put an end to people's lives because of jealousy hate and uncontrollable anger.

Yes we've moved on from the 90s but has the shooting ceased?, has the hate ended?, are lives still not ended abruptly like this young people of April 1999?, in the last 21years has the world become more peaceful?. Has police brutality stopped?, oppression from government and her officials?, racism?, homophobia?, has murder cases reduced? has anything really changed?
I believe we can end the hate cycle, the killings, the oppression, the unending generational life unjustified loss. Firstly we must believe this is feasible, then fix our mind toward acceptance not rejection, love not hate, respect and tolerance not detest. Moving forward with our eyes open, we must teach our young people especially our children of these things as we teach our minds how to master our different languages, We must look forward everyday to love and grow together, no matter what our difference may be, we must find a common ground and that is our humanity and this we must respect.