Road Rage

Posted on December 21, 2016 by pamelaflynnart

In 1987 the term road rage was coined in response to a rash of Los Angeles freeway shootings. The term shifts blame from human behavior to the road. There are about 1,200 incidents of road rage reported each year in the United States. There are about 1,200 incidents of humans inflicting harm in some way to fellow drivers reported each year in the United States. The road does not rage-a person rages-a driver rages.

On Saturday December 17, 2016, Acen King was a victim of driver rage. Acen’s grandmother, Kim King-Macon, was behind the wheel and at a stop sign when the driver of a black 2003 Chevy Impala honked the horn at her. Kim King-Macon honked back, and the driver, apparently angry that the grandmother was not moving fast enough, exited his car and opened fire on her car striking Acen who was in the back seat.

Acen was 3 years old. Acen was not killed by a road raging he was killed by a bad person who got out of his car and pointed a gun at another car and shot a bullet into that car with the intent to kill. A gun in the hands of a person kills-a road does not kill. When we, as a people, start taking direct responsibility for harm done by humans, then maybe children like Acen will not have to die.

Chicago

Posted on May 29, 2016 by pamelaflynnart

Summer is a wonderful time of the year. The sun shines, children are out of school and families spend time together. Even in a hot city summer can be joyous. Children play on the sidewalks and parents sit on the stoops talking.

But it is summer 2016 and in Chicago parents will keep children inside. In Chicago communities are filled with fear. In Chicago gun violence is up 50%.

In Chicago on May 27, 2016 the residents and community leaders rallied together to take back the streets, to make their communities safe. On May 28, 2016, the police reported, 19 people had been shot, four shot dead, including a 15-year-old girl.

The people who make up the city of Chicago are scared of summer. They are scared to walk on the sidewalks; they are scared to let their children play in the sunshine.

Does the sun shine is Chicago or only produce a glare that shields the violence?

Tally-keeping count

Fear of Gun Violence at School

Posted on December 22, 2013 by pamelaflynnart

Compulsory education is law in every state in America. The intention was and is, to give our children the best chance to have a full and happy life. On December 13, 2013, Claire Davis went to school. She was in the hallway of The Arapahoe High School at 12:33 and she was shot. She died on December 21, 2013 from her injuries.

Education is thought to be the key to success and happiness and school was to be a sanctuary for learning. Learning is about the future. Learning is to take one beyond. Claire went to school to learn but she was shot in her school. Claire’s future was wiped out by a mentally imbalanced person with a gun.

America is left with a lesson to be learned from the killing of Claire. There was the same lesson to be learned from the Sandy Hook Elementary School killings on December. 14, 2012. The lesson is not an abstract concept. It is that guns, in the hands of the mentally imbalanced, are killing our youth. Guns in the hands of the mentally imbalanced are making our schools places where our young are fearful of violence. It is compulsory that America learns this lesson.

: Ghost Print

Dichotomy

Posted on June 10, 2013 by pamelaflynnart

Guns and human life are mutually exclusive. Guns and human life are contradictory. Guns are weapons made to cause harm. Flowers are left on the site of gun violence. The dichotomy is restated.

When Recreation and Gun Violence Collide

Posted on January 31, 2013 by pamelaflynnart

A park is a public area in a town that is used for recreation. Recreation is an activity done for enjoyment when one is not working. On January 29, 2013, Hadiya Pendleton went to a Chicago park with her friends. They were using the public area as a place of recreation. Hadiya was shot to death in the park. Hadiya Pendleton was 15 and was a hard working student. Hadiya Pendleton performed at the 2013 presidential inaugural events. Hadiya is dead because in Chicago gun violence seems to have become a way of life that could be said to border on recreation for some members of the Chicago community.

Bang, Bang, Bang

Posted on January 3, 2013 by pamelaflynnart

In a one hour span of time there were three deadly shootings on Sunday, December 2, 2012, on the streets of Philadelphia. Three lives reduced to three new hash marks to add to the tally.

Life and Innocence Lost

Posted on September 8, 2012 by pamelaflynnart

On Saturday, September 1, 2012 in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, the fun at a block birthday party for a neighborhood child was shattered by the random shooting of a 21 year old man. The man died of a gunshot wound to the head. The innocence of the children at the party was lost as they watched the violence unfold.

Ripple Effect

Targeted Gun Violence

Posted on May 19, 2012 by pamelaflynnart

A dispute is defined as a debate, controversy, or difference of opinion. Disputes should be settled through dialogue. Settling a dispute through dialoguing can lead to finding a middle ground.

Too many disputes are settled through targeted gun violence.

On March 3, 2012, someone had a dispute with Calvin Johnson. Calvin was shot while at work at the Golden Pizzeria in Newark, N.J. The difference of opinion was not debated, the difference of opinion was not worked out. Calvin had no chance to try to find a middle ground. Calvin is dead and his six children are left without a father.

Target Practice #1

Profile of a Shooter

Posted on April 21, 2012 by pamelaflynnart

To profile is to draw an outline.

To profile a shooter is to define a personality that could aim a gun at a human target. Police and mental health professionals have listed common traits that might be found in shooters-but not all shooters are depressed, not all shooters have a loveless life, and not all shooters are lonely, but all shooters have a gun.

Bang, Bang #1

Protection Gone Wrong

Posted on April 15, 2012 by pamelaflynnart

To protect is to keep safe from harm or injury.

A mother had a gun to protect her and her son from harm. She hid the gun under her pillow. Her four year old son found the gun. On April 7, 2012, her four year old son shot himself in the chest. Her four year old son was critically wounded with the gun that was meant to protect him from harm or injury.

Considering Harm

visual images responding to culture

Tag Archives: children