Imagine you are gathered with your family. There is laughter, talking, food, music, and a little dancing. The grown folks, as they are known are in one room, the teenagers are off to themselves, and the little ones are playing in another room. There is laughter to be heard everywhere. Everyone is waiting for that one special moment, that time or second that will never come again. Everyone is counting down 5,4,3,2,1, HAPPY NEW YEARS, everyone shouts and in that split second as the New Year begins, a child screams! All the family members runs to the room where the little ones are, and there they find a 4 year old child lying on the floor in a pool of blood, dead from a stray bullet to the neck.
This is a scenario no one wants to think about, no one wants to imagine that a time of togetherness, new beginnings, and happiness can quickly change to a time of sadness and mourning. Well I am here tell to you that this can happen to any child who lives in a community where the tradition is bring in the New Year with a hail of bullets. I know as a child growing up in the city of Detroit this is a sound often heard on New Year's Day at 12:00 am. I am here today to let everyone know that I'm tired of it and enough is enough. Guns being used to bring in a New Year is a negative message that is being sent to the youth of our community saying that its okay to use guns, and it needs to be stopped. There is a campaign around town that should be known and practiced by every person in this city who is as feed up as me, and that campaign is "Hugs Not Bullets". Hugs Not Bullets is centered around that basic idea of bringing family together while keeping the overall community safe. Our community is suffering from gun violence as it is. However, it particularly becomes even more dangerous when there are thousands of stray nameless bullets flying around. Hugs Not Bullets is encouraging every man, woman, and child to bring back what has been forgotten in our community "respect and love thy neighbor". Its time to bring back the unity of our community by reinforcing the belief by giving a hug at that magical moment of 12:00am is special!
Hugs Not Bullets, is sending a message to the youth that you can have a good time without bringing violence into the home. HUGS NOT BULLETS, is reinforcing the belief of TOGETHERNESS. HUGS NOT BULLETS, is bringing back "LOVE BETWEEN ONE ANOTHER. HUGS NOT BULLETS, is insuring the lives of our mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters,and most important of all our children going into the New Year. Hugs Not Bullets, is a phrase we can say to each other when we want to encourage others to put down that gun on New Year's.
We at the Youth Initiatives project are making strides to creating a safer environment for all people, but the truth is we can't do it alone. We have had help from sources such as the Police Department and K and G fashion Superstore, but that is not enough . We need your help to make your community a safer one for you and your family. You have to want this to end and if you do, and make efforts to stop it, it will.
2 comments:
I feel that it is really stupid to shoot on New years eve because it is just asking for someone to get killed. When people shoot guns they set a bad example for thier kids and thier kids end up shooting guns even on more occasions than New years ever. I feel that this sad tradition starts with the parents and not the kids because it is the parents who have to set the example.
I think this is a poitive and needed message to send out. you hear about someone getting killed every new years but nothing is never done to stop it. keep spreadin this message to get your voice heard!!!
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