a graduate student, 29, who had just defended his dissertation and was set to receive his degree a week from now, was shot and killed here the week before thanksgiving. the same night, three other students were held up and a fourth fled before the robbers reached him. the student who was killed had no money on him and the others only a few dollars and credit cards.
today the police arrested a 16 year old for the murder and robberies, to which he has admitted complicity. he claims that he was not the one who shot the graduate student, but has said that it was his idea to set out on a robbery spree in the first place, rounding up friends to accompany him along the way.
16. how clearly this brings into perspective where i live. 16. his home is probably no more than 20 minutes away. 16. african american. single mother. sophomore in high school.
am i happy that he's in custody? that he's off the streets? that he won't be shooting any of my friends? that justice will be served and the graduate student's killer punished? is this what they call white guilt?
i hate that he is 16. i hate that he lives so close to our gargoyled and gothic towers. the monstrosity of a library full of books that explain who he is and how he came to shoot a graduate student. from senegal. on scholarship. about to go home and do good, change his world.
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1 comment:
How tragic and senseless all of it is. So much was wasted. How can justice really be served when there is so much complexity?
I hate it, too.
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