The Violence Needs To End. TODAY!

I almost hate turning on the news these days. No matter what the channel, no matter what time the news comes on, you can count on the following stories being the lead: murder, robbery, another murder, a shooting, negative, negative, and even more negative. This society has become increasingly violent, and now that violence is pitting kids against kids. When you throw in illegal guns, it makes things even more tragic. We all have heard the story about the 16-year old high school student, Derrion Albert, who was killed needlessly, caught up tragically at the wrong place at the wrong time. This story caught national headlines, and it shone a light on how violent our youth have become in America, and throughout the world.

I turn to today. I go to the website of the Washington Post, and the big headline on the local page: Drive-by Leaves 2 Dead, 3 Hurt. Here's the link to the story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/13/AR2009101302377.html?hpid=dynamiclead. Clicking on the story, it says that all the victims were between 15 and 18 years old. Because of a beef between two rival 'hoods over in Clay Terrace, two kids' lives were cut short.

It is sad, a shame, a travesty, that we have become a society, a world, that no longer solves our problems and conflicts with others by talking to each other and reaching a resolution. Why is it that we must use the nuclear option, using a gun, a knife, etc., to solve conflicts? No one wins when weapons are introduced into a conflict. Someone's life will forever be changed. Someone will not get to see the sunrise of a new day because someone, being a coward, chose to use a gun or other weapon, to achieve a quick resolution.

When will the senseless violence end? Wake up people. We are killing ourselves! We are exterminating our futures, and for what? A stupid beef? Because someone looked at someone the wrong way? Ridiculous.

Stop. The. Violence. NOW!