I realize that Memorial Day offers us a time to remember our soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefield. And certainly they deserve to be commemorated.
But there are other battlefields, perhaps smaller in scope, where the wars seem to drag on and the death toll doesn’t appear anywhere near abating.
In Chicago neighborhoods from Englewood to Roseland to Back of the Yards to North Lawndale, innocents have been paying the ultimate price in incidents that are increasingly as vicious as they are senseless.
Too often, gangbangers are to blame. And too often their weapons of choice are assault weapons, made for military use and designed to spray rounds over a seemingly boundless area. The push to get these weapons and others out of the hands of the reckless never seems to have the proper urgency.
I recently had the honor of serving as a judge for the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence’s 11th annual essay, poetry and art contest. This year, the non-profit organization asked young people to explain in writing or on canvas how they would educate others about gun violence.
Though many of the submissions I received were top-notch, my favorite was a poem written by Anna Grzybowski, a junior at Lane Tech High School.
I called Anna on Thursday after a recognition ceremony the council held for the 10 contest winners. The students, who attend schools from around the city, will receive a home computer, a $25 gift certificate to a bookstore and a $100 gift certificate for their teacher.
Anna’s poem, titled “How It All Began,” comes from a class project she worked on as an 7th-grader. After researching ways young people are introduced to violence for the class, she continued to be interested in the subject.
“When we’re little, we aren’t automatically predisposed to guns,” said Anna, a Northwest Sider. “But kids get these images through the media, the video games and movies. And it becomes like a fad, and they don’t think of killing as a bad thing.”
She often asks herself where all of this is going. But she’s much clearer about “How It All Began:”
Little Tommy, Age 6,
Playing outside on a hot, musty day
Searching for a hint of relief
Pulls out a baby blue super soaker
Squirt
One robber down, two to go.
Blur
Little Tommy, Age 11:
Christmas Eve
Grabbing presents from under the tree
Hastily tearing apart the green and red paper
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Smiling maliciously
While observing his new escape key from reality
His new day and night obsession
Eye magnet
Distraction
Blur
New Teen Tommy, Age 14:
Trip to paint ball hill
For a friendly game
Pulls trigger
Blue, red, green bullets
Wounding others, but not sinking in.
Blur
“Grown up” Tommy, Age 16:
Doesn’t need school
Hates his life
Searching for acceptance
Blur
Gang Banger Tom, Age 17:
New family, new life
Dealing, beating
Walking down the street
Getting jumped.
Blur
Well-Trained Tom:
Reaching for his waist
Pulls it out
2 shots.
No water this time.
No paint.
No “Mission Accomplished.”
Blur
Thomas Montgomery
Still 17:
Locked up, 5 to 10
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Sitting on a worn down stool
Eyes closed
Cheeks moist
Heart broken
His Future
A blur
This Message
Clear
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