L. wrote on March 04, 2008 06:21 PM: I really wish the news would put it ALL out there. This kid that got shot was not some poor little innocent victim. The black kids at Western are getting sick and tired of getting randomly JUMPED by PACKS of Latino kids. My own child was jumped a while back by three kids. Had it not been for some white guy driving down Decatur who drove on the curb to stop it, there's no telling what could have happened. If that man is reading this, "Thank you". Also, believe it or not, there are many of us who take time out with our kids and try to teach them right and wrong. It's really hard when OTHER parents just let their kids loose and you have to explain why someone else can break the law and get away with it, but if you retaliate, especially as a black man, you're screwed!!!

Larry C. wrote on February 28, 2008 02:00 PM: Wonder if the RJ will call the snitches that start ratting out the malfeasance of the Bush Administration heroes?

douglas wrote on February 28, 2008 01:18 PM: if it is not sensible to make parents responsible for their minor children's crimes... then absolutely, positively those parents must not be responsible either for their rabid dog's bites.

making society at large only responsible for criminal acts rather than the perp is bad news for the trail lawyer trade.

but hen the las vegas yellow pages championship will be awarded to thee escort/hooker services, with pizza moving up to third. then mebbe the yellow page book can stand up by itself, having lost the couple of inch ads from the slip & fall/burn victim/nursing home abuse/hot coffee in the lap, reptiles.

Jon H. wrote on February 28, 2008 12:28 PM: Somehow this Hero posting was deleted from this morning.

We can choose to take many paths in life, the path of the victim, a simple life when strife is absent or the hero when evil exists. The path of the hero is the least understood by the majority of people. The life of the hero is to overcome difficulties, yet the Hero never looses hope and their actions work toward the betterment of society and the common person. In this case, the snitch is a hero for they have acted for the good of society in the face of evil. They have decided to live life not in fear of evil, but to live a life that will put down evil. Those who choose to live the life of a victim not only choose to hurt themselves, but they also hurt others. Often the person who chooses to live the life of a victim hurt those they care for. We have many stories that honor the Hero. The Lord of the Rings with Frodo, and the Chinese Hero, Guan Yu in the story “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. Frodo is fictional but Guan Yu was a flesh and blood real person. We immortalize such people such they are the gold standard we use to compare our own actions.

So I ask you, do you want to live the life of a Hero, or that of Victim?

Remember, the choice is ours to make.

Jon H. wrote on February 28, 2008 12:24 PM: John F. my post about being a hero got deleted somehow, I will post it again after this post.

It’s interesting that I also went to R.O. Gibson JrHS and Western HS as a kid living in the Charleston Heights area from 69 and graduated from HS in 73. I lived through the riots, I saw a few guns at school, we got called out and had our fights after school (just east of R. O. Gibson in the desert), but never did anyone get ambushed then shot like this. Even when I was jumped in the bathroom (during the early stages of racial strife on the east side) at R.O. Gibson and was slashed with a cake cutter and got a gash over my left eye, the other black kids in the restroom didn’t jump in . . . heck if anything they got the attacking kid away from me and got out the door fast. The principle of the school, Mr. Goodman (also a black man), took all in stride, called in all the parents, and all was solved in a civilized way.

I am not certain how I would deal with growing up today, but would hope that I would choose the Hero’s path and not the Victims path. It was good that we had some students at Western HS made of the right stuff to come forward and put down this . . . shooter. You guys did the right thing, we are all are proud of you.

Rasputin wrote on February 28, 2008 10:20 AM: Having the non-parenting parents share the time for the crime is not a sensible (or just) solution. However, if we start treating these thugs-in-training like the criminals they're trying to emulate, it might just dissuade the next group to come along.

THEREFORE: Starting immediately, let's begin trying these little savages as ADULTS in the court system for *ANY* crime with a firearm. Maybe, if faced with life in prison for first degree murder at the tender age of 16, it will sink it into their pea brains that this just might not be the way to handle whatever perceived problem there is. If the kids with guns want to prove their toughness, let them prove it to the REAL hardened criminals in the state pens.

John F, you nailed it right on the head regarding the kids who told what they knew - THOSE kids are the ones we should foster in the future, due to their courage and for doing the right thing.

Tim - I'm a strict Constitutionalist who does not own a gun, but will defend unto the death American's right to *LEGALLY* own one, and to use them to protect that which needs to be protected. Please, move NOW. I'll even start a fund to assist you.

fester wrote on February 28, 2008 09:53 AM: The children of Sin City are just adorable

Ken wrote on February 28, 2008 09:43 AM: Ignorance is biss. This goes out to all the students who chose to keep their mouths shut, and Tim.

Tim wrote on February 28, 2008 08:28 AM: I can't help it if you "men" are to big of sissies to protect yourself without a hand gun.

I'm living here, stashing away money to move in a few years to a DECENT place.

John F wrote on February 28, 2008 08:19 AM: On the subject of guns, I believe they're the symptom, not the disease. They do make it harder, though, to be the heroes that this editorial and Jon H. talk about. I have nothing but respect for those who came forward in this case; it took a great deal of courage. Whoever you are, you have the thanks of a grateful community.

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