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Release
sparks memories of shooting
Our
view
A
wise man from an age still in recent
memory once spoke of dreams for a better
America in the symbolic shadow of the
Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The era was the ’60s and his name
was Dr. Martin Luther King. Truly a king
of words and passion among men, he also
said injustice anywhere is a threat to
justice everywhere.
In 1998, two boys, ages 11 and 13, shot and killed five people at their middle
school in Jonesboro, Ark. King’s statement seems painfully true in America’s
heartland this week.
The oldest shooter, Mitchell Johnson, was released this week after serving
a seemingly ridiculously short sentence due to law technicalities. Because
he was a minor at the time of his crime, he was only held in jail until his
21st birthday. Now he walks as a free man, though the legacy he left on his
hometown is not long forgotten.
Johnson and his accomplice, Andrew Golden, opened fire using rifles. They shot
at students and teachers after pulling a fire alarm. Bullets came down from
the sky like a deadly rain, and after only seven years, the tears and fears
of that event are still very real in the hearts and minds of the Jonesboro
community.
It’s seems impossible to imagine such an incident without actually being
there. We’ll never know what could have been of the students who died
and of the courageous teacher who selflessly put her body in front of the barrage
to save the fleeing students.
And while we cannot fully imagine such horrific possibilities, we do understand
anger, fear and grief.
Arkansas, as well as the rest of the United States, may feel angry that the
punishment for killing five innocent souls was only seven years. Many will
get upset at the law which both put him behind bars and set him prematurely
free, a law which has since been amended.
Americans will fear that such violence can happen in their neighborhoods. People
will look for blame and veer toward violent video games, bloody movies, bad
parenting, guns and even marijuana. No one will truly agree on what or who
is at fault.
Lastly, America will grieve at the loss of lives so young, existences cut short
by motives Johnson has still never publicly acknowledged.
Indeed King was right in saying that such injustice as taking the lives of
others, especially the young, threatens all of America.
But King was also right in saying that people must not drink from the cup of
bitterness and hatred to satisfy a thirst for freedom and justice. Perhaps
the hardest aspect now is whether or not Johnson can lead a normal life and
can America forgive one of its troubled sons.
Can Johnson overcome the fury he must have felt down the scope of a rifle seven
years ago? Can America, and especially Jonesboro, Ark., heal from its internal
wounds?
Johnson, with a new slate, begins a new life now, even after denying five others
such an opportunity. Johnson’s mother told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, “He’d
give anything. He’d give his life 100 times over to turn this thing back.
The best thing, I really believe, the best thing to do is give him a chance.
Let him get out there and spread his wings and help other people.”
His whereabouts are unknown, though reports indicated he intends on enrolling
in college and may even enter into the ministry.
Perhaps then justice may be served. |
