#289 of 2006

The latest homicide victim in Philadelphia was a 5-year-old, shot to
death while riding in the backseat of her mother's car. That makes
289 homicides this year in the city.

We can argue about what needs to be done here. I agree that
government has a role to play, but to just shake a fist at
"government" is to give that entity a role in our lives that it was
not meant to play. You can lay the blame on the bad people who deal
drugs and shoot guns, but it's more complicated than that. We need
more jobs, yes, but how do we create them?

I have wanted to elaborate on this topic for a long time but just
haven't yet. Tonight, I have the time but not the energy. For the
latest victim is not just #289 of 2006; she is a little girl, who was
somebody's daughter, who just started kindergarten, who deserved to
live longer and have it better than this. And my response, then, is
not to spout some insight or argue some point, but simply to mourn.