Who keeps killing our babies? Where's the news on Chioma Gray?

By Deidra, WAOD Crime Contributor

Two mothers killed while holding their babies




Jordan Hunt (23 months), his mother, Gina Hunt (24), Charlii Yarrell (4 months), and her mother Andrea Yarrell, 24 were shot to death late last Monday. All died at the house where they lived except for Charlii who later died in the hospital. Both mothers were holding their child when they were killed.

Two handguns were found within a block of the house, where all four of those killed lived, said Sgt. Matthew Mount, a police spokesman.

"Whoever is responsible for this, we're going to track you down like dogs," Marion County Sheriff Frank Anderson said. "We're not going to stop until we find you and put you in a cage where you belong."

Annie Boyd, the mother of Andrea Yarrell's boyfriend, told The Indianapolis Star that her son heard a gunshot while he was on the phone with Yarrell.

Gene Boyd, who is in the Indianapolis Men's Work Release Center on charges in a drug case, told his mother he heard someone break into the home.

"He heard the shot, then heard Gina holler out: 'Those are my babies!"' Annie Boyd said. "After that the phone went dead."

Gene Boyd then called his mother, who called 911.

A set of scales, several weapons, a safe and one pound of what is believed to be marijuana were found in the house, Talley-Sanders said. She said police had been called to the home three times in 2007 to investigate reports of armed robbery, burglary of a resident and a stolen vehicle.

"There's just a number of factors that have to be looked at," Mount said. "Because of the things that were found at the scene they are going to look at every possible motive.[Source]

Last Thursday, Jasper Frazier, 36 turned himself in to the police but said that even though he was at the scene, he did not pull the trigger.

"I ain't kill them kids, man," Frazier said, speaking from Toledo. "I'm not running. I'm turning myself in with my family. The people that killed the kids, they was going to kill me," he said.

Two other men, Zarumin Coleman (21) and Tommy Warren (24), were in custody Thursday night on unrelated warrants and were being questions in the deaths of the four victims. Frazier said that Coleman and two other men pulled him into a robbery that turned into a murder. He said he was in the house when another man fired the shots.

"Yeah, I was there, man," Frazier said, "and I asked the dude there, 'Why the (expletive) you kill those kids?' "

According to Mahada Frazier, who said she was Frazier’s sister, three men came to Jasper’s (Frazier) home and asked if he wanted to make quick money. Jasper then went along with them to the house where the four victims were. Mahada went on to say that Jasper then went inside with one man while Coleman and another man waited in a black sport utility vehicle.

The other man kicked the door, went in to find the woman and told them that they wanted the dope and the money. The woman said that they didn’t have anything and in response the man started shooting. (All this was told to Mahada by Jasper before he turned himself in [Source]

Update #1

Four Men Arrested In Killings of 2 kids, 2 women

Ronald Davis (pictured, top left), and Dontae Hobson (pictured, top right), both 30, were arrested on preliminary charges of murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery in connection with the slayings in a house in the 3200 block of Hovey Street, police said at a news conference. Jasper Frazier (pictured, bottom left), 36, and Zarumin Coleman, 21, also known as Corey Parker, were arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit robbery. Frazier also was being held on a charge of attempted robbery, and Coleman was facing a charge of assisting a criminal, police said. Hobson was arrested Saturday and the other three suspects were detained between Thursday and Friday, according to police. Authorities said information from the public helped them name the suspects and make the arrests. More Here

More than 1300 mourn slain mother and child

The sight was jarring: a young mother lying in a coffin, holding her infant.

Stoicism turned to quiet tears or outright sobbing Monday as mourners filed past the bodies of Andrea Yarrell and her 5-month-old daughter, Charlii Simone Daye-Yarrell.

Mourners also filled the Yarrells’ service at Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church. The mood was more than sad; there was outrage.

“There’s just no excuse for something like this,” said Monica Cowans, a high school friend of Andrea Yarrell’s mother, Dana Davidson.

Sheriff Frank Anderson, whose Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department has arrested four men in the case, received a standing ovation.

“I’m sick and tired” of violence, said Anderson, in a preacher’s voice. “I’ve had enough of this. We’ve had enough of this!

“When we start killing babies … enough is enough!”

Anderson went on to say that whoever committed the crime, “If they make it to heaven’s gate, they’ll see a ‘no vacancy’ sign.”

Police Chief Michael Spears said that “part of God’s plan is justice, and we’re committed to this justice.”

More Here


Update #2

What prosecutors say happened
What officials allege these men did in connection with the Hovey Street killings:

Jasper Frazier, 36: He accompanied Ronald Davis into the house in search of 50 pounds of marijuana and cash, officials say. Told police Davis shot the four victims using a Glock pistol, officials say.

Ronald Davis, 30: Claimed to have carried a 9 mm pistol into the house and told police Frazier shot the women, officials say. However, others said Davis carried the Glock used in the killings, and Frazier told police that Davis killed the victims, officials say.

Donte Hobson, 30: Rode in the SUV to the house and waited outside, officials say. Advised the two who entered the house to try a crowbar after they couldn’t break in on their first attempt, officials say.

Zarumin Coleman, 21: Told police he picked up Frazier, Hobson and Davis in a black SUV “rented” to him in exchange for drugs and drove them to the house, officials say. He remained in the vehicle, officials say.

Tommy Warren, 24: Agreed to rob the house with Coleman in a search for 50 pounds of marijuana and cash, but he did not participate in the robbery, officials say. He has not been charged in the case.
Source: Marion County prosecutor’s probable-cause affidavit

What’s next

The four men charged in the Hovey Street case are scheduled to appear at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday in Court 6.

[Source]


Videos:

Lesley Yarrell on his daughter
Police SWAT response
IMPD on Hovey Street killings
Anderson's fiery reaction
Mourners pay their respect
Hovey street neighbors pray
Father's emotional reaction


Update: Police Charge One Suspect in Kamya Weathersby Murder

Banks denied killing Kamya while being led out of Little Rock Police headquarters downtown into an awaiting squad car bound for the Pulaski County Detention Facility. Goins asks: "Kevin Banks, did you shoot Kamya Weathersby?" Banks says: "No sir, I did not sir." The family of Kamya does not believe him. Lashandria Washington, 26, Kamya's mother, says she believes he's responsible. "I think he did it, he had something to do with it, that's what I'm hearing," Washington said Tuesday night. "I don't know him." Word of Banks arrest spread quickly throughout the city. At Temple of Restoration church on Chicot Road, Reverend Benny Johnson was overseeing a Stop The Violence Youth Revival when he found out and informed the service.

"We have some good news. The Little Rock Police Department just caught one of the guys," Johnson said to an eruption of applause and cheering. "I'm glad this person is off the streets, he can't hurt anyone else. I understand there are more suspects out there so I'm hoping people will help get these other people off the streets."

For Washington, she wants the two other suspects caught that police are looking for in her daughter's murder.

"It's just a relief for me, makes me feel not 100% better, but a little better that someone has been caught," Washington says.

[Source]

Related Posts:

Missing, Murdered and Found


Where's the news on Chioma Gray?

By Deidra, WAOD Crime Contributor

Have you heard of her? I don’t blame you. The news stations in California apparently never heard of her either because I don’t see one, not one article on this missing young lady and she has been missing for over a month.

For those of you who don’t know, Chioma Gray is a 15 year old black female who went missing from Ventura, California on December 13, 2007. She was abducted by Andrew Tafoya. He was issued a felony warrant for kidnapping the next day.

Below are pictures of Chioma and Andrew:

And guess what? Not only is there no news on Chioma, but the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website messed up her poster several times. The first time, they released an updated poster on Chioma without a picture of her abductor. They also misspelled the city she went missing from.(The city was spelled “Vetura” instead of “Ventura”) Here’s the evidence Then on Tuesday (Jan 22), they updated the poster again. They added the abductor picture back but changed his relationship to her. He is now a companion instead of abductor even though the poster states that there’s still a felony warrant out for his arrest. And they still didn’t spell the city name right! Yup, confusing I know. ”Updated” poster So what’s really going on here? No news on Chioma, no Amber Alert issued and now her kidnapper is her friend?! Just to make a few points: Google news search: Nada Yahoo news search: Zip Google Blogs search: 138 Results to blogs and none linking back to local news

I've sent out some emails to the local news stations regarding this issue but still haven't received an answer. I'm sending out more emails after this post. This is very disappointing.

Comments

[Miss Issues]

Why don't our so-called black leaders admit that something is wrong with a lot of our black men. They have no respect for life. Just here in Atlanta, two black policemen were killed by a group of black men near the same ages as these men. Someone must see there is a correlation of all this black crime and the state of black men in America .

[Nichelle]

Who are the real "sellouts" again? These punks that kill babies in the arms of their mothers or gang rape and brutalize a mother and her twelve-year old son - or so called "leaders" who remain silent for fear of airing dirty laundry "in front of white folks" and not "tearing the black man down" Why not lift the black man UP and WEED THIS F*&%@ OUT!!!???

And who will be leading the march in Indianapolis against these brutal killings by the way??

[durtybertie]

What a terrible tragedy. This shows there are problems, not only with men, but with all black folks and the culture of drugs in general. It seems clear that the mothers were caught up in the drug game in some level (the pound of weed, multiple guns, and electronic scale found at the same home where the children lived). I have no idea what the mothers' financial situtations were but its just so tragic that innocent children were put in harms way and paid the ultimate price.

[Shane]

So who bears the responsibility for the loss of innocent children's lives?

The mothers are victims, but because of their poor judgement and lack of values they CHOSE drugs over their children and placed their children at great risk. I am not saying that these women deserved what happened to them, but when you play by street rules, you most certainly will die by them.

I am sad for the children because they did not ask to be born to sorry ass parents. They had no control over the fact that their mothers were drug and refused to accept their responsibility for raising their children (I'm not scapegoating the men who impregnated them either).

It's awful that these murderers decided to kill the children as collateral, when their beef was with the mothers and their boyfriends/suppliers.

*sigh*

[Shane]

miss issues,

While there is plenty wrong with black men, there is also something wrong with a mother who devalues the lives of her children so much that she would put them in harm's way by harboring drugs and guns in her home. Black people in general have lost their damn minds... not just black men.

[Miss Issues]

Shane,

If you look deeply at our community you will see our young men of ages are deciding to live out reskless lives. These young women did not murder anyone and did not deserve to be murder. They made stupid choices, but they did not deserve this.

Yes, a lot of black women are making bad decisions in regards to being involved with thugs, but they haven't become cold hearted murderers.

Are young men are putting themselves in detrimental situations and destroying their own communities. Most of the drive by shootings, home invasions, and rapes occur in our communities.

[Shane]

Miss Issues,

You need to look a little closer. Black women are causing a part of their own degradation as well. I know it's too easy to pathologize black men, because many of deserve the criticism that you're levelling.

However, these women were romantically involved with known drug dealers. They invited drugs into their home and put their children's lives at risk for what? Thug penis?

I work in OUR community. Everyday I see trifling black men and women putting their lives at risk as well as the lives of their children because they are SELFISH.

Regarding your comment about black women not becoming cold hearted murderers, ANYONE distributing crack cocaine in my book, is a murderer.

You also fail to point out that there are myriad black female gangs that engage in murderous rampages on a regular basis without regard for their own lives.

BLACK PEOPLE have LOST their MINDS. NOT just black men.

Da'Quan may commit the home invasion, but if LaTerrica allows him to live in her apartment knowing that he's a thief and doesn't turn him in, she is an accessory... NOT a victim.

[Miss Issues]

Shane, you like so many keep talking about if black women did this, if black women didn't do that. Why in the hell won't black men stand up and be accountable? So, just because I grew up in a single parent home I have a right to act a damn fool? If I date Saddam Hussein that mean I committed 9/11. True enough I wouldn't date a drug dealer, but to say its these women fault is not right. These lack men chose to kill these women and children over some bullsh**T. They could have went after the dude and left these babies alone. Heck maybe it's the white man's fault, too.

I'm sorry, the only people at fault or those four sorry a** men. The girls didn't pull a gun on them, so they are innocent victims!!!

[LeAnne@Hairs My Story Team]

So, since the killer "appears" to not be black ( although, I don't know) I guess this qualifies for the NAACP to get involved?

Shane: You're diluting the issue again. Drugs can happen, but whose idea is it to kill someone for the sake of weed? It's not that serious. Black men still have morality and they've choosen to create a dog-eat-dog world in the black community. We've placed enough of the blame on the black woman, it's time to start blaming black men, too.

I'm not bashing but I can see it from both sides. The girls both picked stupid ways to make money and it caught up with them. And,the mothers both loved "thug life". Their families urged them to leave this neighborhood and they choosed not to.

Sad to see.

http://www.hairsmystory.com" REL="nofollow">hairsmystory.com

[Shane]

Miss Issues,

I could apply your accountability argument in the same manner. Why did these women crave thug life and drug dealers? Why did a grown woman's FATHER have to intervene to get her to see that she was hanging with the wrong people?

I never said these women WEREN't victims, but to deem them innocents is over-reaching. One black man attempted to stand up and be accountable; one of the young ladies fathers, Hence the reason he tried to disconnect her from that "bad crowd" by relocating her to a "safe" area. She CHOSE to bring that "ghetto" mentality with her. Her children were not enough to abandon it, her life experiences were not enough to abandon it, and sadly, a change a scenery was not enough to abandon it.

Again, I am outraged at this senseless crime, but what can you realistically expect for a person who deals drugs? Would you be this outraged if the killers were black women?

I also never said "like so many others" IF black women did such and such.... My contention is if black PEOPLE... not just men or women acted like they had some sense (collectively) this tragedy could have been avoided. Instead, we continue to wallow in our own bullshit, makes excuses for one another, and point fingers at each other.

We will continue to die doing so; neither the black man or the black woman are perfect (and I'm not expecting either to be), but we have got to start doing something to ensure our survival and thriving as a people.

If that isn't accountability, I don't know what is.

[Shane]

Leanne,

Blame isn't doing anything but making us die faster. Black men didn't invent the dog-eat-dog world mentality that you speak of; marginalization through capitalism did.

Black people cannibalize each other on the regular; it isn't limited to just black men. So I'm not "blaming" the black woman for our societal failures; I am blaming black people in general. I am not blaming black women for what happened on Hovey Street; I am blaming the 2 women (indirectly), their lifestyles, and their murderers and how the CHOICES people made affected the lives of innocent children. In this case ALL of the ADULTS were trifling... some more than others, but the children should not have had to pay with their lives for it.

Too much attention was spent on "Saving black men" when saving black people should have been the goal in the first place. Collectively, we are fucked up.

[Miss Issues]

Shane, why bring these women's background into this? I don't care if a kilo of weed or crack was in these women's hand, they had no right to kill them or their babies.

The focus should be only on these four monsters who kicked these women door in and killed these people. They were in the middle of a drug deal gone bad.

So, what if one of the black women wasn't dating a dope dealer and just visiting her friend? Do you feel sympathy for her or do you say she shouldn't been there.

[deborah]

A lot of this will turn around when we decide integrity is more important than money and the things money will buy.

I don't know of anyone who starved because they did the right thing. They may have been uncomfortable, they may have had to give up some things, they may have had to downsize. But I don't know of anyone who starved and died because they chose to do what was right.

When we become people of integrity again, the drugs and the violent dying won't have anywhere to land in our communities.

Until then, we are going to keep reading these stories.

[Miss Issues]

These men were cowards to the fullest. They wanted why there was no other man in the house, because they didn't want to get killed or shot. They purposely went into this home with every intent to kill. They could've wore masks and search the house, found the dope and left!
They and only they hold the blame!
My last words

[LeAnne@Hairs My Story Team]

Shane:

You keep feeding into the "black man is a savage" stereotype. As if black men are forced to kill these two girls...
Murder is murder, no matter how you look at it. THere's no justifiable reasoning for killing someone and that's where the problem lies.

black women are ALWAYS reprimanding and punishing one another, so its no issue that if the killers were women no one would care. Of course we would still care and someone would have called the cops that same day.

But, black women and men keep making a collective effort to protect these thugs. Yea, we date them, but black men enable them with your statements. You shouldn'y get redemption of deliberate murder. If a black man would shoot two babies in the head, what's the sense of even defending him?

C'mon.... give our people more credit than that. Black men are not that stupid to where they cannot decide what's right or wrong.
hairsmystory.com

[Gorgeous Black Women]

Sellouts are people who destroy their communities. The lack of info on Chioma Gray saddens me. I've tried to avoid the news on the women who were killed holding their babies. I was sick to my stomach when I saw it on TV. It's heartbreaking.

[BLKSeaGoat]

LeAnne,

Read every statement I've made and provide anything that I've written that defends the actions of these murderers. You won't be able to because I haven't.

You also make too many generalizations about my post without specifically addressing any of my points.

I also never assumed that black men were savages, and NEVER stated that black men lacked the ability to determine what's right or wrong.

You assume that people would have called the police if the killers were women, but you're wrong; Ever heard of "Stop Snitching"?

Black women are also not abrogated from their responsibility to choose between right an wrong. You give our people more credit than they are due. I see systemic failures on the parts of both black men and women- not either or. Until we, black men and women decided to change for the better, this kind of senseless deadly violence will continue to happen.

Sorry, but trifling people, regardless of their gender and social histories, get no free pass to be stupid. Stupidity = death

Miss Issues,

Because these women had drugs and guns around their BABIES! That's why it's important. Again, I NEVER stated that I felt no sympathy for these women and their families; just what the results of their lifestyle and their choices.

If the mother was DATING a drug dealer the same thing applies. How does she know that rival drug dealer WON'T follow the boyfriend to her house and shoot her up (to hurt him and eliminate witnesses)?

Sure, the thugs who murdered these women should get whatever punishment is coming to them, but again CHOICES played a huge factor in this type of killing.

You can keep blaming socipathic black men for the failure of our communities, but some black woman is mating with these sociopaths to promulgate our dysfunction. Someone decided that snitching is evil,and someone decided that their child could NEVER DO the things that people say the do.

Systemic failure in the black community is intrinsically linked to the systemic failure of black people. Let's keep it real.

You don't bring dirt to your home... period.

[BLKSeaGoat]

FYI,

I'm Shane

[LeAnne@Hairs My Story Team]

Yes, stupid= death.

So, we both agree that both women and the kids were victims? No matter how you spin it, four men killed two women and two babies.

You can't exactly use the drug argument before a court of law or God himself because it won't fly.

It's no secret that the stereotype about women is we will tear each other down if needed be. The stop snitching has never really applied to women because we will snitch and tear each other to shreads when needed be.

No, you didn't say that black men were savages, but you over-simplifying their behavior is just silly. You know harbouring drugs or money creates a valid reason for murder.
http://www.hairsmystory.com" REL="nofollow">hairsmystory.com

[durtybertie]

Miss Issues said: Shane, why bring these women's background into this? I don't care if a kilo of weed or crack was in these women's hand, they had no right to kill them or their babies. The focus should be only on these four monsters who kicked these women door in and killed these people. They were in the middle of a drug deal gone bad.
-------------------------------
I couldn't disagree more. C'mon a "kilo of crack in her hand" doesn't matter? The fact that the mothers turned their own children's home into a dope house is directly related to why a "drug deal gone bad" occurred there.

How many dead bodies, funerals, other mother's tears, etc. were caused by the guns these two mothers stored in their house?

These women were complicit in the drug game. They didn't deserve to die any more than any random 14 year old corner dope boy deserves to die--but it happens. The mothers, fathers and triggermen are all partly responsible for what happened here. The only folks with no culpability are the children.

I just think this tragedy can't be boiled down to a trite statement of "here goes those troublesome black men." This tragedy is really bigger than a gender. It shows all that's wrong with the drug culture that has certain parts of our community--both our men and woemn--in a vice grip.

[LeAnne@Hairs My Story Team]

DurtyBertie:

I agree with you that drug culture is responsible for these deaths. Let's be honest, once someone has a criminal mindset, they will kill. So, if it weren't over drugs, they probably would have killed someone over something else.
http://www.hairsmystory.com" REL="nofollow">hairsmystory.com

[lildiva4u]

Deborah..very well said.

[SheCodes]

Okay now that everybody has made up their mind of who the 'right group(s)' are to blame... where do we go from here? Back to our office, homes, and business as usual?

Where are the answers? If the 'drug culture' is at fault, how are we helped by eroding the laws that lock drug offenders up?

If black women's poor choices are (partially) to blame -- who is going to step up and start teaching them to avoid that HUGE SWATH of trifling a$$ black men involved in drugs? Good luck with that one... and be sure to wear a bullet-proof vest from all the black male apologists.

If that trifling group of murderous black men are at fault, how are you going to teach them to embrace the basic tenets of civilization, such as VALUING THE LIVES OF OTHERS?

BLACK PEOPLE: ARE YOU READY FOR THE BITTER MEDICINE that it will take to fix this? It might mean turning certain black folk in to the cops. It will mean cutting off family members from your lives and those of your children.

It will mean acknowledging the simple fact that not everyone who is melanin rich is your 'brother' and that those who you are trying to save by bringing to your breast in safety will kill you with the same ease that they would scratch their nose.

Unless and until we are SICK of the bloodshed, and TURN OUT the predators in our community, and STOP pretending that they are some poor misguided souls, instead of the wolves in sheeps clothing that they are -- then nothing will change.

[g-e-m2001]

It is time for the circular firing squad to disband. We are not each other's enemies.

There are about five discussions going on in this comments thread each of which should stand on their own.

First you have four souls who were summarily executed. That issue stands on its own. No matter what the mother's did or didn't do. No matter what they had around their children, the sentence should not have been death. They should have gone to jail for their role in drug dealing and their children taken away, but the penalty in this country for being an crappy parent is not death.

Second, you have two mothers who brought their children into to the orbit of a life that was inherently dangerous. They sacrificed their children for their own wishes and desires. They aren't the only ones either. I have railed repeatedly against these mother's who keep inviting dangerous criminals into their orbit and the orbit of their children. The problem is how do you get a woman to love herself not to get caught up in the life.

third, the culture of criminality that is now mainstream in the Black community to the point to where prison is no longer a deterrent or something to be ashamed of, but a rite of passage.

Fourth, is our obsession with excess and material wealth to the point that we will do anything and everything to get more stuff. more money. We'll deal drugs, hook up with a man that will get us "stuff"
We'll even kill over "stuff."

Ic ould go on, but I am tired.I'm wondering if there is anything to be done or whether to throw up the deuce and move the Canada. Every aspect of our culture from movies, music and radio to our civic organizations who foam at the mouth anytime the long arm of the law puts the clank down on foolishness to our churches who are less concerned with morality and becoming fishers of men than they are with collecting the cattle on a thousand hills.

The community will march. They will have rallies, promises will be made, but in about a couple of weeks, life will go back to exactly the way it was. The horse has already been let out of the barn. We have a society that values THINGS over Human life. Whether that is the life of someone else, our own life, or the life of our children

[deborah]

We can decide what we really want.

If you say "yes" to something, then you are also saying "no" to something else. If we want peace and respect for life, then we have to say "no" to those who don't want peace and who don't respect life.

Some of those people will be neighbors and friends and family members. By saying "no", we are not turning them into enemies. We are choosing a different path.

We just have to make up our minds for good and for sure. And then stick with it. One person and one situation at a time.

[LeAnne@Hairs My Story Team]

Thank you Gina and Shecodes

the problem with both stories and the comments that follow them is that everyone is speaking on behalf of the black women in judgement, yet absolving the men of any wrong doing. We're just dumbing down the events.

Drug culture does not have to lead to execution. Prision culture is a hotbed for such behaviors and when these men are released they no longer "mind their manners". Both parties are wrong, but one is worse than the other. You cannot kill two infants with a straight face.

[tasha212]

We do live in a society where money is more important than life. That should be evident by the fact that u can't receive adequate healcare without insurance. That should not be a surprise to anyone because we live in a capitalist society. So of course people are going to eventually adapt the attitude that money is the most important thing. That attitude is the very basis of the American way of life.

I think that both black men and women are accountable for the satte of our communities. U can't condenm predatory black men while absolving the black women who date these men and enjoy the fruits of this lifestyle. They both should be held accountable.

There have been a lot of things stated about solutions. One solution I think might work is for women to start rites of passage programs to teach girls about what it means to be a woman. There needs to be rites of passage programs for young boys to teach them about manhood and all of the rules and responsibilities that go along with it. I've been a mentor and had a very positive experience and made a difference in a young girl's life. A lot of us are at a loss what to do about the state of our communities. I think one of the things we can do is to take young people under our wing and give them some guidance when we can.

That's just my two sense.

[deborah]

There was a time when many of us did not adopt the American way of life that implied money was the most important thing. During that time, we were able to create positive social change for ourselves and others.

Maybe in the desire to "integrate", we have not only gotten physically closer but also mentally closer to the "American way of life." At one time, we were in it, but not of it. Now we are just in it. In the American way of life, money has always been God. As long as we didn't buy into that, we kept our souls and our communities intact. Now we are losing both.

We need to remember we didn't make the rules here and if we try to play the game like we did make the rules, we will always lose.
We need to reclaim our real values, if we still have them.

[Woman in Transition]

Gina said: "I'm wondering if there is anything to be done or whether to throw up the deuce and move the Canada."

You may want to get your bags packed, just in case. The points you made in your post are so deeply ingrained in our community that it will take a lot -- and I mean, a LOT -- of work to just begin the very hard work of changing people's ideas about what it truly means to be responsible for themselves and their community. There is enough "blame" to go around in this situation and one group isn't more guilty than another.

The time some folk spend on blogging could be used to mentor a young man/boy or young woman/girl as a volunteer at the local Boys and Girls Club or even their very own church or community center. I appreciate the bloggers who raise awareness, but work to make change while you raise your awareness.

It's time to quit this debate about who is to blame, because to be honest, we ALL are to blame for the failures in our community (and the world, if you want to get deep about it).

"Train up a child in the way h/she should go and they shall never depart from it."

[G]

@ woman in transition.

I am really sick and tired of people coming to this BLOG and saying that blogging is a waste of time or that blogging isn't DOING anything or this is just a blog what you should be doing is something MORE important.

Yet here you are READING the blog.

Your comment is insulting to me. Why? Because you can point to any number of events and connections and activities that have been spurred by people connecting on and through blogs this BLOG in particular.

Those without a conscience get to pump their thoughts and their views and their values all day long into the public sphere, but if someone else tries to combat those thoughts views and ideas, then their thoughts views and ideas have little or no value.

there are lots of ways to do a lot of things. But don't you DARE come on this BLOG and or any other one and tell me that blogging isn't doing something! Do you know what it takes to keep a blog going? DOING and DOING A LOT!

You think that all that the people on this blog do is blog?

And yeah. Blogging and returning emails and responding to endless requests does take up a lot of my time, but I think what I am doing is necessary and needed. if you disagree, then spend your time doing something else.

Just don't bother coming back for real. I am serious. Go do something else with your time other than blog.

Because I'm putting in 23 hours a day for something I value and believe in something I feel compelled to do by the universe.

Why didn't Langston Hughes do something better with his time than write literature? Why didn't Plato or Sacrotes do more than just think?

Seriously go away please. Just go and then there will be one less email to return. One less comment to monitor. One less phone call to return, one less insult, threat, or slander to defend against.If blogging has no value to you then fine, but it sure as hell has cost me A LOT!

[Woman in Transition]

@g: I'm sorry, did I say blogging is a waste of time??? How could that be when I blog (and comment)? What I said was "I appreciate the bloggers who raise awareness, but work to make change while you raise your awareness."

Not sure who you are, but bring it down a notch, okay? No need to be nasty.

[Woman in Transition]

P.S., "Because I'm putting in 23 hours a day for something I value and believe in something I feel compelled to do by the universe."

And I admire that kind of passion, by the way. So few people can say they truly have it.

[g-e-m2001]

This circular firing squad is now disbanded. join us for the podcast and feel free to review the archives