An American dream shattered
Often the news accounts of an event that I attended reasonably reflect what I actually experienced. But for the vigil last night, honoring the life of James Angelo, and calling out for peace in our city, that was not the case at all.
There was a spiritual power to this event, a sense of rootedness, and an incredible beauty. James Angelo, I learned, was not just any young man -- although the death of any person would be tragic. He was a jewel of the Sudanese community in Portland, a mentor to many younger people, an inspiration to all around him. Having decided to become a policeman, and then a lawyer, he had taken a job as a security guard as a step on this journey.
We started hearing songs like Amazing Grace, that were so familiar to me, and hauntingly beautiful Sudanese music that was completely new. Looking around me I was truly surrounded by people of all colors, many backgrounds, all clinging to America as a home, and wanting it to be the America of their dreams -- of our dreams.
We heard stories about James Angelo's life, and about the lives of many of his relatives ... people who left their war torn country seeking peace and quiet, and who found a true welcome here in Maine. In the tones of their voices, I could hear reverence, deep thanks, anger, pain, and fear. The police chief's promise to find James Angelo's killer or killers gave comfort, but that's a promise that needs to be delivered.
The TV images and text suggested an unruly gathering, and a family torn apart by grief. What I saw was a large, orderly and peaceful crowd, and an extended family grieving with great dignity. Of course there was pain. But relatives had come from as far as Michigan to offer support, and to share in their grief.
As for that American dream -- it may have been suspended for part of our community. As one speaker reminded us, children should bury their parents, and not the other way around. And while the particular rituals of grief may be different in different cultures, the depth of pain, and the need for people to join together is absolutely the same. I felt privileged to be able to be present at this event.
The death of James Angelo is both a personal tragedy, and a community event that might have brought us closer together, but that requires action and not just concern.
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Gun violence is a problem in America.
Unfortunately, it doesn't discriminate predictably and takes children at a very high rate.
A home with a gun inside is far more likely to be a home where a child dies from gun violence.
We pretend guns are about protecting ourselves and yet the guns we buy for that reason become a danger to our children and ourselves.
America has the highest rate of gun violence in the entire industrialized world.
James Angelo is another statistic in the country with the highest number of this kind of statistic.
Even guns, however, cannot dehumanize him or any other person to merely a number.
Every time we lose another friend - a father, a daughter, a neice, a nephew, a coach, a friend, a mother, a son - it hurts like it always hurts when a loved one is wrongly killed and can never come back.
The proliferation of handguns is a pox on America. We need to do something to curb this disease.
We can't bring back James, but maybe can help others from suffering the same fate.
We need rational gun control legislation.
Posted by DK
September 17, 2008 01:31 AM
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