A Fallen Hero

For the last two yeas I have been volunteering at a probation office to work with youth who have been put through to an extra-judicial sanction (i.e. programs rather than custody).

So I was wrapping up a session last night with the youth I was working with and part of the homework I gave him the week before was to research 3 different news articles and discuss the type of impacts and victims that were involved...this is a Victim Impact Awareness Program....

Let me just say most of the kids I work with are good kids that made a bad choice... and this poor guy was in the wrong place, wrong time, wrong people type of situation.

Anyway, one of the newspaper clippings that he researched really had an impact on me.

An anti-violence/gun/gang activist named Kenneth Mark, age 29 was shot in the back of the head and killed on

December 29th 2009 about 5 minutes from where I live.

The emotions that came over me were too many to count.

This guy did amazing things for his commnuity and the fact that he was killed by gun violence via a 19 and 16 year old, is just disgusting.

Naturally my mind goes to wanting to know more about the accused - the back story, etc.

As much as I would like to think the world is capable of love and that hate stems from circumstances most of us would not even be able to understand or sympathize with - this to me was apalling and extremely cold-blooded.

It would be like killing Mother Teresa because she was "too caring" - unbelievable.

Please read this article.

National Post

I too am a non-violence, anti-gun supporter- and as the obstacles seem to get larger and more complex - to me it is a battle always worth fighting.

There is no need for these instances to happen AT ALL. We must look into our gun policies, we must educate through progarms and get to the core issues of people... we must CARE MORE, DO MORE.

Our government needs to put more focus on these issues - so the playground is not a catalyst for gang formation, for gang wars, for unneccesary territorial hate etc.

This is just one instances of many - I am so infuriated by this murder that words cannot do justice to my feelings.

Kenneth Mark - you are in my thoughts - you did great things - and your memory will live on past your too short-lived life.

I will keep that positivity torch lit for you always.

xo
M