*This post is part of the project, "Sorrow, Anger, ACTION! - A Gathering of Voices Against Gun Violence," organized by MomsRising, PICO Network, UltraViolet, Children's Defense Fund and the National Network to End Domestic Violence. I have been a New York City public school teacher for the past thirteen years and, during that time, I have attended my share of funerals for past students. Way too many of our children have become casualties of war in this feud between gun companies and our federal government. The sad part is that it seems that the gun companies are winning the battle because more and more guns are becoming available on our streets and Congress seems to think that if we don’t talk about it, it will all go away. "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil." I’m here to speak for all of the mothers, fathers, family members, friends, and educators who have buried their children due to the terrible gun violence that plagues our communities like a thief that … [Read more...]
A Society in Crisis
A lot of news reports lately have centered around women who have engaged in acts that were not very motherly. One report spoke of a woman in her twenties who gave birth and dumped her baby in a garbage can because she did not want her mother to find out that she had given birth. Due to being dumped at such a vulnerable time, the baby will suffer brain damage for the rest of his life. Also, every single time I turn around I'm hearing about women who murder their children because they are mentally ill, because of a boyfriend, or many other sick reasons that could only seem logical in their demented minds. I don't want to spend a lot of time describing their heinous crimes because they disgust me and they don't deserve any attention for what they have done. What I would like to address, however, is the fact that some women have no business having children. It is not true that all women experience maternal feelings towards their offspring. As a society, I'm sure … [Read more...]
Nobody Wins…
This past week, a woman who lived in the same area as I do went missing. She was the mother of four and a productive member of society who worked as a nurse. Her story was all over the airwaves and many people in the community were visibly shocked as I live in a fairly affluent neighborhood in one of the outer boroughs of New York City. There was a lot of speculation surrounding her disappearance and it was stated on the news that her husband was being questioned as a suspect. I hate to say this but, I immediately felt in my gut that he had killed her. It was just too weird that a responsible mother of four beautiful children suddenly disappeared without a trace. Over the years, I have grown accustomed to ultimately finding out that it was the spouse or the boyfriend that committed the heinous act. Unfortunately, it usually turns out that this was indeed the case and the public learns that there was a long history of domestic violence prior to the murder. … [Read more...]
