Another Day in the Death of America

by Gary Younge

  Researching and writing this book has made me want to scream. I’ve wanted to scream at Edwin and Brandon that guns are not toys, at Jerry to either take the kids on his trucking run or stay home, at Stanley to quit hanging on the corner, at Gustin to watch who he hangs out with, and at Tyshon’s mother to move. I’ve wanted to scream at journalists and police to treat these deaths as though the lives mattered.

  But more than its making me want to scream at anyone in particular, it has mostly made me want to just howl at the moon. A long, doleful, piercing cry for a wealthy country that could and should do better for its youth and children—for my children—but that appears to have settled, legislatively at least, on a pain threshold that is morally unacceptable.

  I want to bay toward the heavens, because while kids like those featured in this book keep dying, the political class refuses to do not only everything in its power but anything at all to minimize the risks for the kids who will be shot dead today or tomorrow.

  As I explained at the outset, this is not a book about gun control. The challenges facing the people profiled in this book are more thorny and knotted than that. Poverty and inequality foster desperation; segregation is a serious barrier to empathy. The more likely you are to be wealthy or white, the less likely you are to believe that these children could be your children. Statistically that is true, but the fact remains that they are somebody’s children, and those parents grieve like everybody else.

  Better education, youth services, jobs that pay a living wage, mental health services, trauma counseling, a fair criminal justice system—in short, more opportunity, less despair—would contribute to the climate where such deaths were less likely.

  You can’t legislate for common sense and human decency. Neither poverty nor racism puts a gun in anyone’s hand, let alone tells them to fire it. But they are a starting point for the conditions of alienation, anomie, and ambivalence in which a gun might be used and some gun deaths ignored. People have to take personal responsibility for what they do and live with the consequences. But societies have to take collective responsibility for what they do and live with the consequences, too.1

  As I argued in the introduction, this is a book about what happens when you don’t have gun control. Americans are no more inherently violent than anybody else. What makes its society more deadly is the widespread availability of firearms. Every country has its problems, unique to its own history and culture. But in no other Western society would this book be possible.

  To defend this reality by way of the Second Amendment to the Constitution has about the same relevance as seeking to understand the roots of modern terrorism—either to condemn or to condone it—through readings of the Koran. To base an argument on ancient texts is to effectively abdicate your responsibility to understand the present by offloading it onto those who are now dead. It denies not only the possibility of new interpretations and solutions but the necessity for them.

  None of the family members I spoke to raised the Second Amendment one way or the other. Almost all believed guns were too readily available; none believed there was anything that could be done about it. Brilliant community groups, often operating on a shoestring, like Mario’s in Charlotte, exist across the country and campaign tirelessly against gun violence or for commonsense gun legislation, or both. But those who concentrate on protecting “babes” and “angels” from felons and gangsters stand little chance of finding roots in the very communities where the problems are most acute. It would appear that, of all the parents who lost children that day, only Nicole, judging by her later Facebook postings (including a spoof children’s book called The Gun That Went Around Killing Children All By Itself), seems to be engaged in some kind of advocacy around the issue. But even she clearly finds the broader conversation about gun control too toxic to engage with. Alongside portraits of hundreds of children shot dead since Sandy Hook, which included a photo of Jaiden, she wrote:

  Jaiden was one of the hundreds of children under the age of 12 killed by gun violence in the one year after the Sandy Hook massacre. . . .

  As the 3rd anniversary approaches for Sandy Hook, there is going to be news coverage, memorials and articles about gun control etc—I don’t want to get into a debate about gun control or violence or mental health problems but what I would like is to ask each of you to take a moment and look at these beautiful gorgeous children and remember them and their families during this holiday season in addition to all those killed at Sandy Hook Elementary.2

  Otherwise, it’s as though each death took place in helpless, hopeless isolation: a private, discrete tragedy complete unto itself. The broader context of race and poverty was clear to many. But when I told them of other families that had lost children that day, all seemed genuinely shocked that their grief overlapped in real time with that of others. It’s as though they had lost a loved one in a war without any clear purpose, end, or enemy—a war they could do nothing about; a war they long knew existed but hoped by luck, judgment, discipline, and foresight that they might be able to protect their kids from; a war that is generally acknowledged in the abstract but rarely specifically addressed in the concrete. A war that took their children but offered them no allies or community in their grief. A war they knew was taking place elsewhere but experienced alone, as though it were happening only to them—when in fact it was happening to America. Every day.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  IN A BOOK THAT TAKES THIS LONG AND SPREADS ITS NET THIS wide, there are more people to thank than I can individually acknowledge. Fortunately, many are friends; you know who you are and how much your help was appreciated. I particularly want to acknowledge the family members of the victims who opened up their hearts, photo albums, and memories and trusted me with their stories. Without you there would be no book. Every interviewee who is named in the book gave me their time and insight, for which I’m very grateful.

  I specifically need to thank Merope Mills, who gave me the idea to write a story on this very premise back in 2007, when she was editor of the Guardian’s Weekend magazine. The article worked well. Still, I knew, when researching and reporting it at the time, that there was more to this topic than could fit in a piece for a magazine. To do it on a larger scale required time and money I didn’t have.

  The opportunity to pursue it came thanks to my fabulous agent, Jonny Geller, who has advocated for my work for well over a decade, and also to Frances Coady. When Jonny explained the idea to Frances, then the editor at a new publishing venture, Atavist Books, she understood it immediately. We worked together for over a year. Frances guided the book through its first draft, encouraging me throughout. She knew all the children’s first names, knew the circumstances of their deaths, understood the themes, and shaped much of the narrative. Such was her dedication to the project that once Atavist Books closed its doors she carried on working on it. When she transitioned to being an agent, she represented me in the United States. In the process she has become a good friend, a great champion, and a close collaborator. Alessandra Bastagli, of Nation Books in the United States, and Laura Hassan, of Guardian/Faber in the UK, took the book to the finish line with keen but indulgent eyes for detail, style, and promotion. It has been a real pleasure working with them.

  A significant number of people helped with the research on this book, including Micah Utrecht, Benjamin Hattem, Darren Ankrom, and Kat Keene Hogue; many thanks to Taya Kitman of The Nation Institute, who agreed to help fund much of this research. But then there are those not mentioned to whom I would like express my gratitude: Jesse Soodalter, Jessica Blatt, Steve Strunsky, Stephanie Lundy, Jessica Smith, Carrie Messenger, Miriam Garcia, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Wendy Posner, and Elliott Fineman. Thanks also to Benedick Raikes, Ingrid Jacobson, Taline Voskeritchian, Andrea Levy, Bill Mayblin, Colin Robinson, Mickey Davis, and Julie Fain, who read at various stages and encouraged it to maturity. I’m grateful also to Melissa Raymond and Kelley Blewster, who worked with and around my domestic challenges to make sure a contracted pr
oduction schedule was possible without being overly punishing.

  Finally, and primarily, I’d like to thank Tara for the final read, and Osceola and Zora for putting up with my frequent absences. There wasn’t a time when writing and researching this book that I wasn’t thinking about you.

  NOTES

  INTRODUCTION

  1. Elisha Fieldstadt, “Deadly Storm System Moves East, Threatens Holiday Travel,” NBC News, http://www.nbcnews.com/news/other/deadly-storm-system-moves-east-threatens-holiday-travel-f2D11650166.

  2. John Cornyn, Twitter, November 23, 2013, https://twitter.com/johncornyn/status/404448260468641792.

  3. See http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqarsandhttp://wonder.cdc.gov. “Key Gun Violence Statistics,” Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, http://www.bradycampaign.org/key-gun-violence-statistics (accessed March 9, 2016). The Brady Center obtains its data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

  4. “Protect Children Not Guns 2013,” Children’s Defense Fund, July 24, 2013, http://www.childrensdefense.org/library/protect-children-not-guns/protect-children-not-guns-2013.pdf.

  5. Adam B. Schiff, New York Times, November 23, 2013, A1; also found online at www.nytimes.com/2013/11/23/world/middleeast/a-yemenis-long-trip-to-seek-answers-about-a-drone-strike.html.

  6. “Protect Children Not Guns 2013,” Children’s Defense Fund, 33.

  7. See http://wonder.cdc.gov/.

  8. Nate Silver, “Black Americans Are Killed at 12 Times the Rate of People in Other Developed Countries,” FiveThirtyEight, June 18, 2015, http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/black-americans-are-killed-at-12-times-the-rate-of-people-in-other-developed-countries.

  9. Chris Kyle with William Doyle, American Gun: A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms (New York: HarperCollins, 2013), 255.

  10. Quoted in Amanda Terkel, “Joe Manchin Ready for Gun Control Action: ‘Everything Should Be on the Table,’” Huffington Post, December 17, 2012, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/17/joe-manchin-gun-control_n_2314782.html.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  1. “Child Shot by Teenage Brother Dies,” CBS Dallas–Fort Worth, November 25, 2013, http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2013/11/25/child-shot-by-teenage-brother-dies.

  2. See http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars and http://wonder.cdc.gov. “Key Gun Violence Statistics,” Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, http://www.bradycampaign.org/key-gun-violence-statistics (accessed March 9, 2016). The Brady Center obtains its data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

  CHAPTER ONE

  1. “Quick Facts, Grove City, Ohio,” United States Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/3932592 (accessed April 17, 2016).

  2. “Dan Thornton,” BoxRec, http://boxrec.com/boxer/7409.

  3. “Suspect Killed After Shooting 9-Year-Old, Ex-Girlfriend & Officer,” WBNS-10TV, November 22, 2013, http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2013/11/22/grove-city-shooting-schools.html.

  4. Douglas Kellner, Guys and Guns Amok: Domestic Terrorism and School Shootings from the Oklahoma City Bombing to the Virginia Tech Massacre (Boulder, CO: Paradigm, 2008), 14.

  5. Ibid., 14.

  6. “Grove City, OH Crime and Crime Rate,” USA.com, http://www.usa.com/grove-city-oh-crime-and-crime-rate.htm (accessed March 9, 2016).

  7. Lisa Evans, “Mapping Murder Throughout the World,” Guardian, October 10, 2011, http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/oct/10/world-murder-rate-unodc.

  8. Kristyn Hartman, “Shooting Survivor Shares Her Story from Pain to Recovery,” WBNS-10TV, July 24, 2014, http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2014/07/24/columbus-ohio-shooting-survivor-shares-her-journey-from-pain-to-recovery.html.

  9. “Ohio Police Kill Man After Shooting of Woman, Child,” Herald Dispatch, November 22, 2013, http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/recent_news/ohio-police-kill-man-after-shooting-of-woman-child/article_cea0d240-975e-533b-92de-b0343e08f52e.html.

  10. Associated Press, “Ohio Boy Shot by Mom’s Ex-Lover Still in Critical Condition,” the News-Herald, November 23, 2013, http://www.news-herald.com/article/hr/20131123/NEWS/131129642.

  11. H. Range Hutson, et al., “Suicide by Cop,” Annals of Emergency Medicine 6, vol. 32 (December 1998): 665–669, http://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(98)70064-2/abstract.

  12. Harriet Sarnoff Schiff, The Bereaved Parent (New York: Penguin Books, 1978), 2.

  13. Ibid., 25.

  14. Ibid., 23.

  15. Alan Ball and Christian Taylor, “Life’s Too Short,” Six Feet Under, season 1, episode 9, directed by Jeremy Podeswa, aired July 29, 2001, IMDB.com, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0702000/?ref_=ttqt_qt_tt.

  CHAPTER TWO

  1. Three Fountains West website, http://www.threefountainswest.com (accessed March 2, 2016).

  2. For more information, see USBoundary.com, US Area boundary, data, graphs, tools and services. Census Tract 3103.06, Marion County, Indiana, http://www.usboundary.com/Areas/Census%20Tract/Indiana/Marion%20County/Census%20%20Tract%203103.06/457146 (accessed May 13, 2016). And see US Census Bureau, Explanation of Race and Hispanic Origin Categories, http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/rho.txt (accessed May 13, 2016).

  3. Chris Kyle with William Doyle, American Gun: A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms (New York: HarperCollins, 2013), 259.

  4. James Welch, “The Ethos of the Gun,” in Gun Violence and Public Life, eds. Ben Agger and Timothy W. Luke (Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers, 2014), 153.

  5. Michael Waldman, The Second Amendment: A Biography (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2014), 171.

  6. Quoted in Joan Biskupic, “Guns: A Second (Amendment) Look,” Washington Post, May 10, 1995, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/supcourt/stories/courtguns051095.htm.

  7. Samantha Lachman, “Wayne LaPierre Warns Fellow Gun Rights Supporters of ‘Knockout Gamers,’ ‘Haters,’” Huffington Post, April 25, 2014, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/25/wayne-lapierre-nra-_n_5214959.html.

  8. Wayne LaPierre, “CPAC: Wayne LaPierre’s Speech,” Daily Caller, March 6, 2014, http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/06/cpac-wayne-lapierres-speech/.

  9. Aaron Blake, “Bloomberg Launches New $50 Million Gun Control Effort,” Washington Post, April 16, 2014, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/postpolitics/wp/2014/04/16/bloomberg-aims-to-spend-50-million-on-gun-control/.

  10. “Mass Shootings, 2013,” Gun Violence Archive, http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shootings/2013 (accessed April 12, 2016).

  11. Shannon Van Sant, “China School Knife Attack Leaves 23 Injured,” CBS News, December 14, 2012, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-school-knife-attack-leaves-23-injured/.

  12. “In Memoriam, Emmett Till,” Life magazine, October 3, 1955.

  13. Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (New York: The New Press, 2012), 71.

  14. Ibid.

  15. Amos Brown III, “Black Graduation Rates Fall in State, Many Indy Districts,” Indianapolis Recorder, February 28, 2013, http://www.indianapolisrecorder.com/education/article_bbbc4442-81be-11e2-9701-0019bb2963f4.html?TNNoMobile.

  16. Kenneth J. Mills-Tucker obituary, IndyStar, November 29, 2013, http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/indystar/obituary.aspx?pid=168224887.

  17. “Keeping Youth Connected: Focus on Indianapolis,” CLASP, August 2011, http://www.clasp.org/resources-and-publications/files/Indianapolis_Profile.pdf.

  18. Tanzina Vega, “Shooting Spurs Hashtag Effort on Stereotypes,” New York Times, August 13, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/us/if-they-gunned-me-down-protest-on-twitter.html?.

  19. Jessica Durando, “Users Ask Which Photo Media Would Use #IfThey GunnedMeDown,” USA Today, August 12, 2014, http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/08/12/if-they-gunned-me-down-hashtag-twitter/13982539/.

  20. Rebecca Bennett and Russ McQuaid, “Teen Found Shot to Death in Parking Garage of JW Marriott,” Fox59, July 21, 2013, http://fox59.com/2013/07/21/teen-found-shot-to-death-in-parking-garage-of-jw-marriott/.

/>   21. See http://www.indystar.com/picture-gallery/news/2016/04/21/gett-money-gang-members-arrested/83330394/.

  22. Quoted in Ruth-Arlene W. Howe, “A Wake-Up Call for American Society or Have ‘The Chickens Just Come Home to Roost?’: Essay Review of Charles Patrick Ewing’s When Children Kill: The Dynamics of Juvenile Homicide, Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School, January 1, 1992, http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1685&context=lsfp.

  CHAPTER THREE

  1. Jill Leovy, Ghettoside: Investigating a Homicide Epidemic (London: The Bodley Head, 2015), 29.

  2. “Quarterly Homicide Team Report for October–December 2014,” District Attorney R. Andrew Murray’s office, January 13, 2015, http://www.charmeckda.com/news/011315_1.pdf.

  3. “Turning Point Academy,” website of the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools, http://schools.cms.k12.nc.us/turningpointAE/Pages/Default.aspx (accessed March 11, 2016).

  4. Chuck McShane, “1993: Charlotte’s Deadliest Year,” Charlotte Magazine, November 21, 2013, http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Charlotte-Magazine/December-2013/1993-Charlottes-Deadliest-Year/?cparticle=2&siarticle=1.

  5. Tim Murphy, “Black Parents Need to Get It Together, Says Former Tea Party Congressman Sued over Child Support,” Mother Jones, August 28, 2013, http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/08/joe-walsh-black-parents-need-get-it-together.

  6. Joanna Rothkopf, “Bill O’Reilly: Black People Should Wear ‘Don’t Get Pregnant at 14’ T-Shirts,” Salon, December 18, 2014, http://www.salon.com/2014/12/18/bill_oreilly_black_people_should_wear_dont_get_pregnant_at_14_t_shirts/.