Mya Lyons
Chicago Defender
By now, most of you have read about Mya Lyons, a 9-year-old girl found stabbed to death Monday night. There is no need rehashing the tragic details of her death. When I first heard about it, I felt a bit of deja vu, recalling the murder of 11-year-old Ryan Harris, whose death will be approaching its 10-year anniversary in August.
It is moments like these that the issue of youth violence shows itself to be more than the back and forth we have seen play out in the press this past year. There’s no fight over guns and gun-control in the death of Mya Lyons. There’s no fight over gangs. There’s no fight over after-school programs or jobs in the community. What we have here is something so brutal that it’s unanswerable. And you know what? That’s alright. Everything doesn’t have an easy answer, or what we personally think is an easy answer. Sometimes things are so complex and a shock to our system that all we can do is think. Maybe a little more thinking is a good thing for us, because we have a lot to think about in our communities. The death of this little girl is more than a problem that can be fixed with simple legislation or protest.
This is what is missed in the debate we have about guns and external problems in relation to youths who die by gun violence. Guns are only one component of the problem. Chicago has had a gun ban for more than 25 years. How far has that gotten us to stopping the violence if we see a march or rally to stop it almost every weekend?
Numbers of murders (homicides) in Chicago per year:
- 1990: 851
- 1991: 927
- 1992: 943
- 1993: 931
- 1994: 929
- 1995: 827
- 1996: 789
- 1997: 759
- 1998: 704
- 1999: 641
- 2000: 628
- 2001: 666
- 2002: 647
- 2003: 598
- 2004: 448
- 2005: 449
- 2006: 467
- 2007: 435
That is not to say there is a need for some type of gun control, but we can’t ignore the bigger picture in this story. What is that bigger picture? I don’t know, honestly. I’m still trying to figure that out. I have to admit that sometimes I wonder if it is a battle worth fighting. I’m sure some of you feel the same way at one point or another. A little voice says, “Something will happen whether or not I do anything. So, what’s the point?” But another voice soon follows, rebutting, “If not you, who?” So for those who nonetheless feel outrage or a sinking feeling over this senseless tragedy, remember you are not alone. Remember these words from the poet Aeschylus:
“Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”
