As I set out to start a blog, I was planning to only write one entry per day, if that (since I didn't know where to come up with material). But today I am on my second, because there has been a recent event town that got me to thinking.
Yesterday evening (Tuesday), at approximately 6 pm, a young man was shot and killed in the first known gang related homicide in Walla Walla. I'm tempted to let this scare me, but as my husband says, it's only scary if you let it be. My trust is in the Lord, who can destroy me? Yes, because it is gang related and I am not involved in a gang, that makes it a little safer for me. Still, this was somebody's family member, and gang member or not, somebody had to care about him.
So the questions begin, and they aren't questions that I have answers to, nor do I expect any answers in return. There are some questions that will never be answered on this earth, and the answers to which I may never even understand.
My thoughts take me to the core reason that gangs exist, which I believe to be pure hatred. At least from my viewpoint, that seems to be their sole reason for existence. So then my question really is "how do they decide who to hate?" "How does a rivalry come about between gangs?" "And what draws an individual into an organization or group that hates individuals/groups that they don't even know, most likely?"
And then there's the most important question of all: "What can we, as a community, do to prevent gang activity in our community?"
As I said before, I don't have the answers, only questions. I am sad to see that my daughter will be growing up in a community where gangs and violence exist, but I know that our hope is in the Lord, and I pray that I can instill the fear and love of God in her heart as she grows.
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