Death of Sierra Guyton should be a wake-up call for everyone

Milwaukee J-S ^ | 15 july 2014 | James Causey

[rellimpank]

Sierra Guyton put up a long fight, but on Sunday her young body finally succumbed to her injuries.

It was two months ago that a dispute between two men ended in gunfire and 10-year-old Sierra was shot in the head as she played at the Clarke Street Elementary School playground.

Sierra died about 1:35 a.m. Sunday at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. She was taken off life support June 25, but survived another 2 1/2 weeks.

If an effort ever was needed to get young black men to put down their guns and settle their disputes in a sensible manner, this is a case that everyone should pay attention to. Sierra could have been anyone's daughter. She could have been my daughter. As the father of a 10-year-old, I don't know what I would do if this happened to my little princess.

Sierra's father, Onjuan Guyton, described the last few weeks for him and his family as living in hell. I think few ever could know the pain that this family is going through, but sadly these types of events in some Milwaukee neighborhoods are becoming all too familiar.

I don't know why Sylvester Lewis, 18, and Jamey Jackson, 28, who were charged in the shooting that wounded Sierra, allegedly decided to settle their dispute with guns. Lewis is suspected of hitting Sierra while firing at Jackson, and Jackson was charged with possession of a firearm as a felon.

There isn't really anything that they can say to justify their alleged actions. What we do know is that we have a serious problem that needs to be fixed. We have a gun problem, in which too many felons are illegally carrying and using weapons.

[irish guard]

Sadly, this article doesn't speak a word about the drug problems in the inner city here. Nor does it talk about the turf wars which led to this shooting.

It's a terrible thing that this little girl died, but let's at least write about why the shooting took place aside from a disagreement between two men. That's a key missing component of the story.

[Gen.Blather]

“Really? The ‘nanny state’...LOL! No, its not the nanny state at fault. They simply supply the bait. Its those who have no morals or ethics that snap that bait up...to their own demise.”

I was raised in a family of entrepreneurs and engineers. There was an unstated expectation that I would either go to college and get an engineering degree or form my own business. Either way there was a powerful expectation that I would succeed. But if you’re raised in a house with no father and nobody has a job, what is the expectation? What if everybody you know sucks off the state in one way or another. That’s the dinnertime conversation. That’s what you see all day every day. Where would somebody raised in that environment with literally no other expectation get the idea they should get an education and succeed? I know for a fact that when young black boys excel in school they get the cr*p beat out of them. It’s like a bucket full of crabs. Anytime one almost gets out the others pull him back in. As long as the government continues to give stuff away they keep these people down on the plantation. Only by taking it away can they ever expect to succeed.

[556x45]

Believe it or not...there are people w/o fathers who were poor who did well in life. They succeeded despite the obstacles b/c they took responsibility for themselves. Yes, having a caring father certainly greatly enhances your chance to succeed. In the end though its your character that counts most to determine whether you sink or swim.