Mindless Menace of Violence

You have to listen/watch this... Bobby Kennedy!! So moving and powerful! Wow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_Vll-t0H6A

Learn to Love not Teach to Hate

"Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it." -- Martin Luther King Jr.

Educate: to provide with knowledge; to bring to an understanding

As she stands in front of the class, her eyes scan the room. Soft giggles begin to fill the silence and she notices a few students covering up their smiles. The laughter suddenly becomes more prevalent and she sees that shy smirks have taken over many of the children's faces. A young boy in the front row opens the note that has made its way around the room leaving several of his classmates with the giggles. As he unfolds the sides back, the image is slowly revealed. The smile that before covered his face immediately disappears as his eyes well up with anger and embarrassment. She rips the paper from his hands and sees the image drawn across it. Her mind is immeadiately brought to a similar stereotypical drawing she once saw of a Jewish man with a rat like nose. Her heart seethes with fury, as she is well aware of the "war" that is taking place. But where does she even begin? They don’t understand; they don’t know why? It is at this moment that she realizes the importance of her role as a teacher. For it is not just to teach about subjects in the classroom, it is to educate others about tolerance and acceptance; about similarities and differences; about the past and about the present. Teachers are more than just advocates in a classroom, teachers are all of us. We all have the ability and responsibility to educate one another on such subjects. By collaborating through similarities and coming together as one, instead of seperating ourselves as individuals by differences, we can begin to free ourselves from the sufferings of hatred and hostility and walk together in harmony and peace.

Watch this clip to better understand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0PRB4YsXn4

LEARN TO LOVE, NOT TEACH TO HATE

The sky is dark, the clouds release their tears.

Students are terrified and start running from their peers.

The air is filled with hate, animosity and fear.

Who do we turn to? Where do we go from here?

When did we start teaching to hate one another?

What happened to my neighbor, my friend, my sister and

brother?

Lives shot short and more hatred fills.

This is what happens when people decide to kill.

LEARN TO LOVE, NOT TEACH TO HATE

How do we teach our children to forgive but not forget

Solve their problems without violence, and later regret?

Anger, aggression, violence and hate,

Is seen too often and in many is great.

Man bumps into man and that begins a brawl.

One pushes the other, and they both begin to call:

"Watch where you're goin'. Next time look to your right?"

"What did you say to me bro? You wanna fight?"

One of them pulls out a gun, shots ring out, the echo fills the air

One man now lies face down upon the street the other stands scared.

Darrent Williams, a former Denver Bronco player, was shot and killed in an act of violence and anger.

Virginia Tech now compared to Columbine.

Columbine, Columbine, a dear friend of mine.

LEARN TO LOVE NOT TEACH TO HATE

Where did we learn to be so mean?

Did we not learn from the great Dr. Martin Luther King?

"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."

Let's end this together. Let's remind one another that

solving our problems with violence

and hatred has never been cool.

We should love each other no matter the color of our skin.

Love one another not for what you see on the outside but for what can be found within.

May we be guided from angels up above.

Let them teach us a thing or two about what it means to

love.

"If your enemy is hungry feed him

If he is thirsty give him something to drink"

(Romans 12:20)

Before you turn to hatred, stop for a second and think.

Turn your rival into a friend

Say you're sorry and show them love;

And if something should happen

May you leave this world knowing that you'll have no enemies up above. -- Andrea Bucci written April 2007

"How our children live tomorrow depends on what we

teach them today." -- unknown

"In acceptance there is peace" -- unknown

"...be the kind of people that have enough passion to change the world. If we let ourselves be fire, thunder, or lightening, we could alter everything." -- Freedom Writers Diary Diary entry 43

Empty

"Maybe it's true that you can use up all of your tears. Maybe Grandma's right about that. It was nice to think about because what I wanted was to be empty." (pg. 291)

Johnathan Safran Foer Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

EMPTY as a vase

What once was filled with beauty now sits empty on the shelf up there

EMPTY as a cookie jar

When before you reached for something sweet, now all you find is air.

EMPTY as a coffee mug

The contents once piping hot

Tilt back the mug to take a drink

But liquid there is not

EMPTY as a piggy bank

Once rattled with the sounds of change

EMPTY as my pocketbook

The color green looks strange

EMPTY as a birds nest

No little chicks that call it home

EMPTY is the dying garden

No potent roses, nor a trace of a miniture garden gnome

EMPTY like an envelope

A letter it once enclosed

EMPTY like a king sized bed

A couple no longer there to doze

EMPTY like a pair of sneakers

What once tied up his stinky feet

EMPTY is the music room

For no one is able to find the beat

EMPTY is the canvas

No picture perfect scene

EMPTY are the pages of her book

The author unable to write a thing

EMPTY is the lamp

No light bulb to illuminate the room

EMPTY is the dustpan

For they are unable to find the broom

EMPTY is the pond

No fish to swim upstream

EMPTY is the teakettle

No boiling hot water to make it steam

EMPTY are the box of crayons

The bright colors have all been replaced

EMPTY is the nights sky

No shooting star, no full moon, nothing but an empty dark space

EMPTY is my heart

No heartbeat you will find

EMPTY like the Tin Man who desires a heart

And the Scarecrow who longs for a mind

EMPTY is my soul

No feeling of joy nor sadness

EMPTY is my smile

No trace of love, laughter or gladness

EMPTY are my eyes

For I've cried out all my tears

EMPTY is what I am

For the pain I've endured throughout the years

EMPTY is what I want to be

No feelings good or bad

For when I'm EMPTY as I am

At least I cannot feel sad. -- Andrea Bucci written March 1, 2010

Heavy Boots

What gives you heavy boots?

What fills them up with lead?

Is it the things you fear the most?

Or is it something else instead?

Heavy boots cause you might die alone

No loved ones at your side?

Or are your boots so heavy

Because of the person you are inside?

Heavy boots trodden upon a heavy heart

What is it that makes your boots so heavy?

Have you done everything you can?

Have you done your part?

Does the idea of death

Weigh down your boots; now cemented to the floor?

Do your boots carry extra weight

That was not felt there before?

No easy feat to lift your boots

From off the solid ground

Does the weight feel like it's in your boots

Or is it felt around?

These heavy boots now covered with mud

And dirt and muck

These boots seem awfully heavy now

For you haven't had the best of luck

Heavy boots because your scared

Of what you just might find?

Your weighted boots have kept you in one place

Not allowing you to climb

What is it that fills your boots with sand

Overflowing from the brim?

Is it that you'll never know what could have been

Should have been with them?

As you take a step

Do you feel the extra weight that's stuck to your boots like glue?

With the weight that you now carry

What is it that you'll do?

Heavy boots for fear of the unknown

At times your boots were heaviest

They seem to be

The times that you have really grown

Rocks now overflow your boots

No room to place your feet

Do you feel the pressures of your boots?

Will you succumb and accept defeat?

Heavy boots for you

Because of the way you feel about the ones you leave behind

Heavy boots remain

For you can never be too kind

What gives you heavy boots I ask?

What fills them up with lead?

Will you trudge along in your heavy boots?

Or will you kick them off instead?

-- Andrea Bucci

written March 2, 2010

Book Club Virtual Discussion

Hey BC Hommies,

I've been wanting to start a blog for our book club

So that we could have a place to post some questions, share our thoughts; a homepage hub

After several of our meetings, I leave feeling like I had so much more to say

I would try to remember to bring it up the next week, but my memory would not last til the following Tuesday

I would write them in my journal, sometimes share a question or two

But when I would get home, the wheels continued turning and I wanted a way to share my heart and soul with you

Please post whatever you would like, be it questions, comments, poems or random thoughts,

Feel free to share whatever it is that's on your mind, whatever it is that you've got

This is not to take away from our conversations together

My hope is that this will make the BC even better

Along with questions, comments and thoughts about what we read

This can also be a helpful tool to keep those who may have missed, up to speed

Don't get me wrong I love the e-mails throughout the work day

This is just another avenue to let you express what it is that you've been wanting to say

Although we finished Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

This book intrigued my mind and my spirit, it provided me with the most

So I'll leave you with a few words that I wrote, inspired by the book

If you so desire, check out the next post... go ahead n' take a look