Comments on: Suppose There Was A Prayer Vigil And Nobody Came http://www.lakeeffectnews.com/2009/10/11/suppose-there-was-a-prayer-vigil-and-nobody-came/ Telling your stories, reporting your news Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:21:58 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: AnUptownVoice http://www.lakeeffectnews.com/2009/10/11/suppose-there-was-a-prayer-vigil-and-nobody-came/comment-page-1/#comment-895 AnUptownVoice Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:57:24 +0000 http://www.lakeeffectnews.com/?p=2590#comment-895 Excellent article. Thanks for giving more information on Tim Pitman and humanizing him. One small critique: Uptown Update--and in particular, its regular cadre of commenters-- does not express the sentiment of the larger Uptown community, as most of us in Uptown could see the danger in reducing the Tim Pitman's of the world to mere thugs and being so callous as to use the term "good riddance" to the loss of a young troubled and clearly conflicted life. Because while some may in fact be true "thugs" who care nothing for the world or the people who inhabit it, some of them, like Tim, have a little bit more of a backstory, and make us understand why some people could mourn Tim Pitman's death. The fact that Tim Pitman retained the ability to seek out a positive connection with an adult to me shows this was a young man whose life could have been redeemed. I don't know why Tim didn't extricate himself sooner, but I do know that a verbal argument should not have resulted in his death. He was worth more concern than 44 slashed tires. He wasn't garbage. Tim Pitman was human, as this article so eloquently showed.Tim did not deserve to die. And our community did not deserve the lasting image of a young man--a teenager--lying dead on the sidewalk where children would normally play. Excellent article. Thanks for giving more information on Tim Pitman and humanizing him. One small critique: Uptown Update–and in particular, its regular cadre of commenters– does not express the sentiment of the larger Uptown community, as most of us in Uptown could see the danger in reducing the Tim Pitman’s of the world to mere thugs and being so callous as to use the term “good riddance” to the loss of a young troubled and clearly conflicted life. Because while some may in fact be true “thugs” who care nothing for the world or the people who inhabit it, some of them, like Tim, have a little bit more of a backstory, and make us understand why some people could mourn Tim Pitman’s death. The fact that Tim Pitman retained the ability to seek out a positive connection with an adult to me shows this was a young man whose life could have been redeemed. I don’t know why Tim didn’t extricate himself sooner, but I do know that a verbal argument should not have resulted in his death. He was worth more concern than 44 slashed tires. He wasn’t garbage. Tim Pitman was human, as this article so eloquently showed.Tim did not deserve to die. And our community did not deserve the lasting image of a young man–a teenager–lying dead on the sidewalk where children would normally play.

]]> By: James Cappleman http://www.lakeeffectnews.com/2009/10/11/suppose-there-was-a-prayer-vigil-and-nobody-came/comment-page-1/#comment-883 James Cappleman Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:00:53 +0000 http://www.lakeeffectnews.com/?p=2590#comment-883 Violence of any kind damages the psyche of a community, so I wish there had been more advanced notice about the meeting. Clearly, more work is needed to encourage different groups to communicate with one another. It's also regrettable that some expressed no regret over this senseless death. We need to be building bridges rather than alienating one another. I was collecting signatures to place someone on a ballot and had the chance to speak to a young man in the neighborhood a couple of weeks ago. He spoke of having no hope for himself during our brief conversation. Opening up like that in such a short span of time speaks volumes. I wanted to talk him out of it, but I also knew I needed to respect what he was feeling at the time. I hope we get the chance to talk later again. Violence of any kind damages the psyche of a community, so I wish there had been more advanced notice about the meeting. Clearly, more work is needed to encourage different groups to communicate with one another.

It’s also regrettable that some expressed no regret over this senseless death. We need to be building bridges rather than alienating one another.

I was collecting signatures to place someone on a ballot and had the chance to speak to a young man in the neighborhood a couple of weeks ago. He spoke of having no hope for himself during our brief conversation. Opening up like that in such a short span of time speaks volumes. I wanted to talk him out of it, but I also knew I needed to respect what he was feeling at the time. I hope we get the chance to talk later again.

]]> By: WindyCitizen.com http://www.lakeeffectnews.com/2009/10/11/suppose-there-was-a-prayer-vigil-and-nobody-came/comment-page-1/#comment-882 WindyCitizen.com Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:23:30 +0000 http://www.lakeeffectnews.com/?p=2590#comment-882 <strong>Story featured on WindyCitizen.com...</strong> Your story was featured on WindyCitizen.com Here is the link to vote it up and promote it: http://www.windycitizen.com/node/16234... Story featured on WindyCitizen.com…

Your story was featured on WindyCitizen.com Here is the link to vote it up and promote it: http://www.windycitizen.com/node/16234…

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