Forgiveness
This is really powerfule, I heard about this yesterday because I read the ZBoston Globe online every morning. This article was in there today and is worth a read if you have the time:
By Megan Tench, Globe Staff | April 15, 2006
Hair stylist Cathleen Foster came home Thursday after a long day of cutting and coloring at the Newbury Street salon where she works. In the quiet of her living room, she turned on the 10 o'clock news, and was drawn to the story of a little girl shot and paralyzed by a stray bullet.
Then she was floored, by the little girl's words, her composure, and her tears.
''When she lost it, I lost it," Foster said. ''I was sobbing not just because of what happened to her, but because a mother, in the year 2006, was able to raise that type of child."
As in other places throughout the city, it seemed the story of Kai Leigh Harriott was all anyone could talk about at the Beaucage Salon and Spa yesterday. Over the clip-clip of the scissors and the hum of the hairdryers, stylists debated the little girl's words of forgiveness for Anthony Warren, the man who had shot her. Clients with foils in their hair chimed in.
Some, like Foster, wished they possessed the same compassion the 5-year-old showed.
Others said the family should have demanded ''an eye for an eye," that the girl hasn't fully comprehended what the shooter has taken from her.
Mark Yessian, sitting on the Commonwealth Avenue mall, had just returned from out of town when he heard the story. He said he hoped Kai Leigh's message would resonate in Boston, especially at this time of year.
''It seemed to be a way to soften the tension in the city, with all the shootings," Yessian said. ''Ideally, it would get others to think twice when shooting in the air."
Further down the mall, Marrissa Roberts, a Bay State College student, said she would ''never be able to forgive someone for that."
At their home in Roxbury yesterday, Kai Leigh's mother, Tonya David, said the phone had not stopped ringing. Dignitaries, community leaders, television reporters, and neighbors wanted to know more. CNN ran the story with the words ''Amazing Grace" across the screen.
David didn't quite understand what all the fuss was about.
''We live in a world today that seems to want people to be bitter, angry," David said. ''But I don't want bitterness and anger in my life, and I don't want that for Kai Leigh. We are Christians. I tried very hard from the depths of my soul to hate Anthony, but it wouldn't come out."
Television footage being replayed nationwide yesterday showed David hugging Warren, 29, after he apologized for shooting her daughter and just before he was sentenced to 13 to 15 years in state prison. She only intended to shake his hand, she said, but he surprised her when he pulled her in for an embrace. Inspired by her daughter's strength, David said she couldn't let the man go.
Page 2 of 2 --
''I whispered in his ear: 'Here is your chance for a new beginning. Don't let God down,' " said David, a devoted member of Jubilee Christian Church in Mattapan.
As her mother spoke, Kai Leigh watched cartoons, played video games, and whizzed about in her wheelchair yesterday, seemingly oblivious of the commotion she had provoked. Instead, she said she is looking forward to picking out her dress for Easter. She said she had a tough day in court Thursday. She was glad it was over.
Asked by a reporter why she forgave the man who shot her, she shyly but clearly said: ''I wanted him to tell the world the truth." Warren had for three years denied the shooting, but changed his plea Thursday.
''I know he didn't mean to do it," Kai Leigh said.
With Easter approaching, members of the clergy said they hope that Kai Leigh's message will echo in neighborhoods often shaken by violence.
''This is a city known for grudges," said the Rev. William Dickerson of the Greater Love Tabernacle in Dorchester. ''One of the great acts of Christianity is being able to forgive, and Kai Leigh is the quintessential ambassador of forgiveness."
The Rev. Jeffrey Brown of Union Baptist Church in Cambridge said it was no coincidence that Kai Leigh's message came during a weekend when Christians are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
''Remember the Bible said, 'A child shall lead us,' " Brown said.
Not everyone agreed. In fact, in barber shops, coffee shops, and businesses, the story was also touching off arguments.
Mechanics at a tire shop in Dorchester had been debating it since 6:30 a.m. yesterday.
''The mother of the little girl might have forgiven him, and the little girl might have forgiven him, but I don't forgive him," said Johnny Calderon, a mechanic at the shop, arguing in Spanish and English with co-workers who praised the forgiveness. ''I have no forgiveness for anyone who shoots a child. I say, an eye for an eye. He took her life; now she can't walk forever. Someone should take his life."
Sitting inside Nadine Unisex Salon a few blocks away, customer Sofia Ambrose said the girl has yet to begin to understand how much she has lost.
''When she becomes a teenager, she's going to really see what she's missing," Ambrose said. ''For a 5-year-old girl to just forget about herself and forgive him, that was very emotional for me to watch."
But in the Back Bay, Gary Shattuck said people should learn from the little girl.
''If she forgives him, other people should," Shattuck said.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino, grandfather of a 5-year-old girl himself, said he was stunned by Kai Leigh's message.
''I saw that on TV, and I said, 'Oh, my God, what courage,' " Menino said. ''I wonder if I would have the same kind of composure and forgiveness. It really sends a message, especially to young people, that, yes, sometimes you do have to forgive when a wrong has been done to you."
As violence surged over the past year, the city has been confronting a street culture in which small beefs and retaliation sometimes result in bloodshed. Forgiveness has seemed rare, and that made the message more profound to some yesterday.
''If more people forgave, maybe there'd be less violence in the streets," said Marcus Harris, 17, sitting in a Mattapan pizza shop with three of his friends. They all nodded their heads in agreement.
By Megan Tench, Globe Staff | April 15, 2006
Hair stylist Cathleen Foster came home Thursday after a long day of cutting and coloring at the Newbury Street salon where she works. In the quiet of her living room, she turned on the 10 o'clock news, and was drawn to the story of a little girl shot and paralyzed by a stray bullet.
Then she was floored, by the little girl's words, her composure, and her tears.
''When she lost it, I lost it," Foster said. ''I was sobbing not just because of what happened to her, but because a mother, in the year 2006, was able to raise that type of child."
As in other places throughout the city, it seemed the story of Kai Leigh Harriott was all anyone could talk about at the Beaucage Salon and Spa yesterday. Over the clip-clip of the scissors and the hum of the hairdryers, stylists debated the little girl's words of forgiveness for Anthony Warren, the man who had shot her. Clients with foils in their hair chimed in.
Some, like Foster, wished they possessed the same compassion the 5-year-old showed.
Others said the family should have demanded ''an eye for an eye," that the girl hasn't fully comprehended what the shooter has taken from her.
Mark Yessian, sitting on the Commonwealth Avenue mall, had just returned from out of town when he heard the story. He said he hoped Kai Leigh's message would resonate in Boston, especially at this time of year.
''It seemed to be a way to soften the tension in the city, with all the shootings," Yessian said. ''Ideally, it would get others to think twice when shooting in the air."
Further down the mall, Marrissa Roberts, a Bay State College student, said she would ''never be able to forgive someone for that."
At their home in Roxbury yesterday, Kai Leigh's mother, Tonya David, said the phone had not stopped ringing. Dignitaries, community leaders, television reporters, and neighbors wanted to know more. CNN ran the story with the words ''Amazing Grace" across the screen.
David didn't quite understand what all the fuss was about.
''We live in a world today that seems to want people to be bitter, angry," David said. ''But I don't want bitterness and anger in my life, and I don't want that for Kai Leigh. We are Christians. I tried very hard from the depths of my soul to hate Anthony, but it wouldn't come out."
Television footage being replayed nationwide yesterday showed David hugging Warren, 29, after he apologized for shooting her daughter and just before he was sentenced to 13 to 15 years in state prison. She only intended to shake his hand, she said, but he surprised her when he pulled her in for an embrace. Inspired by her daughter's strength, David said she couldn't let the man go.
Page 2 of 2 --
''I whispered in his ear: 'Here is your chance for a new beginning. Don't let God down,' " said David, a devoted member of Jubilee Christian Church in Mattapan.
As her mother spoke, Kai Leigh watched cartoons, played video games, and whizzed about in her wheelchair yesterday, seemingly oblivious of the commotion she had provoked. Instead, she said she is looking forward to picking out her dress for Easter. She said she had a tough day in court Thursday. She was glad it was over.
Asked by a reporter why she forgave the man who shot her, she shyly but clearly said: ''I wanted him to tell the world the truth." Warren had for three years denied the shooting, but changed his plea Thursday.
''I know he didn't mean to do it," Kai Leigh said.
With Easter approaching, members of the clergy said they hope that Kai Leigh's message will echo in neighborhoods often shaken by violence.
''This is a city known for grudges," said the Rev. William Dickerson of the Greater Love Tabernacle in Dorchester. ''One of the great acts of Christianity is being able to forgive, and Kai Leigh is the quintessential ambassador of forgiveness."
The Rev. Jeffrey Brown of Union Baptist Church in Cambridge said it was no coincidence that Kai Leigh's message came during a weekend when Christians are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
''Remember the Bible said, 'A child shall lead us,' " Brown said.
Not everyone agreed. In fact, in barber shops, coffee shops, and businesses, the story was also touching off arguments.
Mechanics at a tire shop in Dorchester had been debating it since 6:30 a.m. yesterday.
''The mother of the little girl might have forgiven him, and the little girl might have forgiven him, but I don't forgive him," said Johnny Calderon, a mechanic at the shop, arguing in Spanish and English with co-workers who praised the forgiveness. ''I have no forgiveness for anyone who shoots a child. I say, an eye for an eye. He took her life; now she can't walk forever. Someone should take his life."
Sitting inside Nadine Unisex Salon a few blocks away, customer Sofia Ambrose said the girl has yet to begin to understand how much she has lost.
''When she becomes a teenager, she's going to really see what she's missing," Ambrose said. ''For a 5-year-old girl to just forget about herself and forgive him, that was very emotional for me to watch."
But in the Back Bay, Gary Shattuck said people should learn from the little girl.
''If she forgives him, other people should," Shattuck said.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino, grandfather of a 5-year-old girl himself, said he was stunned by Kai Leigh's message.
''I saw that on TV, and I said, 'Oh, my God, what courage,' " Menino said. ''I wonder if I would have the same kind of composure and forgiveness. It really sends a message, especially to young people, that, yes, sometimes you do have to forgive when a wrong has been done to you."
As violence surged over the past year, the city has been confronting a street culture in which small beefs and retaliation sometimes result in bloodshed. Forgiveness has seemed rare, and that made the message more profound to some yesterday.
''If more people forgave, maybe there'd be less violence in the streets," said Marcus Harris, 17, sitting in a Mattapan pizza shop with three of his friends. They all nodded their heads in agreement.
posted by CW at 9:14 AM
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