Hello.
Don’t recognize me? That’s OK; I understand.
My
name was Antonio West. I was the 13-month old child who was shot in the face at
point blank range by two black teens, who were attempting to rob my mother, who
was also shot.
I
think my murder and my mommy’s wounding made the news for maybe a day, and then
disappeared.
A
Grand Jury of my mommy's peers from Brunswick, Georgia ruled the black teens
who murdered me will not face the death penalty... too bad it was me who got
the death sentence from my killers instead, because Mommy didn’t have the money
they demanded.
See,
my family made the mistake of being white in a 73% non-white neighborhood, but
my murder wasn’t ruled a ‘hate crime’.
Oh,
and President Obama didn’t take a single moment to acknowledge my murder.
He couldn’t have any children who could possibly look like me - so why should
he care?
I’m
one of the youngest murder victims in our great Nation's history, but the media
didn’t care to cover the story of my being killed in cold blood. They didn't
send White House aides to my funeral either.
There
isn’t a white equivalent of Al Sharpton, because if there was he would be
branded a ‘racist’. So no one’s rushing to Brunswick, Georgia to demonstrate
and demand ‘justice’ for me. There’s no ‘White Panther’ party, either, to put a
bounty on the lives of the two black teens who murdered me. There were no
riots or looting over my murder or to seek justice in my name.
I
have no voice, I have no representation, and unlike those who shot me in the
face while I sat innocently sitting in my stroller - I no longer have my life.
Isn’t
this a great country?
So
while you’re out seeking ‘justice for Trayvon’ and Michael Brown, please
remember to seek ‘justice’ for me. Tell your friends about me, tell you
families, get tee-shirts with my face on them, and make the world pay
attention, just like you did for Trayvon and Michael Brown.
I
won’t hold my breath.
I
don’t have to anymore.
Respectfully,
Antonio West Santiago
13 months old
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