Excellent This is a sad & serious piece that may evoke serious dialog Homicide by Jerome Goldberg Write What Something Means To You writing prompt entry

Warning: The author has noted that this contains the highest level of violence. Homicide can be defined as the act of one human killing another human. There are many different types of homicide. There is murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, manslaughter, assassination, etc. What it is called can be a function of: if it is intentional or by accident and if it is preplanned or spontaneous. There are hundreds of different ways and different reasons for one human to kill another human; however how many, if any, are valid or excusable? Let us look at the case of Betty. Betty, actually Elizabeth, was an outstanding example of a stereotype All-American Girl. She was about five foot - six inches, blond hair, blue eyes and an IQ of 126. She was popular and achieved high grades throughout high school. She believed strongly in social justice and volunteered at the senior citizen center and at the animal shelter. In college, she managed to continue to achieve high grades and to actively support many worthy causes. She baked cookies, painted signs, delivered flyers and enthusiastically participated in rallies and marches. On a beautiful day in October, she proudly marched with her friends up Main Street to advocate for gun control. This was a cause she really believed in. She hated violence and she hated guns and the damage they can do. Coming from the opposite direction was an equally large and enthusiastic group who opposed gun control. As the two groups approached each other there was obvious contention. First there was chanting of slogans, then yelling of insults, followed by poking with signs and finally an all-out brawl. There were sirens and whistles. The police rushed in to break up the fighting; however, before they had even really started, a loud shot rang out. After the shot everyone stopped! The marches dropped their signs. The police backed off. Everyone froze for a moment. Most just stood and looked around confused and frightened. Then everyone saw it. There, in the center of Main Street, was a dead body wearing a NRA sweatshirt lying in a pool of blood. Standing next to the body, was Betty, with a smoking gun in her hand! There are hundreds of different ways and different reasons for one human to kill another human; however how many, if any, are valid or excusable? Does it really matter to the victim?! Writing Prompt Write A Story in About 500 Words About What A Certain Word Means To You Author Notes Did Betty bring a gun to the march? Did the victim bring a gun? Was the shooting intentional or accidental? Was a third party involved? Will the parents of the victim ever see the victim again. Does all this mean something to me? You bet it does! And, I hope. it should to all of us.

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