Teen arraigned in slaying of former Oscar Smith football star

For wsped - I started to write that sentence another way and didn't catch "denigrating" until after I posted it. Unfortunately, there is no way to edit once posted and once there, it invites appropriate comments like yours - thanks.

For Mary - I agree that there must be a modicum of restraint in postings but when someone says "you people have no clue" - it almost begs being hit over the head. Clarity of communication is obviously important and even though I try to take special care in my written and oral communication, I still make mistakes. However, I believe that my two posts prior to hozzlegirl's post would be hard not to understand unless emotion trumped reason. Thanks for the feedback – I do enjoy reading many of your thoughtful posts.

(Clearly your cognitive ability to digest my point is deficient and I’m not sure that any effort to explain it to you fully will enable you to understand, but I will try nonetheless.)

Golly gee Batman, couldn't that have been said in a more polite manner?

If you are going to belittle someone's cognitive ability you should probably not use grammar like, "You will first note that I did not denigrating this young man"

Thanks for the website, but pls watch the gratuitous comments about people's cognitive level. I'm white and I cringed when I saw that one! Usually, when people write and someone else has trouble understanding their point, they first make an assumption that, perhaps, just maybe, they weren't clear in their writing. They then try to clarify what they said. Sometimes our point is so clear in our own minds that we kind of have blinders on that we are not writing as clearly as we think to convey that point to others. Isn't that the essence of humility?--to first assume the miscommunication lies on our side and to do our best to fix it from our end?
I assume if you are writing for the newspaper's audience that you do want to be understood and not just to vent? Cheers, MGM

Clearly your cognitive ability to digest my point is deficient and I’m not sure that any effort to explain it to you fully will enable you to understand, but I will try nonetheless.

You will first note that I did not denigrating this young man or his family in any way shape or form. I merely pointed out that this is another tragedy of a black male killing another promising black male and wondered where the outrage from the black community towards these senseless killings is and when someone in a leadership position from the black community was actually going to do something about it. Blacks must take exclusive ownership of this problem and solve it because they aren’t going to listen to a white guy. Until they do, this unfortunate tragedy will not be the last. But you don’t have to take my word for it – here’s a website by a black organization of how serious the problem is: http://www.hhscenter.org

After reading some of the comments it makes me sick...black america?? Really? Its obvious that you people have no clue who Lonnie was where he lived or anything about him. He was one of 3 black kids who went to an all white church without fail every week for years ...he didnt care about color. He lived in a mainly white neighborhood and all the boy wanted to do was play football this is not a black killing black thing. This is kids killing kids it should not be about color it should be about one of the nicest kids with a VERY bright future being cut short. We should be focusing on the families involved here and their horrible loss. Not his race...it leaves you to wonder would this even be an issue if it was a white kid killing a white kid?

I must be dreaming that there is an almost daily story of black males shooting and killing other black males. I must also be missing the stories where black leaders are actually standing up and doing something about it. You're right - I'm wrong so I'll just keep on reading about these tragedies like nothing is happening.

The really bad part is that this young man actually appeared to be one of the good young solid people we need in society. Instead, we have another thug in prison.

I was working in the ER when Lonnie arrived. It was almost as if everything came to rest just in time for this family to have space to grieve. Lonnie was very blessed to have such a remarkable and loving family. I was honored to meet his Aunt and those who loved Lonnie so much. Most of our staff in the ER held back tears for this family as they visited with Lonnie one last time. The amount of people who showed up for this young man was astounding, yet they all held themselves with dignity and with honor for a fallen family member and friend. My thoughts and prayers go out to the entire community who knew Lonnie and I can only hope that more teenagers and people around his community will try to fill such a huge pair of shoes and honor his memory by making those around them smile as he did while he was here with us.

Your wrong about "black america", do not think for one moment that "black america" does not care. You are the part of the problem when you make the issue of teens killing teens a race issue. This tragic death is about a young man getting ready to start his future in college. The second part is about another spending the rest of his life behind bars. ALL OF AMERICA should be sick by these tragic events. All of America should do their own little part to help the police combat illegal guns and gun crimes. I will be curious to hear the reason he was shot. Stay safe out there over the 4th of July.

I agree with paksduo. I know of many examples of teen crime not taken seriously but I don't have all day. Do you know how many times I've heard a teen say in a mocking voice "I don't care....what are you (or they) gonna do to me?.....I'm a juvie". They know the game and play the system for all it's worth.

"where is the outrage by mainstream america?"

A better question is where is the outrage by black America? Whites have been blamed for many years for the ills of blacks but it's blacks killing blacks that is the problem. There's Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson leading parades and threatening boycotts and violence when it's a white on black but they are nowhere to be found when it's black on black. So the question remains, when is black America going to do something about it?

i am very angry. when are we as people are going to stop killing one another. this is crazy and it had to stop. i am 42 yrs old and my mom raised four boys. but one thing my mom gave us sturcture in our lives an i take what my mother taught me to raise my boys and the young adults in my family. my dad died when i was young, but other men in our area who had family of their own, step up and became father figures for us. we as black men need to get back to it takes a village to raise a family. fathers, if you have kids, know what your kids are doing. if you are not with the mother, still be the best father you can be. i think about what our people of the past did so our generation could have a better life. they got hose down, beat down and lynch and we here acting a fool. wake up black america, we need to do better. where is the outrage by mainstream america? you were outrage by michael vick and the dog figthing case. i quess some of ou

I agree with crazy horse. Time for these judges, lawyers and politicians to change the laws concerning teens. How many more GOOD teens are going to die and how many more laws will teens break knowing the system will not do a thing to them. Teachers, Preachers, Doctors, Drivers and other TEENS are victims of teen violence but let us adults say something to them. The adults are charged. Wake up politicians, judges and lawyers. Todays kids will be ruling the world when you all retire.

When I was a teenager many years ago kids got into trouble for throwing rocks through windows or stealing candy from the drug store. Now it is murder and rape and drugs. The two brothers in Williamsburg..one killed the other arrested for rape..between them they had 100 arrests as juveniles. Time to reevaluate the concept of not disclosing names when serious crimes are committed.

but until we start taking a serious look at where these guns came from then we are loosing the battle of gun related violence.

When 2 beautiful young ladies were killed on 664 a month ago, no one asked who gave them the keys of such a powerful vehicle as a mustang. The vehicle was being driven way too fast. In this case the gun was being used in a wreckless manner....and would have been no matter how the gun was attained. Should we ask why a car is going over 70 mph, and why a child who ought to be in bed getting good rest is roaming around the neighborhood at 2:30 a.m.? Basically, though none of this matters, it's a tragic loss and th violence continues. We need to combat it at the source....parenting, education, discipline, neighborhood help when law enforcement attempts to rid problem areas etc....................

All you can do is shake your head at all these shootings by teens killing teens and other young people. At 17 the shooter is a juvenile, but if by law his name can't be released then release the name of his parents. Let's let the world know, they have been absent in their childs life. The parents should be found guilty of child neglect and punished accordingly. Where did the gun come from should be one of the first questions from the police. IF it came from either of the parents then that parent should be held as responsible as their shooter kid. There has to be a way to end this cycle of violence.