More and more often, we are losing young people to senseless violence. It fills me with deep sadness. It is not only the loss of young lives, but also the way we, as adults, respond.
When Jerryson, just 15 years old, was killed by police gunfire in Capelle aan den IJssel, I read reactions filled with hatred and even joy. That broke my heart. I simply cannot comprehend it.

This is my open letter to society.

As if shooting a child to death would somehow be less serious than giving a slap, something that is officially considered child abuse in the Netherlands. A mild corrective slap may not always lead to criminal prosecution, but the fact that life-taking gunshots are, on social media, alarmingly often applauded turns the values of our society upside down.

Based on the statements and reactions I read online, I cannot ignore that race does, in fact, play a role in how people respond. This does not mean that violence against these young people is justified; quite the opposite. It shows that we, as adults, carry an even greater responsibility to protect every young life, regardless of background, origin, skin color, age, or environment.
Young people are meant to be helped, not shot to death. Violence, in any form, is senseless, no matter where it comes from.

“One less to worry about,” I heard someone say. “It’s good that he was shot,” another person told me on Facebook. But what does that mean? Have we grown tired of our youth? Or do we no longer see them as our children and as full human beings? Or are we, in fact, being confronted with ourselves as failing adults?
That is why I want to remind us, adults, of something we seem to have forgotten: our responsibility for our children.

Our responsibility
We raise them. We shape their thinking and behavior. We contribute to their well-being, safety, and sense of self-worth.
Parents, teachers, society, we are all co-responsible. We are society. And if we are the ones who shape it, do we dare to look at ourselves honestly in the mirror? Do we dare to acknowledge that we, as a society, have fallen short? Or do we hide behind indifference, hatred, and ignorance?
Every time we approve of violence, we teach our children that violence is normal.
In doing so, we plant the seeds of hatred, pain, inferiority, delusions of superiority, and destruction in their hearts. Is that truly what we want, while deep within we long for a more peaceful and compassionate society?

If that is truly our desire, perhaps now is the moment to take a next step, together. One that may help all of us move forward.

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