[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 103 (Friday, July 12, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1270]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  DAVID ELLIOTT, SHANNON SHINKE, HAWAII YOUTH CHALLENGE CORP MEMBERS 
                                HONORED

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. PATSY T. MINK

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 11, 1996

  Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor two 
outstanding members of the Hawaii Youth Challenge Program, corp members 
David Elliott and Shannon Shinke. In their winning entries of the ``Do 
the Write Thing'' essay contest, David and Shannon answered the 
question ``What can I do about the violence in my life?'' They 
addressed a complex issue with eloquence and fresh insight. In ``Time 
to Make a Change,'' David Elliott urges action and education to combat 
apathy and violence. ``Family vs. Violence'' by Shannon Shinke explores 
the problem of youth gangs and encourages strength in the family unit. 
I join with the Hawaii Youth Challenge Program to commend corp members 
David Elliott and Shannon Shinke for their accomplishment. Their essays 
are as follows:

                         Time to Make a Change

                           (By David Elliot)

       As I was growing up I moved around a lot. I lived in many 
     types of neighborhoods. I was influenced greatly by violence. 
     I remember seeing fear in the eyes of those who had been 
     abused and violated. I remember seeing my own family 
     devastated by violence. During my early teens I saw the 
     murder of my best friend. It was a stray bullet from a gang 
     dispute. I sat there with my friend in my arms, I didn't know 
     what to do. One minute we were joking and laughing; the next, 
     he was gone.
       I will never forget it. Every time I think about it I get 
     disgusted. To think, that a death of an innocent person was 
     caused by anothers violence. What is violence? The American 
     Heritage Dictionary states, ``Physical force exerted for the 
     purpose of violating, damaging, or abusing''. To me violence 
     means ignorance, it means you don't know how to deal with 
     problems. Who shall we blame it on? No one but ourselves. No 
     one else, not poverty, not our environment, not influences, 
     not pressures are to be blamed. I have learned throughout my 
     life that violence affects everyone and it needs to be 
     resolved.
       Unfortunately violence is growing. On TV it is glorified; 
     on the streets it's magnified. So what can we do? We cannot 
     sit down and pretend it will go away or ignore it. We as a 
     community must organize together to fight for unity as the 
     key. And we cannot ignore the fact that apathy is the reason 
     it continues to grow. If people would learn to care enough to 
     make the effort, to do what's right, we can bring about 
     change. That effort comes from a desire in our hearts.
       For my life I have decided to obtain that desire, to make 
     that effort, so that I may feel the satisfaction of seeing a 
     persons eyes change from fear to happiness, to know that we 
     have been freed from the chains of violence.
       I will first put on the helmet of knowledge and educate my 
     mind, so that my mind wouldn't be deceived or battered by 
     ignorance. I will then be well aware, and have full 
     understanding. With this tool, I will learn positive non-
     violent ways of dealing with conflicts. Then I will put on 
     the breast plate of courage; to do what's right, and protect 
     my heart from fear. I will also carry the shield of caring, 
     this will keep me protected from the arrows of dispassion. 
     Then, finally I would arm my self with the sword of 
     education, this is what I will use to fight against our 
     enemy, violence, and win.
       With this armor we must fight for the release of these 
     chains of apathy. Most importantly we must fight for our 
     young generation, for our future. We must fight to keep their 
     minds and hearts lighted by knowledge, and not deceived by 
     the darkness of ignorance.
       I would help communities come together and learn how to 
     raise their young by living as good example. Learning that 
     conflicts are never settled, or solved, but worsened with 
     violence.
       We as a universal family no matter what race, creed, or 
     experiences, need to realize that violence will destroy us 
     all, and realize that it needs to be conquered. We need to 
     fight against the false glory that TV portrays violence to 
     be. We need to fight against letting our children be 
     influenced by the negative dispassion of this society and our 
     poor examples as leaders and followers in our community. And 
     most of all, let us fight against the apathy which kills 
     because it does not care. And lets stand up, get up, fess up, 
     never give up, let up, or lose hope for a better tomorrow. 
     Let us fight, fight to care, fight for what's right, for 
     today and the many tomorrow's to come.
                                  ____
                                  

                          Family vs. Violence

                          (By Shannon Shinke)

     At home one night
     My mother suddenly dropped by
     She looked at me and my father
     And she started to cry
     Then she told my father
     Your son is now dead
     All feelings of panic
     Just rushed to our heads
     How could this happen
     He was just here today
     But after he went out
     Gangster games he went to play
     She said he was in a lot of trouble
     He was fighting in a big gang fight
     They were all out to kill
     And the quickness of a bullet got him tonight
     He had to be down
     He had to prove he was hard-core
     He just didn't realize
     What he was living for
     I always told him
     Be careful of what you do
     If you mess with the wrong people
     Someday it'll catch up to you
     He didn't take me seriously
     He just wanted to play
     Never a thought of dying
     But he's dead today
     I wish I could turn back time
     And put some words in his head
     If he wasn't in the gang
     Right now he wouldn't be dead
     At his funeral
     I prayed to God in my head
     I wished he was still alive
     ``But it's too late'', God said
     Dear Lord please bless my mom and dad
     Who have broken hearts full of pain
     Please help them to be strong
     Because they are going insane
     They lost their little child
     From the wild life he desired
     All this gang life now days
     Everyone's playing with gunfire***.
       Today gangs are a big part of our everyday lives. When kids 
     have problems at home, they tend to turn to gangs which 
     become their families. Some gangs, when they fight with their 
     rival gangs, tend to be trigger happy. Life is so precious, 
     but they just don't realize that. So many of today's youth 
     are in gangs and not realizing how much trouble they are 
     getting into and how much they are hurting their loved ones. 
     They don't take death seriously until they are in that 
     situation. Then they start to think that they don't want to 
     die. They can go out and shoot and stab others, but they 
     think that they're too good or too fast for it to all come 
     back to them.
       I think if parents were around more and spent more time 
     with their children, this world would be less corrupted. Most 
     kids in gangs have little or no relationship with their 
     parents. From early childhood, parents need to raise their 
     children in a positive environment. Some parents are hooked 
     onto drugs and alcohol and they abuse their children. Their 
     children adopt that type of lifestyle. Some parents can't 
     handle the responsibilities of being a parent and they leave 
     their children to grow up on their own. To stop violence, 
     children need good role models.

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