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NORWALK, Conn. The following letter is from David McCarthy, a Republican member of the Norwalk Common Council. McCarthy lives in Rowayton.
The accident this past week which resulted in the death of a young man named James "Kuta" Shaw hit home for a number of reasons. The first and foremost was that the young man was something of a fixture in my neighborhood ... a friend to many of the local kids and also to my wife's nephew. I don't think we will ever know for sure the series of events or the motivation for actions that led to this young man's death. Human nature is to try to fill in the blanks, however, and that leads to mistakes.
The first mistake became clear almost immediately after the story ran. The commenters ... the same ones that criticize every action the mayor and city employees make from behind the veil of anonymity ... began to suggest a sinister side to this tragedy. The commenters know no bounds. First they suggest that the police caused the tragedy somehow, without any demonstrated knowledge of the specifics of the case or proper police procedures. Then they blame the victim, simply because of his age, history, location and the time of day.
The mistakes compound when we project our own histories onto the story we read. The questions asked from ignorance "Why didn't he ...?" "Why couldn't the police ...?" along with more aspersions cast on the victim, don't serve any purpose. After a tragedy like this, we need to come together. Now the effort should be one of support for the family in their time of need. Lynn Moore, the principal of West Rocks School, is spearheading that effort and you can help by sending checks to her c/o West Rocks Middle School, 81 West Rocks Road, Norwalk, CT 06851.
The time for questions and involvement on our part ... on all our parts ... to ensure that youths don't end up in the direst of situations is before they ever happen. For this reason, I have been a part of the Norwalk Mentoring Program for the past years. This may or may not be right for you. There are many other programs, both community and church based, which seek to bring caring adults together with kids who need them for many different reasons.
Travis Simms has been very active in the mentoring community and is an example of someone who has been mentored and now continues to pay it forward. Our mayor, Richard Moccia, is an ardent supporter and active mentor. You can find out more about the mentoring program through the Human Services Council's website or via email from Rafaela Soriano at rsoriano@hscct.org.
I doubt we will ever be free of the nattering nabobs of negativism who haunt the periphery of our online news sites. What we can do is to prove them wrong by what we do in our neighborhoods and the community at large. Stand up today ... please give to support James Shaw's memory and please find a way to help a young person in need this holiday season and throughout the year.
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