DON'T DIE BEFORE YOU'VE LIVED

ON NEW YEARS EVE, 2007, I published an article entitled 25 Teenagers Who Died Before They Lived.

It was the first article in a series that has become central to ka-ostheory. I've been asked why I give continued coverage to these stories, something I'm not sure how to answer.

The premature deaths of so many young boys, whose lives had barely started, is almost incomprehensible. What if it had been someone you knew? A friend, a brother, a lover? What if it had been you?

And people forget. These faces are splashed across front pages for a day or two, and then forgotten about. That's the worst part. I hope that people will click the link at the top of the page, Don't Die Before You've Lived, and look at the faces of these boys, read their names, and think about them, for a little while.

Since that first article, 61 teenagers in total - almost all of them boys - have been shot or stabbed to death, usually by other teenagers.

This year alone, 8 boys have died. That's a huge improvement on last year; on 17th July 2008, Frederick Moody became the 21st victim. Another 7 boys would die that year.

droptheweapons.org have prepared this clever little video, in which the viewer is encouraged to Choose A Different Ending.

(Above left: Charles Junior Hendricks. Above right: Billy Cox.)