east chicago man shot dead cigarette

that's the google search i just completed, in search of the name of a man who was killed over a cigarette. last night, i was told that my friend jeremie's "best friend" had been killed over a cigarette this past month. i thought it was his friend juan, who i had hung out with on several occasions as well. not that i was such good friends with this guy juan, but my heart lurched to think that he may be dead- especially because i know how much it would have hurt jeremie to lose him.

alas, it wasn't him. i found the news articles (isn't the internet fantastic?), and was relieved to see that it was some other guy that had been shot. then i had to chastise myself. "why is it okay that this other dude is dead instead of juan? a human life is a human life!"

sound, christian logic, but i didn't buy it. human lives we know are more important than human lives we don't, yes? that's why it's always okay to kill those in iraq. right? right? sigh.

that reminds me that i need to attend an anti-war rally sometime soon. because anti-war rallies ALWAYS get things done. i know of at least 35 wars that were haulted due to a bunch of people blocking traffic. you don't know which wars i'm talking about? that's because they were haulted.

this blog entry would have been more topical a year ago, but i'm always a little behind. that's why my jeans fit so well.