Feb
5
2007
A Lesson in Jumping to Conclusions
In March 2006, a man named Stefan Conley was beaten and killed by four youths while aboard an ETS bus. At the time, details on the event hadn't been released because the perpetrators were all under age at the time the crime was committed. A few more details have finally surfaced and I think they change this story a bit. I'll be cautious here because more details are likely to emerge.
Contrary to what I initially believed, it appears that Stefan Conley was the aggressor on that fateful night. He was intoxicated (blood alcohol level twice the legal limit), and he attacked one of the four youths first. It could be said that he provoked a counter attack. Now, that is certainly not to say that he deserved to get his head smashed in and his life taken. Four-on-one are deadman's odds no matter how you slice it. I'm sure Conley didn't expect to get bootjacked by those four kids and I'm sure that he didn't stand a chance. It's still a tragedy, it still shouldn't have happened, and my heart still goes out to the family. However, I can't help but think that these details move this story away from that of a pure victim of youth violence (again, more details are necessary to really say anything definitively).
I wrote a poem about this incident, and I'm thinking that it might require a slight revision. The details aren't what I thought they were. I guess it pays to wait these things out. The four youths are (justifiably in my opinion) up on manslaughter charges as opposed to second degree murder raps. The cause of death seems somewhat strange. Some kind of rare head injury. Regardless, I hope the kids get the maximum sentence. Conley didn't have to die on the bus that night. There was more than one way the incident could have gone. It's a shame it went the way it did.
Tess S.
This is why you should never judge a book by it’s cover or judge someone on first meeting. What you’ll discover about a human is what you get to know about them by asking many questions.
# Feb 07 2007 · 09:58
Mike Gravel
Very true. And that sentiment could/should be applied to reports from the media.
I think there is another side to that sentiment, applicable especially when meeting/dealing with new people. I think of Vonnegut’s opening words from Mother Night: “We are what we pretend to be.” For example, if you’re acting like an asshole, and then you get upset when you find out that people think you really are an asshole, that’s your own goddam fault. Expecting everyone to take the time to get to know the “real” you is unrealistic. The face we put out into the world is US, regardless of what our “inner face” is.
Beyond that, two people will never, ever truly know one another. Most of us barely know ourselves. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s just an ongoing struggle. Meeting different people in different situations increases our empathy, and ergo our understanding.
# Feb 07 2007 · 11:52