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Letters | THE PAIN OF LOSING A LOVED ONE TO STREET VIOLENCE

I'M WRITING with a very heavy heart. On March 27, a heartless person shot my 32-year-old first-born grandson to death.

I'M WRITING with a very heavy heart. On March 27, a heartless person shot my 32-year-old first-born grandson to death.

For years, I've read about the senseless killings on the streets of big cities, including Philly. In a million years, I didn't think a family would become a number. Michael was listed as the 96th person to die by the evil hand of the "walking dead." This is how I feel about those who take the life of another without a thought or care.

The loss of my grandson touched hundreds of family and friends everywhere. The "walking dead" have ice instead of blood running through their whole body. They have no morals. Norespect for life, no respect for themselves and certainly no love of God or belief in him, either. I am at a loss trying to make any sense of the lawlessness and carnage on our streets daily.

I don't want another family to suffer the loss of a family member because of the crime on the streets. We don't have to go oversees to Iraq to see a war, it's going on right here in the city.

I sometimes think I'll wake up in the morning and Mike will walk in the door with a big smile, a big hug and a kiss. "Hi, Grandmom, I love you." Our city is in the midst of an epidemic of senseless killing, which causes family breakdown and immeasurable heartache.

Bring back the Bible to our schools. All hell broke loose when it was removed. How about treating others as we want to be treated, as our Bible states? Let there be peace in our city, world and our hearts, too.

We all must take a stand against the evil ones ruling our streets. The police are doing their best, but they could use the help of the public. Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with you.

Do a good deed for someone every day. Try a little tenderness toward your family, friends and neighbors. The blood flowing on the streets must cease, for God's sake and yours.

Charlotte White, Philadelphia

Don't blame the black men

You'll never effectively address the problems confronting African-American males if your perspective is that African-American men are to blame for all the problems affecting black people as a whole.

This is not only the perspective clearly implied throughout Sister Fatimah Ali's op-ed ("Male Call," April 30), it's the position of just about everyone who writes on this topic.

If black males are in crisis and endangered as a group (and this has been a theme for at least 15 years), how did so many responsible citizens let it happen?

The extent to which you are able to solve the problems confronting the African-American male is directly proportional to the extent that you can honestly and comprehensively answer this question.

Len Trower, Philadelphia

The really BIG story

I stopped for a quick egg sandwich Monday morning, and there was a man reading the Daily News. I asked what made the cover, the NFL draft or the weekend murders?

He flashed me the cover and quipped, "The draft - murders happen every day, but we only get a quarterback once in a while!"

We both laughed, but then the awkward silence settled in as we both realized how sad and how true that is.

Sandy L. Bragg, Philadelphia