Stolen Boy’s Weblog

I sit here and I think about what Brandon McInerney might have done differently when confronted with his very difficult situation. Much has been written about his brutal childhood upbringing filled with neglect from his mother and insane unconsciousness from his father. This is no judgment on either parent, just a reflection of what this child’s life was like.

By the time he had reached fourteen, Brandon had pretty much learned life along the lines his father had drawn. Of course Bill McInerney was a man confounded by his own nest of demons, including alcohol, drugs, bigotry, judgment, hatred, disrespect, anger, and guns. The man shot his wife, threatened to kill his sister, and looked to be on his way to jail, before death cut his life short this past month. And this all had a great impact upon Brandon. It is what this child had to deal with while growing up. In fact, this is what Brandon was in the process of becoming before fate interceded in the form of two bullets going into fifteen-year-old Larry King’s head, from Brandon’s trigger finger.

SO WHAT DOES A THIRTEEN YEAR OLD DO?

Brandon was all of thirteen years old when the condition that ended Larry’s life – and may very well take Brandon’s – crept into the fold of mass destruction. This was when Brandon found himself confronted by the most difficult situation in his young life. His home life was in a shambles, filled with violence and neglect. This created great unconsciousness in Brandon which bred intolerance and an inability to monitor his emotions. Brandon was out-of-bounds, filled with unconsciousness, and had no ability to temper his anger.

He had no skills whatsoever to enable him to handle the advancements of Larry King. So Brandon shot and killed his teenage classmate. Yet, this is not how this matter should have ended. It could have been a much happier story, if those around this child had possessed some of the consciousness that evaded Brandon. Instead of resorting to his out-of-control anger with violence, Brandon could have spent more time trying to change the situation that plagued him. Of course, this is what makes Brandon’s case so sad. Because, he did try to change his situation, he just didn’t try hard enough. He told his parents what was happening, and his parents spoke with teachers and teachers spoke with administrators about how to stop what Brandon perceived in his distorted view as sexual harassment. Yet, nothing changed.

CHANGE THE SITUATION

Brandon had the right impulse: He should have changed the negative situation that confronted him, and that’s exactly what he tried to do. But school officials and others failed to recognize the severity of the situation. They failed to address the impact it was having on both Larry and Brandon. They encouraged Larry to explore his personality and express himself, which is what Larry did. This enraged Brandon who could only perceive Larry’s expressions as sexual harassment. Brandon took it personally. And so did his father, who couldn’t get school officials to end the problem. So Brandon took matters into his own hands.

Even though Brandon’s and his parents’ efforts to change the situation had failed, Brandon still had two other choices when dealing with this negative situation, that could have saved both his and Larry’s lives. He could have tried to get away from the situation, or he could have surrendered to it, and we will explore both of these options next…

TO BE CONTINUED…