A Terrible Thunder: The Story of the New Orleans Sniper Essay

On radical Years Eve, in the city of raw Orleans, in the family 1972, a sniper was hidden in the shadows. He is al superstar, with anger and hatred fuel his tiny body he went on for gayy inclinereal days to return to kill as gayy pol cover off frappers as he could. The shimmer ended nonp aril week later when hundreds of police armed to the dentition and with the aid of a Marine Corps offend chopper descended on a burning building to battle with the lone sniper. This paper provide look into the cause of such a violent issueburst, of the senseless cleanup spot of innocent lives. And how it has gone push through of checker for the one of the victims in that disreputcapable day of shooting was a nasty man sightly same the shooter slightlywhere above, in a building, hidden from view.Colored pubescence is the period where many boy wish well boys set themselves in a suspend animation in trying to discover their identity. To some it is a crisis submit and to many it is a turning point in their lives. In some cases though teenagers going through this phase are well adjusted and take aim a pleasant experience during this transition from childhood to adulthood. well-nigh probably they live in a good hearth where their parents where able to shelter them from the evil world outside. But when it is time to go to college or when it is time to move out of the home to find employwork forcet, it is this period when the four-year-old man and woman gets the surprise of their lives. gelt James Essex had a quasi(prenominal) experience when he left the protective confines of his hometown in Kansas. He joined the U.S. nighted blue in what is perhaps his ticket out of reconditeness and poverty. He was able to accomplish one his objectives for in a right smart he became famous. But not for being rich and doing something worth emulating he went mint the annals of criminal annals in one of the countercurrentiest day of gun related violence. solel y of these had its beginning when he went left home and an ominous sign of what is coming evoke be seen in one of his letters where he described his disappointment over what he had witnessed in the workplace and with deep sadness he wrote that the Navy, is not give care I thought it would be, not same(p) in Emporia. dimmeds bring on trouble acquire along here (p. 15). His sadness was compounded by the resignation verbalised by early(a) fellow worker scurrilous enlisted per tidingsnel, who said that, it is just the path it is (p. 15).When he went to his supervisor to complain about the racial slur and the inequality that is going on like a plague on the idea what he got was a gentle moreover confusing advice which is in sum of money to ignore the caper and channel his energies to do something really important like finishing college through a Navy scholarship perhaps and so increase his status. This kind of remarks confirmed in his learning ability that blacks were second-class citizens in the Navy, and it was hard for him to understand why no one seemed wiling to change things (p.15).Mark James Essex witnessed a shocking crime. It is not something that could be brought in the woo of law (at least in the 1970s) but it is something so offensive that an assault is a welcome alternative rather than the humiliation of a fellow human being from another(prenominal). To be treated like an unclean fauna is far worse than being hit in the nose with a straight punch.Moreover, the only excuse for such evil deed is the warp of their skin. They have the same design, structure, and ability to feel and understand. The only difference is the vogue character chose to color their skin and for M. J. Essex this is purely unacceptable.Fanning the Flames at that place is a place setting to boththing. M. J. Essex did not just turned into a monster overnight. His heart and look received a continuous feeding of hate and discrimination although it was wedded to him passively. In the book Peter Hernon discovered that M. J. Essex father urged him to go to the Navy hoping that there is less prejudice there. His father served in the Army in dry land War II and he recounted that, they would send us worst to manuscript to train with wooden sticks and recalled spellterly, Now why would they send a black man from Kansas or anywhere in the Midwest to Mississippi without any charge to protect himself (p. 26). A Reverend named W. A. Chambers told a similar story to the Essex family. He narrated a tale filled with the surprise and sadness accompanying discrimination and he said, blackamoores were forced to lock their weapons up at night while the snow-covereds were allowed to keep theirs in the barracks (p. 26). One could just imagine what was happening to the brainiac of the young M. J. Essex whose salient(ip) hopes of a great America was crushed when he encountered the same sick thing that his parents had encountered terzetto decades ago. These stories no doubt added fuel to the sm elderlying flame of hate and anger. What is essential now is an outlet to spew it out or it would surely malign him inside. There is a great need to express the pent-up emotions and nature dictates that when pressure is building up consequently an explosion is imminent unless something happens in a way of releasing that pressure.Many like minded men had found solace, inspiration, and the letting go of dangerous build-up in the heart and mind by joining non-violent protests. The Civil Rights Movement under Martin Luther King, younger model perhaps from another model of non-violent movement such as that of Mahatma Gandhi who successfully overthrew an oppressive government without firing a superstar shot. On the other hand there are other groups who could not wait with older men in the hope of finding equality in their lifetime. Besides, both(prenominal) Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi died from bullet wounds. Is it not wise to give their enemies a do drugs of their own medicine? Fire against fire seems to be their motto and they were feel to make their presence have it offn.J. Essex was caught up in the pith of the times. In the dark times of his struggling with discrimination he came across literature concerning the somber Panther Party, a group who does not believe in the construction that the meek lead inherit the earth. They would rather believe the opposite, and that is the violent allow for absent what they deserve by force. For a young man with a military heritage fifty-fifty if it was not an impressive one, his dad went to served in WWII and his limited experience with the U.S. Armed Forces the proposition by the Black Panthers to take up arms is so oft enticing for an angry young man longing for adventure and a chance to right what is wrong. pioneer The context was ceremonious in the last few pages. The anger and squeamishness did not come out from a vacuum. There is a hist ory involved here that was t locomoted to the bitter experience of M.J. Essex Dad in the U.S. Army. Now, the motivate that ignited the powder keg of emotions came from two related sources.The first one occurred just after boot camp when he was humiliated in an enlisted mens club, A white boy showed him what to do, how they had to get ice in another room next to the bar. The white went in and got the ice without asking permission (p.26).The second one is the fight with a man named Robert X. This guy, for no apparent reason could not go along with black people. His insecurity ran so deep that in the opening chapter of the book he was described to hate even the why black people walk. He is offended that the Negro race seemed to be happy and contented. Maybe he wanted them always suffering and cowed like slaves in plantations long gone. The terce source is from the systematic way the Navy seemed to show its prejudice against him. An deterrent example is how his (M. J. Essex car) was being searched. It was deliberate and took sometimes half an hour to fully scrutinise his ride, something that would piss off any person irregardless of race and gender. All in all, what really burned Essex up was the riding he got from piddling officers and other officers. They would write him up for the smallest infraction (p. 26). The last straw that broke the camels back was the terrible experience in the court-martial for he was dishonorably discharged from the Navy.At seven forty-five on the break of the day of October 19, 1970, M. J. Essex went AWOL. He was transformed overnight from a fun loving a guy who has nary a care in the world to somebody constantly brooding, to think about what a black man has to do to survive (p. 42).Conclusion The Negro race has suffered many injustices from the time that they were captured and interchange as slaves many centuries ago. It was such a perplexing tale of man dominating not the beasts of the earth and all the things that contain i n it but fellow humans. What is more perplexing though is the slow process of emancipation, from removing them from the field and into a real liberation where they will be considered as equals among men. The age of Reason has come and the Industrial revolution has ushered in a parvenu way of understanding the world and social classes. Freedom was exploding like a beautiful rainbow in the minds and hearts of people around the world. After World War II that idea of independence and the importance of a single person could never be denied. Everyone enjoyed this privilege, all except the Negro race that had to suffer discrimination in the land of the free, in one of the just about advance industrialized nation in the world, in the home of the live on the United States of America.There were only a few who went to fight for their rights. The spirit of the Negro was suppressed so it is understandable why they could not well voice out their views. The white people who were not blind to s uch wickedness, they are the ones who should fight in their behalf yet many perpetuated the myth that the white race is superior over the blacks.The marc to freedom was a slow process, a procedure that sometimes get to be expedited by men of will and character. These few good men would cross the line and join their Negro brothers although society forbade him to do so. They were indefatigable in their fight to achieve racial equality in American society. But some black folk music could not wait for their great white savior. They cannot even hold out for long with the likes of fellow blacks like Martin Luther King, Jr. A few would like to speed up the Civil Rights Movement a little bit and put it in the fast track. Into these ranks of violent persuaders one can find the names Huey Newton and Bobby Seale and their infamous Black Panther Party established in 1967. Their methods may be crude and their language may be vulgar, but it is enough to create a spark in the mind of a young blac k man whose back was pushed against the wall and every fiber of his being demanding for justice. Sometimes these feelings have to find an outlet or else it would be unbearable to live. Many in the Civil Rights Movement were golden to get in touch with mortal like a Martin Luther King, Jr. who proposed a serious expression of their discontent. Through rallies and demonstrations they were able to voice out the pain that is inside them and it was a good form of release. But others chose another path, more deadly more sinister it is to kill innocent people. another(prenominal) clue as to why Mark James Essex would go down the road to perdition can be seen from the remarks of her bugger off that was picked up by the author, Still, keenly aware of how white society dealt with rebellious blacks and afraid her son might be branded a misfit and possibly wind up in jail, she urged moderation (p. 44) This clearly shows that black people have a very negative view of white dominated society. By her mothers statements it was clear that he can find no way out of the dark tunnel he is in. On both sides of the outlet are white people waiting to pounce on him. There is no way out except with guns blazing and dying with a glorious death just like what the Black Panthers are advocating. It essential be make clear that part of the context of the story of the sniper from New Orleans is the fact that he needed the ideological persuasion of the Black Panthers in order to move from anger, to extreme hatred of whites and then last to kill in cold blood. Mark James Essex had the misfortune of joining the Black Panthers in a time when they too were desperate and are too eager to end their campaign in a spectacular display of bravado and recklessness.Sound of Thunder The first misadventure was plebe Alfred Harrell, 19 years old, newly married and do not have any kind of relationship with Mark James Essex. The second casualty was Edwin Hosli, 27 years old and married. He too does no t know Mark James Essex. These two facts are very significant because it outlines the problem of racial discrimination showing another disturbing facet on how man erroneously sees race and inequality. Many have fought this wrong opinion head on with bravery and wisdom. Men have died as martyrs who offered their blood as payment to stop further violence and prejudice towards blacks. Others have the same goal but with a different method of accomplishing their objectives. By killing Harrell, Hosli and the other victims of Mark James Essex shooting spree, the sniper has clearly shown which side he belongs. He did not deserve to be honored like the other Negro freedom fighters for what he did is nowhere near honorable. He did not sacrifice himself instead he was just looking for an luck to vent out his anger and in the end hoping to feel frequently better. He did not deal with his personal issues and instead allowed his problems to take control of him. Take a look at the facts and it w ill be made clear that Mark James Essex the killer sniper has become more terrible and more despicable than the racist people he had come to hate. By comparison those who disrespect blacks, make fun of them, humiliate them in front end of others though they are very much wrong thy are much better than Mark Essex because they did not take life. The humiliated person can always bounce back, the man insulted can always choose to coiffe as if nothing happened. The dead man cannot do anything. Officers Harrel and Hosli was not even given the chance to hear Essex side of the story. If these police officers harassed Essex then his crime will be understood but killing someone unknown to the assailant, not having any other motive rather than hate is certainly sick. By doing what he did, Mark James Essex is not portion a bit. His spent cartridges provide ammunition to his enemies and fuel their rhetoric that blacks and so are curse sub-species of the human race. Instead of helping to pu sh frontward the issue of equality, Mark James Essex pushed it a couple of years backward. He never profited from his actions he only brought his parents to the grave with deep anguish and heartache it was a product of his selfishness. His actions should not be emulated by any black or white person facing incredible odds.