Crips, Bloods, Democrats and Republicans Should Follow Baseball's Lead

On the Los Angeles Dodgers' opening day baseball game against the long-time rival San Francisco Giants, a 42 year old man was beaten into a coma because, in essence, he wore the wrong colors. He wore the regalia of the Giants. Bryan Stow, a 42-year-old paramedic and father of two from Santa Cruz, remained in critical but guarded condition at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. He suffered a severe skull fracture and bad bruising to his brain's frontal lobes, said Dr. Gabriel Zada, a neurosurgeon. At one point, doctors had to remove the entire left side of his skull to ease pressure on his brain. The pressure is now normal but Stow remains in a coma from his injuries and from sedation to reduce his brain activity.

According to press reports, Stow was in a parking lot after the Dodgers' 2-1 victory when two shaven-headed young men in Dodgers clothing began taunting and swearing at him and two other fans, who were all wearing Giants gear, police said. Stow was punched in the back of the head. He fell down, bashing his head on the pavement, and was kicked before the attackers ran off. They are still at large and a $50,000 reward has been offered for information leading to there arrest and conviction.

Last Monday night, there was a pregame ceremony by the Giants and Dodgers against fan violence, part of a concerted response to the horrible beating of Mr. Stow that was unprecedented but wonderfully rendered.

Dodger and Giants players gathered on the field and paused for a moment of silence on behalf of Stow. Then, Giants pitcher Jeremy Affeldt took to the microphone and thanked fans of both teams for their support of Stow. What both of these teams did was show that even though they are bitter rivals, they can come together and put aside their differences peacefully. They showed that they can shake hands and understand the fact that we human beings all bleed red and have more in common than we do differences.

If members of Congress, the blue states, red states, put aside differences for the common good of the country and its people--especially its young people, then maybe it will trickle down to other rivals to think peace and set aside their differences. Maybe gangs such as the Bloods and Crips, who ironically, flash the same blue and red colors, can sit down and come to an agreement to work together to change the depressing situation that is prevalent in their neighborhoods.

Peace begins within and starts with people fed up with violence and death and who are willing to understand getting along is a whole lot better than fighting. Tragically, sometimes it takes a horrific act such as the beating of Bryan Stowe to wake some people up and get it.