Kill Our Dreams Issue 5: 06 May 2019

Boy, 14,
Shot and
Killed
Death of a young
boy has raised some
questions about
where our tax
“Money-hungry company that make guns that circulate the country and then wind up in my hood, making bloody
clothes, stray bullet hit a young boy with a snotty nose, from the concrete, he was prolly rose" – J.Cole “BRACKETS”
dollars go

Boy, 14, was killed by stray
bullet during a drive by shooting
on Fifth Avenue. Mother says he
had gone to the corner store to
buy milk and cereal for the next
morning’s breakfast.
May 3rd at 9:30 pm, multiple witnesses had called
the police department to report an all black with
tinted windows SUV had stopped in front of the
corner store and opened fire.
The young boy was found dead at the scene with
two bullets striking his chest.
Two others were also injured at scene, but they are
expected to make a full recovery.
Police have not identified who was the initial target
of the shooting, nor have they identified any suspects.
One witness described the shooter to be a black male
in his mid-twenties with a tattoo under his right eye.
Police are asking for assistance from anyone who
might have any information on the shooting or
possible suspects.
The name of the boy killed in the shooting has not
been released to the public. However, he has been
identified as a student from the local private school.

Fill the Void

“Democracy is
the money truly goes to the
people.

Rapper J. Cole has spoken up

too [redacted]
about the issue. He questions the
government’s integrity, stating
that if half of his million dollars
are taken away in taxes, why is it

slow.” not funding the public schools in

Written by M. White
His mother says that he would
always walk to the corner store
to buy groceries because she
worked double shifts and was
often not home.
She said she worked as many
hours as she could to be able to
afford him a good education so
that he could be successful and
not have to leave under constant
financial stress.
The boy’s death has sparked a
national debate about what our
tax dollars actually fund and if
low income minority neighbor-
hoods.
He argues that the mother
should not have to work so much
to afford her son, and only one of
her sons, a decent education.
He suggests that we should be
given the right to decide directly
what our tax dollars fund. He
goes as far to suggest “It’s 2018.
Let me pick the things I’m
funding from an app on my
screen” and that “democracy is
What socioeconomic
conditions might be linked
too [redacted] slow.”
to drug abuse and
Cole even insinuates that the addiction behavior?
government’s tax benefit to big
corporations might factor in to
See page 2
the gun circulation. The guns
then infiltrate into low income
minority communities and we
end up with deaths like this one.

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Issue 5: 06 May 2019 Kill Our Dreams

“Kill Our Demons” is, like, finding that shit, whether it be from traumatic childhood experiences, whether it be from a lack of attention, confidence issues, insecurities.
Whatever it is, we gotta be honest with ourselves. Look in the mirror or look inside and ask ourselves questions like “Yo, what’s really eating me? What’s causing me to
run to this thing as an escape?” – J. Cole

Man falls in love

girl or in love with the person
she portrays herself to be.

An even more vital question is:

with Instagram
is this “love” that the speaker
feeling actually an addiction
that enables the speaker to
escape the current

photo circumstances of his life? Why

Written by M. White
J. Cole’s song “Photograph”
captures contemporary love and
dating culture. The speaker of
the poem talks about falling in
love with a girl from the pictures
she posts online, presumably on
the social media platform
Instagram. This song might
seem to feel displaced on the
the K.O.D album which is
thematically centered on
addiction. However, it seems
like J. Cole might be taking a
stance and is calling out love
and social media for being a
drug.
The song might be acting as a
would someone turn to insta-
stalking a girl online as a
coping mechanism? And is
this addiction, in the form of
social media “love” any
healthier than a typical drug
abuse problem?
I don’t have all the answers.
But I can tell you that social
media addiction is a real thing
and it does have a negative
impact on our health; an
impact that the speakers
acknowledges in the lines
“love today has gone digital
and it is messing with my

“Love today has gone digital health.” Studies have found

the 2.5 hours daily on social
media is linked to increase in
and it is messing with my anxiety, depression, and
suicidal thoughts.

health” But why does the speaker

social commentary of social
media love culture, where
individuals finds themselves
entranced by images and
photographs. However, these
images posted online tend to
only portray the best aspects of
the poster’s lives.
So the question is, is the
speaker really in love with the
continue to engage in a habit
that he knows is unhealthy?
Well, why does any addict
engage in unhealthy habits?
Sometimes, it feels good to
escape the conditions of our “puttin my heart in a click” – J. Cole “Photograph”
lives

Are you more likely to suffer from

addiction?
Those with high education are less likely to suffer from
Substance abuse is more drug abuse. Individuals who have educated parents are
common in communities of less likely to suffer from substance abuse.
poverty and low economic In low income community, an individual might be
burdened with responsibilities that inhibit their
status. However, this does not education. An individual might drop out of school to
mean that wealthy individuals work and provide for the household.
can not suffer from substance Abuse and neglect tend to be a generational cycle among
families. A person who was abused in their childhood is
abuse or addiction. 2.7 times more likely to be abusive to their own kids.
Likewise, a person who was neglected in their childhood
The fact is that wealthy individuals are privileged to is 4.2 times more likely to be neglectful towards their
no experience the same traumas that pushes low kids. Seventy percent of child abuse or neglect cases
income individuals towards addiction and escapism. involve drug or alcohol abuse.
Education, abuse and neglect, mental health, Abuse and neglect also occur more commonly in low
parental substance abuse, and economic status are all income families.
risk factors that suggests if a person is predisposed to
addiction. Twenty-nine percent of people diagnosed with a mental
health disorder also suffers from substance abuse. And
severe mental illness is more common in families whose
annual income is less than $20,000. In contrasts, severe
mental illness is least common in families whose annual
income is $75,000 or more.
Parental drug abuse also predisposes an individual to
be a drug abuser themselves. A household where both
parents are drug abusers is extremely more likely to be
low income.
Substance abuse is more likely to occur in families living
in poverty or low-income conditions. Twenty percent of
welfare recipients in America report using illegal drugs.
A person whose annual income is less than $20,000 is
one-third less likely to recover from a cocaine addiction
than someone who makes at least $70,000.
Kids in poverty are also more likely to try drugs and
alcohol.

J. Cole’s Fifth
Studio Album
K.O.D

life can bring much pain there are many

ways to deal with this pain choose wisely
Written by M. White

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