Khaseen Morris is dead.  The 16-year-old was stabbed to death.  He was a student at Oceanside High School in Nassau County, New York.  According to the police report, at approximately 3:45 p.m., a fight broke out in front of an Oceanside strip mall.  The fight was allegedly over a girl.  Khaseen was stabbed in the chest.  He later died at the hospital.

 A group of young men can be seen on video hitting Khaseen as he lay on the parking lot.  At some point during the assault, Khaseen was stabbed.  Beat and bleeding to death in front of a dry cleaner shop, a pizzeria, and a Chinese restaurant, Khaseen Morris was surrounded by 50 or more young men and women who did nothing to help him.  None rushed to his aid.  Not one provided words of encouragement and comfort.  Nobody tried to treat his wound to slow the bleeding until an ambulance arrived. 

 A teenage boy fighting over a girl is nothing new.  Jealous boys throwing fists over a girl probably has been occurring since the dawn of civilization.  A brawl that results in a stabbing is nothing remarkable either.  So why has the Morris murder brought international media attention?  From NPR to the BBC, from the New York Times to Argentina’s Infobae, why such widespread coverage of this particular murder?

 In Mt. Pleasant, SC, when 16-year-old Matthew Fischer stabbed to death 17-year-old Lucas Cavanaugh during a feud over Fischer’s girlfriend, the news coverage was for the most part, local.  In Chicago, when 17-year-old Christian Gonzalez fatally stabbed Chris Wormely, the media attention was typical.  So why is the story of Khaseen “Poodie” Morris, born on October 24, 2002, getting so much focus?  It’s what the police said about this particular senseless murder that has so many people wondering what kind of people we have become.

 When Detective Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick of the Nassau County Police Department spoke to the media, his frustration seemed to only hold back his disgust with the crowd of 50 plus young people that did nothing to help. “Kids stood there and didn’t help Khaseen,” Detective Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick told reporters. “They’d rather video. They videoed his death instead of helping him.”  Many of the videos were uploaded to Snapchat.  Khaseen’s family expressed their disgust and outrage at Oceanside High School and the fact that so many people stood around and recorded the fight on their phones rather than call for help or render first aid. 

 This is who so many people have become.  They watch the world through a 3” x 5” screen.  And as long as that screen is in front of their faces, what they see on it is not their problem and less than real.  Being popular in cyberspace is more relevant than being popular in a physical space.   These are the same people that go to a concert or sporting event and watch the band or game through their phone screen because they are recording or don’t want to miss the perfect picture.  It’s as if they do not realize that they are there and can now watch and thoroughly enjoy the event in real time while in real life. 

 And a vital part of real life is what we have lost as a result of social media and virtual reality.  We have seen recently, and will see more with the election 2020 approaching, protests and counter-protests where there are those disturbed few that seek to physically harm others simply because of political affiliation.  We witness these two sides get pulled together by instigators with criminally violent intentions.  The two sides ebb and flow until a weak target is found.  Slowly the mob isolates and begins to circle their prey.  Objects are thrown along with some measured shoves. The bulk of the crowd, sensing live action, removes their phones from their pockets or cases as quickly as possible so they don’t miss a damn thing!  And while scrabbling for the video record icon, seek the best vantage point to record an assault or even murder.   

 Who are these people?  How did they evolve to become so indifferent to human suffering?  What do they not know about courage and valor?  What has become of empathy, respect, dignity; of doing the right thing?  What is going on in Nassau County households and public schools that has produced the result of Khaseen Morris being dead while dozens of teenagers and young adults recorded the attack as well as Khaseen bleeding to death on a worn out strip mall parking lot? 

 What is going on in your household, in your schools, in your community that is producing this selfish, anti-social, socialistic-type citizen that wants to take no responsible or risk?  Khaseen Morris should not be dead.  Never forget this.