WHY DOES JOHNNY RUN--
We’ve had four fatal police shootings in Eureka this past year. In October they shot and killed a 16 year old kid, Chris Burgess. I saw the picture in the paper and I thought that with a bad decision here and there and a slightly different set of circumstances that could have been my kid. That got me to thinking of how we can get to the point where teenagers in this tinytown become cannon fodder for an out of control law enforcement. The story is that probation officers stormed into the house with pepper spray to get this kid. He pulled a knife and ran. The officers called for back-up and chased him. One Eureka Police officer arrived, cornered the kid in a ravine and shot him. There was a rumor this officer had severely beaten the kid in a previous encounter at juvenile hall so I suppose he really did have reason to fear for his life, but he really didn’t seem to consider the option of backing off and waiting for more help. Two things really stuck out in my mind; If the kid hadn’t run he’d be alive today, and the cops find the use of deadly force a perfectly reasonable option without making any effort to find other solutions. There is a tendency to abuse their authority at times and act like jack-booted thugs. Thus, Why Does Johnny Run?
Johnny was always a good kid Growing up in a small timber town
He liked to fish and he loved to swim How does a life come crashing down?
His daddy was gone before Johnny was born His mama didn't know what to do
She didn't have the tools to take care of herself Let alone take care of Johnny too
Why does Johnny run, why's he feel like he needs to run
What was Johnny's sin but just trying to buy time
Life doesn't seem to make much sense anyway
When did being a kid become a mortal crime--a mortal crime
By ten years old he was in the system The social workers made him dance
In and out of jails and foster homes Johnny didn't have much of a chance
Now he runs from a system that just doesn't seem to care And he runs from the people that beat him
He runs for a chance that's just a little more fair And doesn't just seek to defeat him
Why does Johnny run What's he running from anyway
What could go so wrong that his life ended up this way
Where is there to run to what can he become
Nothing but a target for somebody's gun---somebody's gun.
Jack-booted thugs in the living room, But Johnny doesn't want to go back
He's taken all he can of their fear and their indifference, He's taken enough of their flack
So Johnny he pulls out his hunting knife, As if he could somehow cut his way free
From the chains that they've placed on his restless life, To a place where they might just let him be
Now those heavy-handed thugs they call for backup, Johnny sees no choice but to run
They back him up into a corner, and end his short life with their guns
With their guns
Why does Johnny run Why does Johnny run
Why Does Johnny run Run Johnny run