Do People Change?

I’m asking a serious question, I’m trying to start a dialogue on this. I know nobody wants to talk about this.

Today, the young man in the photo above was murdered in a drive-by shooting. He has been convicted for multiple violent crimes and has been accused of torturing and kidnapping his pregnant ex-girlfriend. He comes from a broken home, he was raised around violence, he is a textbook problem child. He was an artist that preached about depression and suicidal ideation, his fans believe that he created beautiful music. He has done anti-rape activism and pledged to donate money to domestic abuse prevention.

I want to emphasize that he has a history of violence, he has recalled counts of physically abusing a homosexual man while in a youth rehabilitation program and smearing his victim’s blood over his own face. So, I ask you —

Do people change?

Have you changed? For the better or worse? Are the most hardened, heinous people capable of change?

Should our society focus more on the rehabilitation and reintegration of people like Jahseh Onfroy? Or should we have them killed off and only let those born good survive?

When I see him, I see people that I grew up with. I see boys who lacked guidance and did horrible things to women. I see boys that I’ve told some of my closest friends to not bother with. I see someone that I’ve worked hard to make sure doesn’t make his way into the lives of any of my loved ones.

I see a young black man with demons. I see a young black man who is a victim of crime, his environment, the stigma around mental health in West Indian families. I see a sad, young, lonely Jamaican boy who is angry at the world. I see parts of myself that were never allowed to grow and hurt others because I had the right people around me. I see a young man who had his whole life ahead of him to repent for what he’s done.

I feel conflicted about this.

We live in a society that hates the sinner as much as the sin, we live in a hashtag era where a lost life must be tweeted about. I don’t condone violence, but I think that belief must be held both ways. I can’t bring myself to celebrate the death of a young person, younger than myself. I value life too much. I can’t forget anything that XXXTentacion did, but for all the demons that I have within myself, I can’t hate Jahseh Onfroy. I can’t hate anyone that goes through childhood trauma and has to live with it for the rest of their lives. I can’t excuse their behaviour, but I can’t bring myself to hate them.

Rest in Peace Jahseh, I respected your artistry and I always wished you would find peace. I pray that you find redemption and I wish the best for your family as they grieve.

I don’t have an answer to the title of this, I don’t know if people change. I can’t promise you that if he lived longer he would’ve made up for all of this, but I can tell you that it hurts me to see a young life taken from us through senseless murder.

Please don’t hate me for this.