by Pat BrownUntil the horrific news of the murders on the South Side of Chicago hit the airwaves, Jennifer Hudson's life was many a girl's dream. Ms. Hudson, American Idol contestant and Dreamgirls star, had made it; well, more than made it. She had risen from the streets of Chicago and made the type of choices that eventually brought her fame and fortune.
However, Ms. Hudson couldn't choose which family to be born into, and
even though she loves her mother and siblings, she can't force them to make smart choices for themselves. Sadly, each one of her family members appears to have played with fire and ended up getting burnt by it. Mom Darnell Donerson and brother Jason Hudson ended up being shot in their home. Sister Julia lost her son Julian King (pictured right), found dead the back of his uncle's stolen and abandoned SUV; someone had no problem pumping a number of bullets into a seven-year-old boy. All totalled, this horrific crime left in its wake three homicide victims and two grieving sisters. In my opinion, however, the only truly innocent victims were the little boy himself and Jennifer Hudson. The rest aided and abetted the alleged killer.
The alleged killer is William Balfour (pictured below left), estranged husband of Julia and stepfather to little Julian. He is in custody on a parole violation. But give the police a few days and I am guessing he will be charged with a lot more than that. Balfour, a felon with a long rap sheet, is a carjacker and a murderer. (Okay, he only attempted to murder someone but I never have understood how being a failure to succeed allows a criminal to get a lesser sentence and nicer label.) Balfour's past was no secret from the Hudsons but, instead of refusing to allow such garbage into their lives and that of little Julian, they made lethally bad choices.
What bad choices did the Hudson clan make? While Jennifer Hudson became a star and moved away from the streets of her Chicago neighborhood, the rest of her family chose to stay put. The less-than-moral streets continued to influence the family. Brother Jason, who had been living in the family home for the last two years, was recovering from a gunshot injury he received during a home invasion at "another location." One of his friends says he is trying to straighten out his life which makes me theorize that maybe that home invasion was a crime he was actually involved in. If this is true, then Jason was involved in crime and most likely had criminals as friends.
Julia, Jennifer's sister—who wailed at the press conference that "Julian didn't deserve this"—apparently thought he did deserve a violent psychopathic criminal for a stepfather and had no problem moving the man into her son's life. So Julia didn't object to criminal behavior as long as it wasn't directed at her.
And what of Jennifer's mom? She is guilty as well. She let Balfour move into her home while she was taking care of Julian. This was not a reformed man, a man who had been away from a life of crime for a long time and proven himself to be an upstanding citizen. This was a thug right out of prison and still behaving like a thug. No surprise Ms. Donerson finally kicked him out. But yet, until he did something to tick her off, she allowed this creep to be around her beloved grandson.
Some people will get upset with this post and say I am blaming the victims—that the only one I should be angry with is the killer. But, quite frankly, I am fed up with people supporting crime and criminals and then expecting sympathy when they get burned. Did they care about what those criminals were doing to others? Did they speak out then? Did they fight against it? Or did they welcome the criminals into their lives, give them love and support, and enable them to continue in their abuse of the community?
Maybe I am just tired and cranky tonight, but I am fed up with feeling sorry for people who sympathize with the enemy—criminals. I would rather save my tears for those who have clearly stood on the side of good or who are too young yet to make such a miserable choice. I think I will feel sorry for Jennifer Hudson and shed my tears for Julian.
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However, Ms. Hudson couldn't choose which family to be born into, and
even though she loves her mother and siblings, she can't force them to make smart choices for themselves. Sadly, each one of her family members appears to have played with fire and ended up getting burnt by it. Mom Darnell Donerson and brother Jason Hudson ended up being shot in their home. Sister Julia lost her son Julian King (pictured right), found dead the back of his uncle's stolen and abandoned SUV; someone had no problem pumping a number of bullets into a seven-year-old boy. All totalled, this horrific crime left in its wake three homicide victims and two grieving sisters. In my opinion, however, the only truly innocent victims were the little boy himself and Jennifer Hudson. The rest aided and abetted the alleged killer.The alleged killer is William Balfour (pictured below left), estranged husband of Julia and stepfather to little Julian. He is in custody on a parole violation. But give the police a few days and I am guessing he will be charged with a lot more than that. Balfour, a felon with a long rap sheet, is a carjacker and a murderer. (Okay, he only attempted to murder someone but I never have understood how being a failure to succeed allows a criminal to get a lesser sentence and nicer label.) Balfour's past was no secret from the Hudsons but, instead of refusing to allow such garbage into their lives and that of little Julian, they made lethally bad choices.
What bad choices did the Hudson clan make? While Jennifer Hudson became a star and moved away from the streets of her Chicago neighborhood, the rest of her family chose to stay put. The less-than-moral streets continued to influence the family. Brother Jason, who had been living in the family home for the last two years, was recovering from a gunshot injury he received during a home invasion at "another location." One of his friends says he is trying to straighten out his life which makes me theorize that maybe that home invasion was a crime he was actually involved in. If this is true, then Jason was involved in crime and most likely had criminals as friends.Julia, Jennifer's sister—who wailed at the press conference that "Julian didn't deserve this"—apparently thought he did deserve a violent psychopathic criminal for a stepfather and had no problem moving the man into her son's life. So Julia didn't object to criminal behavior as long as it wasn't directed at her.
And what of Jennifer's mom? She is guilty as well. She let Balfour move into her home while she was taking care of Julian. This was not a reformed man, a man who had been away from a life of crime for a long time and proven himself to be an upstanding citizen. This was a thug right out of prison and still behaving like a thug. No surprise Ms. Donerson finally kicked him out. But yet, until he did something to tick her off, she allowed this creep to be around her beloved grandson.
Some people will get upset with this post and say I am blaming the victims—that the only one I should be angry with is the killer. But, quite frankly, I am fed up with people supporting crime and criminals and then expecting sympathy when they get burned. Did they care about what those criminals were doing to others? Did they speak out then? Did they fight against it? Or did they welcome the criminals into their lives, give them love and support, and enable them to continue in their abuse of the community?
Maybe I am just tired and cranky tonight, but I am fed up with feeling sorry for people who sympathize with the enemy—criminals. I would rather save my tears for those who have clearly stood on the side of good or who are too young yet to make such a miserable choice. I think I will feel sorry for Jennifer Hudson and shed my tears for Julian.
