One wrong decision....

I watched the movie, "Fruitvale Station" the other night. I remembered the incident from a few years ago....but never really looked into the details. At the end...all I could think about was the chain reaction of the decisions he made in life....led him to where he was. 

It's kinda unnerving if you think about it....we all make bad decisions sometimes. One bad decision can cause a chain of events to destroy your life. 

For those that don't know the story behind Fruitvale Station...it's about a young man living in the Bay Area. He had a 4 year old little girl...seemed to have a rough life growing up. Went to San Quinn prison for a few years (and we all know you don't end up there for a petty crime). He had a beef with another inmate there...they seemed to run their mouths off to each other. Once out of prison, he got a job...but could not keep it because he was always late. Again...another bad decision. He went out with his friends for New Years in the city and took BART on the way home. On the train, he saw the guy that he had a beef with in prison. They got into a physical altercation which caused the BART police to come. They were pulled aside and handcuffed. The police seemed more aggressive than they should have been but the people being detained were getting up, mouthing off and not cooperating. Made me wonder, if they sat there quiet....not moving and said they wanted to speak to a lawyer....would the situation have escalated? The BART officer thought he was pulling out his taser, he actually pulled out his gun and shot him. He died....it's tragic no matter what...it's a loss of life...NO MATTER WHAT. A little girl lost her daddy....a mom lost her son...a sister lost her brother...a friend lost a friend. It's sad....senseless....and not ok. No one should ever lose their life in that way.  But what caused it? If you look at the course of his life and ask....did his decisions lead him to that senerio? 

If I were on that train that night....I would have been celebrating, having a great time with friends without a care in the world. Would I have run into someone that wanted to fight me from a bad decision made years ago? Probably not. If I were detained and questioned aggressively....would I have been mouthing off and trying to get up. Nope. I am not in ANY way saying that his death was justified....and that it could never happen to me. I am just looking at the facts from an outside prospective. 

Some would say that since he had a tough life growing up, that life, is all he knew. There's a part of me that understands that...but a part of me never will....since I was fortunate to grow up in a loving healthy environment. If it's true that he is just a product of his raising and does not know any other way to live...how do you explain the people that grow up homeless or unloved in the foster care system and they end up to be a huge success. Wasn't that their choice....no one was there to model that behavior, but they decided to make choices to change their future for the better. 

I have chosen to live the life I currently live. The choices I make every day form and dictate what happens tomorrow. If I make the choice to go to work...I am also making the choice to pay my bills and keep up my lifestyle. If I choose to slack off...show up late or not do my job while I am there....I am making the choice to change my lifestyle. The actions of today...have a reaction to everything in my future. Every word I speak...and every decision I make can change the course of my future. 

I feel fortunate to live the life I live...but fully understand that the reason I live this life...is because of the decisions I made in the past....and the decisions I will make in the future.