Rosedale Student Perspective....

Killing for Clothes

Commentary by LaStarr

(This article appeared in the first edition of the Rosedale Star, published in July 2003.)

Winter never fails to bring with it the annoying, crazy urge for fashionable winter clothes.  Customized Timberland boots, Kangol hats, scarves, gloves, and leather Vanson jackets are suddenly displayed in every hip-hop fashion store there is.

But sometime, fashion can literally get crazy.

On December 1, 2002, in the Eastchester section of the Bronx, a young man was shot and killed for his expensive Vanson leather jacket.

The victim, Ewool Waldrain, Jr, 21, was walking to a subway station with four of his friends while wearing his Vanson jacket when two men drove up to him demanding the jacket.  Ewool reportedly responded, "I worked too hard for my jacket."  One of the assailants shot Ewool in the head and chest, then fled.

What is a jacket, really?  According to the Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, a jacket is: "1) A short coat, in any of various forms usually opening down the front. 2) Something designed to be placed around the upper part of the body for a specific purpose other than use as clothing..."

A jacket is a piece of material!  It is not something that enables you to live, breathe, sleep, or talk any better.  Knowing this, why would anyone go to the extreme of stealing it, or worse, killing for it?

I'm confused as to why people would spend their valuable time trying to save up $1,000 to buy a jacket that will most likely be forgotten about in the next two to three years.  This amount of money could be used for something like educational funds.

I don't think people buy this particular jacket because they feel it will keep them warm and protect them from catching a cold.  They buy it because it's fashionable.  It gives other people the impression that you have a lot of money.

As for people who would kill for this jacket, they have no regard for human life.  This action shows that they have extremely low self-esteem because they believe a jacket like this will grant them instant popularity.

You can spend $1,000 on a piece of material - or steal it, or even kill for it - but you won't gain anything from it.  A young life was lost because of this intense focus on fashion.  Ewool Waldraine, Jr leaves behind a mother, younger brother, aunt, and many more family and friends who now unfairly have to grieve for his death.  Whether you love fashion or not, it should never lead to such extreme tragedy and loss.

published August 2003

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