In all of the Blogs, Social Media Forums, and Radio Broadcast that I have either read or listen to, the vast majority of followers of the Phylicia Barnes murder case have expressed their heartfelt condolences to the Mustafa family regarding their lost in such a senseless tragedy. Many of us who view this case with an open mind know that if not but for the grace of god, there go I. Considering the violence that plagues American culture in modern time, this kind of crime can impact any of us, without warning, and we can only pray that justice will be done. Baring those of us who have lost loved ones to violence, we cannot even began to empathize with families who have had to bury their children.  When such horrific events occur the psychological impact on grieving families is devastating to say the least. People experiencing  such anxiety may never overcome the darkness that followers when death comes knocking. There are those who will argue with the slightest expression of compassion, that death is in fact a part of life, and few will debate whether their perspective holds truth. I am inclined to point out that people’s reaction to death varies based on their emotions and ideology related to the living experience we all innately manifest as human beings. Those of us who have and love kids know that recovery from the death of a child is an event many fail to achieve. We show compassion, understanding, and many pray for those who have lost people close to them. It’s a sense of decency to show such expression because we to are also human, but no matter how heinous a crime is that results in the violent death of others, there are those who seem to make it a point to rear their heads with viciousness, hatred, and display a lack of compassion for families whom have lost loved ones. Perhaps some are wired differently from the rest of humanity, but none the less their self-proclaimed candor is often times conveniently very untimely with seemingly cruel and superficial intent. The fact that comments are being made which directly imply that Janice Sallis-Mustafa is just as responsible for her late daughter’s death is disturbing, an uninformed perspective which clearly demonstrates that some people not only lack wisdom in making such preposterous claims, and the source of such discourse can only have derived from parties associated with the same morons responsible for the murder of Phylicia Barnes.  With that being said, I should add that the only thing this mother is guilty of is trust. Trusting the child’s adult half-sister with properly caring for her loving daughter under her care, is exactly what Janice and other parents around the world are also guilty of. However, most adults charged with such responsibility don’t give the kids drugs & alcohol, allow them to run around nude with their adult friends, and most importantly they don’t allow the child to end up floating in a river. I mean let’s be realistic about this. We can’t possibly believe that this mother knowingly allow her child to walk into harms way. Phylicia Barnes was a 16-year-old honor student who mentored her peers, and had a job. Some of the very assholes either living or hanging out around Deena Barnes’ apartment didn’t even work in a pie factory. It’s safe to say the environment Phylicia was exposed to in Baltimore was a complete culture shock to her. The child’s older half-brother, Bryan Barnes told TPC that his kid sister was hyper, fun, and everyone wanted to be around her. The child thrived socially everywhere she was, but there are those who say it’s Janice’ fault for allowing Phylicia to visit Baltimore, and that she should have known about the activities going on at Deena’s place. How so? The child had visited Baltimore five times prior to the trip that resulted in her death, and each time she returned home without any indication that there was a problem. I want one of these intelligent people who knows everything to explain to me how this mother should have known what was going on. The fact that Janice was told by one of Phylicia’s friends the child had talked about drugs and alcohol, shows Phylicia herself purposefully avoided telling her mom what she had been allowed to engage in while visiting Baltimore, because the child knew her strict mother would have terminated any further visits. While people are quick to beat up on Janice calling her a bad parent, they either ignore or are ignorant to the fact that Deena Barnes lied to the child’s mother from the very start. Deena told Janice only she and Phylicia would staying at her place. This lie was the sole factor that Janice even allowed Phylicia to visit. There is no way in hell this kid would have gone to Baltimore had the truth been known by Janice Sallis-Mustafa. Janice herself described her daughter as naive and her own street knowledge from having come up in the gritty South-Side of Chicago would have kicked in and her daughter would have never made the trip. They say that Janice seems “out there”, that she is rambling on, and that she is playing the blame game. Really? Are you kidding me? How many people have a straight A student child, that wants to work, and is preparing to leave high school early? I guess Janice didn’t have anything to do with that. I guess strict parenting is what cause her daughter’s death also. The reality of this entire ordeal is that this little girl died in Baltimore surrounded by some triffling, ghetto, and despicable pieces of shit that never cared about the child’s welfare. However, people attack the mom because she is reflecting on her own pass encounters with the Barnes family. They say she is still bitter over Russell Barnes. Why would she be? In fact it was Janice who encouraged her child to  get to know her father’s side of the family, because she wanted the kid to be well-rounded, complete, and not have to wonder about that part of her life. This clearly demonstrates that she had put the past behind her and didn’t allow the physical abuse she allegedly suffered at the hands of the child’s father hinder her daughter from having a relationship with the other half of her family. Janice loved her daughter and everything she did concerning this child was carefully considered to impact Phylicia’s own personal development. She said Russell Barnes tried to beat Phylicia out of her while she carried the child during her pregnancy. In my mind a person who can forgive that kind of abuse for the sake of her child’s development, is illustrative of a character rarely displayed, and further depicts why the child was headed toward such a promising future. People should get it straight. Janice Sallis-Mustaf and her real dad Raheem Mustafa raised an incredible human being, whose life was cut down by heartless, cowardice, and demonic monsters who took advantage of the child’s innocence. In no way are this child’s parents responsible for her death. Moreover, these kinds of comments aren’t new, as individuals connected with the Barnes family have been cloaking in forums and blogs like the true cowards that they are. If they aren’t guilty of anything why not identify yourselves and stand behind what you have to say? I have come to know the Mustafa family as god fearing people, and those responsible for killing their beautiful child should simply be glad that they are, because had it been my child, there wouldn’t be a rock within the entire universe that these bastards could crawl back under to keep me from getting to them.
The People’s Champion
I’m David Adams
