Christina Taylor-Green, Tucson's 9-Year-Old Massacre Victim, Was a 9/11 Baby... A "Face of Hope"

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/01/11/arizona.funeral.westboro/index.html?hpt=T1

Funeral pickets to be met by 'angels'

By the CNN Wire Staff
January 11, 2011 2:25 a.m. EST

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* Westboro Baptist Church plans to picket funerals of the Tucson shooting victims
* Several groups want to show support for the families of the victims
* They will be silent and non-confrontational, organizers say
* The funeral of 9-year-old Christina Green is Thursday

Tucson, Arizona (CNN) -- Tucson just isn't that kind of town, says Christin Gilmer.

Gilmer is talking about Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, that has made its name picketing the funerals of people who died of AIDS, gay people, soldiers and even Coretta Scott King.

But when the church announced its intention to picket the funeral of a 9-year-old girl -- one of six people who died Saturday during the attempted assassination of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords -- Gilmer and others in the college town put their feet down.

Tucson, said Gilmer -- who said two of the six people killed were friends -- is a "caring, loving, peaceful community."

"For something like this to happen in Tucson was a really big shock to us all," she said. "Our nightmare happened when we saw Westboro Baptist Church was going to picket the funerals."

They're planning an "angel action" -- with 8-by-10-foot "angel wings" worn by participants and used to shield mourners from pickets. The actions were created by Coloradan Romaine Patterson, who was shocked to find the Topeka church and its neon signs outside the 1999 funeral of Matthew Shepherd, a young gay man beaten and left on a fence to die in Laramie, Wyoming.

"We want to surround them, in a nonviolent way, to say that our community is united," Gilmer said. "We're a peaceful haven."

"You don't mess with Tucson," said Gilmer, 26, who described it as "a little dot of blue in a sea of red."

But political persuasions don't matter, she said. Republicans, Democrats, independents, right, left and center -- they've all offered their support. Forty-two people have signed up on a Facebook page called "Build Angel Wings for the Westboro Funeral Counter-Protest and Meeting" and more than 4,500 have signed up on another page to "Show Support for the Families of the Tucson Shooting Victims."

"People, businesses, they're all donating material and money to build the angel wings," said Gilmer, who is helping organize the action. And, she added, they're donating to a fund created to help pay for services for the victims of the shooting.

Chelsea Cohen, a 20-year-old senior at the University of Arizona who launched the "Show Support" Facebook page, said she never expected such a response.

"Once I heard that the Westboro Baptist Church was coming, I felt like something should be done to show support for the families," she said. "I don't have any experience in organizing these things. I thought I might get 50 to 100 people."

Cohen said she thinks many of the 4,500 people who've signed up on the Facebook page will be there "in spirit" on Thursday, when mourners gather for the funeral of Christina Taylor Green, who was born on September 11, 2001. But she added, Tucson is an active town, and the response isn't likely to be small.

"This isn't a counter-protest," she said. "We wanted it to show support for the families and to show that Tucson is there with love and support."

They don't want to interfere with the funeral in any way, Cohen said.

"We plan on being completely silent, and we're asking people not to bring signs or make comments about the Westboro Baptist Church," she said.

The angels will be doing the same thing.

"We're going to silently stand there so people can mourn the death of a 9-year-old girl who died in a senseless tragedy," Gilmer said.

Cohen said several groups are planning to be at the funeral to show their support, and there is an effort afoot to bring them all together "into one group so we can all be on the same page."

"I hope that everyone there can convey the peaceful message that we want to convey, she said

And if the church pickets persist, the silent supporters will be on hand for the funerals of U.S. District Judge John Roll, Gabriel Zimmerman, Dorothy Morris, Dorwin Stoddard and Phyllis Schneck, the other five victims of Saturday's shooting. Giffords, who was shot in the head and is in critical condition, and 13 other people were wounded.

Westboro Baptist Church, founded by its spiritual leader, Fred Phelps, and run mostly by family members, did not respond to a request for an interview in time for this article. But a flier released by the church about the picket targets the Roman Catholic Church because Christina and her family were members.

"God hates Catholics!" the flier, posted on the church's "God Hates Fags" website, says. "God calls your religion 'vain,' as it's empty of His truth; you worship idols!"

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/us/11schools.html?_r=1&hp

The New York Times...

.

January 10, 2011
At Victim’s School, Shock, Sorrow and Nightmares
By JENNIFER MEDINA

TUCSON — For the children at Mesa Verde Elementary School, the questions are endless. First, they asked, again and again, why would a stranger kill Christina Green, who had attended school here since kindergarten? Then, some asked quietly, would that man come back to try to shoot them, too? And is it still safe to go to the supermarket?

As classes at Mesa Verde resumed for the first time since the shooting on Saturday that killed six people, including 9-year-old Christina, the school grappled with how to talk about the tragedy with the young students here. Many of them have never known anyone who has died. Now, one of their own had been killed — a loss that was difficult for many adults to deal with.

In the two nights since the shooting, nightmares had already interrupted sleep for many of the children — images of puppies suddenly dying, mothers crossing invisible lines and abruptly disappearing, or somebody coming to kidnap their friends in the middle of the day. The impact was raw and deep. Some children screamed and sobbed inconsolably, while others were stoic, promising their mothers that, yes, they understood, and, no, they did not need to talk.

They brought their stuffed owls and friendship bracelets and flowerpots as offerings for the growing memorial to Christina that lined the fence at the school. And her third-grade classmates hugged one another tightly in the yard before classes began.

“Are you sure you’re O.K.?” one asked a group of friends. “My mom said it’s O.K. to be sad.”

Kayley Clark, a classmate who had been friends with Christina for years, said, “I just feel shocked and very, very sad. She was very, very smart and very, very nice. She was such a fun person, and I really wish she could come back.”

Many students were already chattering about ways they could honor Christina. Could they name a local park in her memory? Or perhaps a baseball field, a tribute to the game she loved? Could they try to be more helpful to other students, as they had seen her do?

As parents escorted their children to class just after dawn, a few said they were worried about what their children would hear about the attacks, but many more said they felt a sense of relief that somebody else could help their children grieve.

And parents were mourning not only the death of a bright and popular young student, but also a sense of innocence for their children.

Tamara Clark, Kayley’s mother, said that when she told her daughter that Christina was the young girl killed on Saturday, she immediately burst into tears. Then, there was silence. Hours later came the anger “in a way I have never seen,” Ms. Clark said.

“She would say over and over that she hated the guy who did it,” Ms. Clark said. “ ‘Hate’ is a word I never really heard her use before.”

With fewer than 400 students at the school, nearly every child had at least seen Christina on the playground or at student council or with a tutoring program where she volunteered.

A team of psychologists arrived at the school early Monday, preparing to stay all week. Teachers began the day by telling students that the school was “like one big family, and we are all here to support each other in this time.” With that, students were encouraged to share memories of Christina in class.

“They told them it’s fine to be happy when you think about Christina and it’s fine to feel sad,” said Christine Parrish, whose 8- and 9-year-old daughters had known Christina for most of their lives.

School officials were trying to make the day stick to a normal schedule, although the circumstances were anything but.

“This is a multifaceted tragedy for this community,” said Vicki Balentine, the superintendent of the Amphitheater Public Schools district. “We want to give them space to do whatever we need to be supportive. And at the same time, we have to move forward.”

One class gathered in the schoolyard and held hands in a circle for the national moment of silence, as a car stereo blasted the sound of a single bell. The scheduled Family Library Night on Monday was replaced with a support gathering for families.

For many parents and more than a few students, there are the persistent thoughts of “what if?”

“There’s no reason we couldn’t have been there at that time, too,” said Betty Ordonez, whose granddaughter, Jordan Zepeda, is also in third grade at Mesa Verde. “That was the first thing I thought when I heard about it — where are my babies?”

Jordan said, “Now, I feel scared, just very scared.”

Ms. Balentine said the students seemed to be doing as well as could be expected, adding, “Children are remarkably resilient.”

Indeed, one of the most cogent messages (complete with misspellings) on the growing memorial came in a letter from Rachel Cooper-Blackmore, a fifth grader.

“Christina you will be missed by everyone,” it began, each “i” dotted with a heart. “I am so sorry for your family and I hope in their hearts you can guide them on the right pathway of live because yours was taken short.”

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/01/11/us/SCHOOLS/SCHOOLS-articleLarge.j...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anne-howard/elegy-for-a-9yearold_b_806509.html

The Huffington Post...

Rev. Anne Howard

Executive Director, The Beatitudes Society
Posted: January 9, 2011 10:14 PM

Born on September 11, 2001, Christina Taylor Green died January 8, 2011, gunned down in a Tucson supermarket parking lot. Christina had just been elected to her school student council and was interested in politics, her family said. She wanted to meet her Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, and learn more about politics.

She did. She learned what no child should ever learn. She learned that politics in America, or rather, public life in America, has become a place fraught with violence.

Back in the campaign season, the violence was just words, clever phrases from media-savvy public speakers who said things like "don't retreat--reload!" We watched such public figures promote campaigns taking aim, with images of the cross hairs of a gun sight, at other public figures, one of whom was Gabrielle Giffords.

But now it's not just words. Words, as the good sheriff of Pima County Arizona told us, matter. "Vitriol has consequences," Sheriff Dupnik said.

Vitriol has consequence, and so does its opposite. The opposite of vitriol is love.

So, for the sake of Christina, and for other little girls and boys who might yet be interested enough in politics to wish to become public servants like Gabby Giffords or slain Judge John Roll, it's time to meet the vitriol with love.

Really. Love. It's time for us to get busy and start practicing love. And I don't mean sweet sentiment. I mean the hard work of love.

As a preacher, I could talk about the hard work of love by quoting a bible verse about loving the other as our self. I would also quote another preacher, Martin Luther King, Jr. who said "Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." I believe that.

But the best way I know how to describe that love is as a mother. What we need in the public square right now, in our places of worship and places of learning, in our Tweets, blogs and Facebook posts and in our supermarket parking lots, is a kind of love that looks something like a mother's love.

The kind of love I'm talking about is tender, and it's fierce:

It means paying attention, knowing what time it is and what the weather's like out there.

It means naming danger when it threatens, and meeting it with savvy and with courage.

It means teaching the difference between right and wrong.

It means being responsible for our words and our actions, and calling on others--like those public figures with their crosshairs--to take responsibility for their actions.

It means showing up, being present, caring, not expecting somebody else to handle it.

It means compassion, knowing that we are all in this together.

And of course it means getting your heart broken, which opens you to hold the pain as well as the beauty of being fully human.

So with our hearts broken open right now, I hope we can meet the challenge of these violent times with the power of love, fierce, tender love. We owe it to Christina.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/09/AR2011010902186....

The Washington Post...

Christina-Taylor Green, 9-year-old killed in Tucson, remembered, mourned

By Krissah Thompson and Theola Labbé-DeBose
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, January 9, 2011; 7:58 PM

Christina-Taylor Green's short life was pinned between two national tragedies: She was born Sept. 11, 2001, and she died as a gunman apparently targeting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) shot 20 people in Tucson.

Christina, a budding elementary school politician, was the youngest among the six killed in Saturday's shooting.

The 9-year-old, who had big brown eyes and long brown hair, recently had been elected to her student council. She went with a family friend to see Giffords speak, a way to learn more about serving in government.

"Christina Green was a wonderful child," said her teacher, Kathie DeKnikker. "She had not only the energy and enthusiasm of a typical third-grader but also maturity and insight that most children don't attain until much later."

Christina's love of American civics began early.

"She was born back eas,t and Sept. 11 affected everyone there, and Christina-Taylor was always very aware of it," her mother, Roxanna Green, told the Arizona Daily Star. "She was very patriotic, and wearing red, white and blue was really special to her."

DeKnikker said she was a leader in her classroom at Mesa Verde Elementary school, helping other students and contributing to discussions.

"The thing I will remember most about Christina was her well-developed sense of humor. Oh, how she could make us laugh with her witty comments," she said. "We will all miss her terribly."

School officials said there will be counselors early Monday morning for students and staff.

The young girl, who was the only girl to play for the Pirates, the Canyon del Oro Little League baseball team, continued the family's baseball tradition. Her father, John Green, is a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers and her grandfather, Dallas Green, is a former major league pitcher and manager. The elder Green managed the Philadephia Phillies from 1979 to 1981, winning a World Series title in 1980. He went on to manage the Yankees and the Mets.

Christina had one sibling an 11-year-old brother, also named Dallas, and the two loved to go swimming together, her parents said.

"She kept up with everyone. She was a strong girl, a very good athlete and a strong swimmer," her mother said in interviews with the local paper. "She was interested in everything. She got a guitar for Christmas, so her next thing was learning to play guitar."

Christina had just received her first Holy Communion at St. Odilia's Catholic Church in Tucson, Catholic Diocese of Tucson officials told the Arizona Daily Star.

"She was real special and real sweet, "her uncle Greg Segalini told the Arizona Republic.

The girl was already aware of the "inequalities" of the world, Roxanna Green said. Christina often repeated the same phrase to her mother: "We are so blessed. We have the best life."

Staff researchers Madonna Lebling and Lucy Shackelford and staff writers Lisa Rein, Paul Kane and Jerry Markon contributed to this report.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/christina-green-shot-gabrielle-giffords-tuscon-event-lo...

Mother of Christina-Taylor Green, Shot at Tucson Event, Says Daughter Wanted to Go Into Politics

Christina-Taylor Died of a Single Gunshot to the Chest, Mom Says

By EMILY FRIEDMAN
Jan. 9, 2011

PART ONE...

At just 9 years old, Christina-Taylor Green already had big plans to one day serve her country.

Christina-Taylor, who was the youngest of the six victims shot and killed Saturday during the shooting spree outside a Tucson, Ariz., grocery store, had gone to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' political event to "learn more about politics," according to her mother, Roxanna Green.

"As young as she was, Christina-Taylor talked about getting all the parties to come together so we could live in a better country," Green told ABC News. "She was going to Giffords' event to ask questions about how she could help and to learn more about politics in our country."

"She was proud of her country and wanted to know more about the political process," she said. "She was a beautiful girl inside and out."

Christina-Taylor, the granddaughter of former Phillies manager Dallas Green, was taken to Giffords' informal town hall meeting by a neighbor who was considered her pseudo-aunt, said her mother.

She died on the scene from a single bullet wound to her chest, when alleged gunman Jared Loughner opened fire, shooting a total of 20 people.

"She had a great morning, she got up early yesterday morning and was talking about the event, and how excited she was," said Green of her daughter's final hours. "She was very mature for her age."

Christina-Taylor was born on 9/11 and had used her birthdate as a source of inspiration during her short life. She was featured in a book about babies born on 9/11 called "Faces of Hope."

"She was very interested in politics since she was a little girl," Green said. "I think that being born on 9/11 had a lot to do with that."

"She always thought about how she was born on 9/11, and she saw the positive in it," Green said. "She thought of it as a day of hope and change, a chance for the country to come together to be united."

The little girl's father, John Green, called the tragedy "disappointing."

"She came into the world on 9/11 and then at 9 years old she leaves it all on this terrible day," said John Green. "But we wouldn't take it back any of the 9 years we had with her."

"It was all worth it," he said. "But we still believe in this country."

Third grade had already been off to a good start for Christina-Taylor, who was recently elected student council president at Mesa Verde Elementary School.

In addition to politics, Christina-Taylor loved to dance and was the only girl on her baseball team, the Pirates, in what is otherwise an all-boys little league.

CONTINUED...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gabrielle-giffords-green-20...

Mother of Christina Green, slain in Arizona shootings, mourns loss

"I never thought in a million years this would happen," said a stunned Roxanna Green of the death of her 9-year-old daughter, Christina, also the daughter of Dodgers scout John Green and granddaughter of ex-major league manager Dallas Green.

Greg Segalini holds a photo of his niece, Christina Green, and his sister, Roxanna Green. Christina, 9, daughter of Dodgers scout John Green, died in the Tucson shooting. (Mark Henle, Associated Press / January 8, 2011)

By Michael Muskal Los Angeles Times

January 9, 2011, 1:34 p.m.

la-na-gabrielle-giffords-green-20110110

She was born on the day of the worst terrorist attack on the United States and she was shot to death during an Arizona rampage that killed six and critically wounded a congresswoman and 13 others.

On Sunday, Roxanna Green, the mother of the slain 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green, called for an end to the violence that had shattered her world.

“I just want her memory to live on, that she's a face of hope, face of change, face of … us coming together as a country to stop the violence and hatred and the evil wars,” Green said on MSNBC. “We have to protect our government officials and our innocent young children.”

Green said her daughter went to meet Rep. Gabrielle Giffords at the suggestion of a neighbor, who was interested in politics. The market where the shooting took place is about five minutes from the child’s home.

“I never thought in a million years this tragedy would happen,” Green said.

The child was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

“She was a beautiful girl and she would want us all to be strong and courageous like she was,” Green said. “She was a wonderful girl for the nine years she was here on Earth and she did amazing things. I know that her memory is going to go on forever and ever.”

Green was the daughter of Dodgers baseball scout John Green and the granddaughter of former baseball manager Dallas Green, who won a World Series title with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980.

“The Phillies organization expresses our heartfelt condolences to Dallas and Sylvia and the entire Green family on the senseless, tragic loss of Christina's life,” team president David Montgomery said in a prepared statement on Sunday. “She was a talented young girl with a bright, promising future.

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt mourned the loss in a statement Saturday night.

“We lost a member of the Dodgers family today. The entire Dodgers organization is mourning the death of John's daughter Christina and will do everything we can to support John, his wife Roxana and their son Dallas in the aftermath of this senseless tragedy. I spoke with John earlier today and expressed condolences on behalf of the entire Dodgers organization.”

http://crabbygolightly.com/mt/2011/01/christina_green_a_life_bookend.html

Christina Green: A Life Bookended By Notorious Feats Of Hatred

By Elizabeth C.

HER SHORT LIFE WAS BOOKENDED BY NOTORIOUS FEATS OF MADNESS, but Christina Green's mom wants us to remember her as "a face of hope, a face of change."

The youngest victim of an Arizona gunman who opened fire at a constituents' meeting held by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Green had gone to the meeting because she had just been elected to her elementary school council.

“I allowed her to go, thinking it would be an innocent thing,” Christina's mom, Roxanna Green, told the New York Times.

Instead, the meeting outside a Safeway supermarket proved the randomness of violence. And a young life that commenced amid the madness of Sept. 11, 2001 ended with a bullet to the chest. She had been featured in the book Faces Of Hope which profiled 50 babies born the day the Twin Towers were felled.

“I just can’t even put it into words,” Roxanna Green said. “I can’t express the devastation and hurt and how we were so robbed of our beautiful, beautiful princess. … Her light shines on all of us today and forever.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47313.html#ixzz1AZJEmkh3

The little girl is said to have loved ballet, baseball and animals, and she had aspired to grow up to be a veterinarian. She was the granddaughter of Dallas Green, the former manager of the Phillies, Yankees and Mets.

Green was among the six people killed by suspected gunman Jared Lee Loughner, a 22-year-old with a history of mental illness who posted videos with YouTube videos filled with vague and obtuse political commentary. Police are also looking for a second man who may have been an accomplice.

"I just want her memory to live on, she's a face of hope, a face of change," Roxanna Green told MSNBC. "Stop the violence, stop the hatred."

http://s3.amazonaws.com/sfb111/story_xlimage_2011_01_R3994_tucson_1911.jpg

Tucson Victim is Granddaughter of Ex-Yankees and Mets Manager Dallas Green Updated 2 hrs ago

January 9, 2011 4:53pmcommentshareprint

Dallas Green, who managed both teams in the '90s, told the Daily News he's devastated.

Child Killed by Arizona Gunman Granddaughter of Ex-Yankees and Mets ManagerChristina Taylor Green, who was shot dead by a gunman in Arizona. (Facebook)

By Adam Nichols

DNAinfo News Editor

MANHATTAN — A nine-year-old girl gunned down by a maniac in Arizona is the granddaughter of ex-Mets and Yankees manager Dallas Green.

The devastated baseball man told the Daily News of his relationship to Christina Taylor Green, a beautiful and personable little girl interested in politics and one of six people killed when a gunman opened fire at a meet-and-greet in Tucson.

Child Killed by Arizona Gunman Granddaughter of Ex-Yankees and Mets ManagerDallas Green, ex-manager of the Mets and Yankees and the grandfather of Christina Green who was killed in Arizona. (AP Images/Mike Groll)

"It's pretty hard," said Green, 76. "We're all hurting pretty bad.

"I can't believe this could happen to any nine-year-old, much less our own. THe worst thing to ever happen to us.

"This beautiful little girl, gone like this."

Green, who managed the Yankees followed by the Mets in the '90s, was in the Caribbean with his wife when he saw the shooting on TV.

A gunman had opened fire on Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, shooting her in the head.

He then sprayed the crowd with bullets, killing six and hurting 14. Christina had been taken to meet Giffords by a family friend.

Police have arrested Jared Loughner, 22, a political radical who espouses hatred for government online.

Doctors have said they're optimistic that Giffords will survive.

When Green saw it on TV, he told the News, "I didn't make any connection."

But then his wife spoke to her son on the phone, and broke the news to her husband.

"They shot our beautiful Christina," Sylvia Green said.

Read more: http://www.dnainfo.com/20110109/manhattan/tucson-victim-is-granddaughter-of-exya...