Tajae Gaynor held a close friend who died in his arms from a stab wound after a meaningless conflict. The experience transformed the young man from the Bronx, and now he devotes his life to educating urban youth about the alternatives to violence. In this unique half-hour, David Freudberg probes this young man for answers that many twice his age would be hard-pressed to give. Listen to Tajae Gaynor as he expounds about the significance of the Columbine tragedy, why street life can be transcended, and how we are all responsible for creating bonds of tranquility in a world that often thrives on calamity.

Themes

• How does a person react when a close friend dies in their arms?
• What can someone do to stop conflict from spiraling out of control?
• What factor does a person’s “emotional baggage” play in creating conflict?
• How can we move from a society that is violent to a society that is peaceful?

You really have two options; to live or to die, and you never know what is going to happen. So would you rather talk your way out of a conflict, and have one or two people look at you as a punk, or would you like to live, to accomplish different things in life, to live really good, to be happy and enjoy life? Because conflict has so many different consequences, it can either be tiny or it can be very big.”

—Tajae Gaynor, youth activist for peace