DETECTIVE STEVEN MCDONALD SPEAKS TO FREEPORT MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

The students at J.W. Dodd Middle School in Freeport received a special visit from Author Johann Christoph Arnold and NYPD Detective Steven McDonald, who spoke to the students about the importance of non-violent conflict resolution and forgiveness.

Arnold, author of "Why Forgive?" and "Be Not Afraid" and a member of the Bruderhof Foundation, spoke to the students about his encounters with violence in the world, at the hands German Nazis during WWII, and during his many years as a proponent of non-violent conflict resolution. “I don’t need to tell you that we live in a violent world,” said Arnold. “If we want to bring peace to the world, you have to start with forgiveness, right here in your homes and in your school. In the words of Gandhi, ‘We each must be the change we would like to see in the world.’ ”

Detective McDonald then spoke to an awestruck crowd about the events of July 12, 1986 that changed his life forever. He told how a bullet through the throat fired by a 15 year-old boy, left him paralyzed from the neck down. His son Connor was born while he was still in the hospital. At a press conference in the hospital, McDonald touched everyone when he told the packed room that he forgave the boy who shot him. “I was frustrated and angry for being paralyzed. I had bitter feelings,” he explained. “But I learned that I needed to free myself from the anger and bitterness, so I would be free to love again.” McDonald has been speaking about non-violence and forgiveness ever since.

McDonald explained to the students how this message of forgiveness will help them with the struggles they will face in life. He ended with a poem, entitled “You Are Special,” which reminded these young men and women that they were each put on this world to fulfill a unique purpose. He presented them each with a Pledge of Non-Violence to take with them. Each student also received personalized copies of Arnold’s two books as a special remembrance of the day.

“I hope as you go back to class and home, you will remember the message you heard today,” said Principal Michael Campbell. “Each of us is responsible for stopping the violence around us. If Detective McDonald can forgive, each of us can forgive also.”