Thursday, July 17, 2008

A Child's Plea For Help: Luka By Suzanne Vega



When I was growing up in the 80's, new wave, techno and hiphop were the most popular music on the air waves. It was a very carefree period and although people seemed shallow, they were just living their lives to the fullest. That's why I was surprised by this song that came out when I was in third highschool. This song, in my view, was one of a kind because it had a more darker theme than the usual high school tunes that I hear over and over again. The song was called "Luka" by Suzanne Vega from her Solitude Standing album.

The song introduces listeners to a child named after the song who lives up the second floor who is a victim of child abuse. As much as he wants someone to help him, he is afraid that he'll get hurt even more. He just takes the abuse without protest, hoping that the agony would end quick. He keeps everything to himself and hopes things won't get any worse, but in reality, he's desperate for salvation, otherwise, he wouldn't have mention these things to the listener. This song describes child abuse in a nutshell.

Personally, I can be very strict, but not abusive. A child abuser hurts other children just to get their frustrations off or they do to their children what things they went through themselves. I don't claim to be an expert, but people who are like that need to get help or should be locked up because what they're doing is wrong. It's a tragedy if a child dies because of people like these because it's no child deserves to put under this painful experience and even if they survive it, they might become child abusers themselves. Though there are now many laws that are being enforced and more action groups formed to combat this problem, hopefully more can be done to eridicate this kind of behavior for the sake of the children.

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