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Unbridled life, senseless death offer lessons

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Tom Jackson

tjackson@tampatrib.com

Published: June 21, 2009

LUTZ - It is rarely useful to speak ill of the dead, and young Dustin Sean White is not among the exceptions - no matter how the still-emerging details beg for cruel analysis; no matter how superior we may feel by succumbing to that temptation.

A man-child has died, was killed in a fashion that can best be described, from what has been disclosed, as haphazard, perhaps even freakish, and certainly senseless.

Even now, as those who adored him mark the one-week anniversary of his absence, what most of us know is but the barest sketch, an outline easily caricatured by those predisposed to imagine the worst. An overly late party. A rival faction loitering nearby. A confrontation, a fight, a gun emerges, shots pierce the fabric of a community.

From this we are expected to ascertain not only the essence of Dustin's existence, but also of those who surrounded him - to determine, as well, who deserves the Parents Magazine seal of approval, and who should have their supervisory rights summarily revoked.

In search of context

Better we should take the time at hand to remember, or become acquainted with, who was lost. Perhaps in this we can find context, at least.

White spent an inordinate portion of his 17 years, 11 months and two weeks on this planet in an inverted attitude. Whether on wakeboards, BMX motorbikes or being expelled from whitewater rafts, White was as accustomed to a world gone topsy-turvy as any astronaut.

By most accounts, White approached life like an overgrown puppy, tumbling through his days with a prodigious appetite for whatever might happen next - squirrel! - and without much thought for the consequences. This is not condemnation. He was 17 going on 18. What would you expect?

And so he wades into a fight, which at the moment of decision looks about like baseball's bench-clearing brawls he's seen a thousand times on SportsCenter. Perhaps he knows the drill: Grab a guy in the opposing uniform and hang on; hope he does the same, absolving both from having to throw punches.

Wisdom in short leashes

But street life does not imitate SportsCenter. Young toughs alert to hints of disrespect pack firearms, the great equalizer. In a moment of foolish passion, at 2 a.m. on a Sunday, White was equalized into the next life.

How? Why? Was the nightmare preventable? Consider. At Thursday's memorial service, Devin White related the tale of his brother and the mailbox, acquired while Dustin White was inebriated. Said Devin White with a wink and a sly grin, "You all know Dustin drank a little bit," and much of his audience of 800 - far from scandalized - laughed at the memory of a teenager with yet another buzz on, rendering suspect decisions.

Here, lessons do seem to emerge, first among them this: Faced with reckless activity, many are content to look the other way.

Meanwhile, culture goes about its unblinking, corruptive and opportunistic business. Of course it's a teenager's job to romp into it. Like it or not, it is every grown-ups' duty to embrace the thankless role of leash master.

Surely the unbridled life and tragic death of Dustin Sean White teach us at least that.

Keyword: The Jax Files, for Tom Jackson's bonus insights.

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