James Gilligan Tribute - Zeitgeist Moving Forward Rap

I spent forty years deep in the pain,
Walkin’ through the minds where the demons reign,
Murderers, rapists – you know the name,
But what made 'em snap? What lit that flame?

They were kids once, dreams in their eyes,
'Til the fists came down, and the silence lied,
Beaten, broken, shattered pride,
Some survived murder, but a part of 'em died.

Cycle of pain – passed down like disease,
Childhood screams echo in the breeze,
No justice in hell, no moment of peace,
Just a war zone home, with no police.

Violence ain't born – it’s built, it’s learned,
From wounds so deep they forever burn,
Don’t point fingers – that ain't the turn,
We gotta heal the world, or watch it churn.

Treat the trauma, redesign the space,
'Cause cages don’t cure – they just replace,
The real solution? Face to face,
Public health, not moral disgrace.

They say, “What 'bout the ones who just kill for fun?”
But that’s surface talk – look where it begun,
Call ‘em “evil,” “monsters” – job is done?
Nah – that thinking’s why we ain’t won.

Forgiveness? Condemnation? I say neither,
That’s a story we tell, it don’t feed the fever,
We need answers, truth – like a cleaver,
Cut through the myths and free the believer.

You make a soldier, make a killer, same plan,
Train a man to pull triggers, then say he can’t stand?
You salute when he kills on command,
But call him a beast when he’s outta the clan.

Violence ain't born – it’s built, it’s learned,
From wounds so deep they forever burn,
Don’t point fingers – that ain't the turn,
We gotta heal the world, or watch it churn.

Treat the trauma, redesign the space,
'Cause cages don’t cure – they just replace,
The real solution? Face to face,
Public health, not moral disgrace.

“There’s no such thing as justice – just what is.
People raised in hate reflect where hate lives.
So don’t blame the child of war for his sins,
Blame the world that broke him from within.”

Redesign the culture, rewire the core,
This ain’t a battle we can fight with war,
Judges and lawyers just keeping score,
While the streets breed pain forevermore.

A better world starts where the damage ends,
Where we lift the weak and don't just pretend,
Where we treat the cause – not just defend,
And the word "rehab" don’t mean “the end.”

We don’t need vengeance – we need vision,
To treat the sickness, not feed the prison,
'Cause violence is made by the system we live in…
And peace only comes when we break that division.