It has been 27 years since the day when a man was leaving the New York’s Dakota apartment building while saying to the doorman, “I just shot Lennon.”
It is not easy to completely eliminate the name of notorious Mark David Chapman, a delusional and psychotic Beatles’ fan who had thought that he himself was John Lennon, and later killed him.
The world, in the morning of Dec. 8, 1980, was witnessing the lost of one of world’s greatest musical legends. Indeed, the world was crying on the day when five bullets from .38 revolver ended the life of John Winston Lennon, The Beatles’ prominent member who once declared that his band, The Beatles, was more popular than Jesus Christ.
Such controversial statement, which was delivered on March 4, 1966, had created anger to many people, particularly Americans. This British band was then disbanded from entering the United States before Lennon eventually expressed his apology on a national TV.
I remember once reading an article saying that Chapman was very angry towards Lennon’s words. Even though he adored Lennon very much, Chapman’s devotion to Jesus was a means of living a life. Some might had argued that the Lennon’s controversial statement was a potential fuse to lighten up his assassination idea. But it is very hard to come up with such conclusion since Chapman’s being a psycho, to others, perhaps was the one that drove his head to pull the trigger.
Whether or not it is worth of remembering the day of Lennon was getting shot, his words have reflected those who imagine how beautiful it is to live in peace. Sadly, the world’s craving to reach a life in peace has yet to come to reality.
“…Imagine there’s no countries… It isn’t hard to do… Nothing to kill or die for… And no religion, too… Imagine all the people… Living life in peace.” (from John Lennon’s Imagine lyrics)