I found this article to be disturbing. The summary of the article is essentially a kid got in a fight at school and the cops were called and a 7 year old was put in handcuffs. Now a little deeper dive this kid is African American. I’m not going to profess to understand racism from a minorities point of view, I’m white, but I can relate to the father being pissed off that his 7 year old son was put in hand cuffs for a fight at school.
I’m not advocating violence or “boys will be boys” but kids fight, both genders and we are at the point now where 7 year olds have cops called on them and put in handcuffs for fighting in school? I got into fights when I was a kid, the teacher called my parents and I got disciplined at home (not every time I concede).
Not only that but when the father gets to the school Police are waiting for him and won’t let him enter and get to his son. I am completely amazed at this and the fact he is a black man makes it worse. I don’t subscribe to the notion that there is rampant racism out there, but only a fool would deny it exists. This example seem way beyond the pale to me, I mean any dad regardless of race would likely react the same way. So when this guy makes the statement “My son is 7 years old,” he says in the video. “Young black male … already has experience being put in handcuffs.”
Ya man that’s bad you have my empathy. The school district of course is trying to walk the fine line:
Ana Alejo, chief communications officer for Denver Public Schools, told 9News in a statement that handcuffs can be used “only as a last resort” and if there is “imminent danger.”
Fine, maybe the cops were overzealous here and the school district really didn’t push it this far but at what point does this absurdity get checked? A simple solution to bullying in schools has always been start charging school superintendents. Trust me, you target the top and they will quickly change the culture and problem kids will get the help they need fast or be expelled.
In this case though I feel for this dad and wish the best for the kid. I would be livid, my kids are all much older now but I’ve had a couple of calls from the school in my time. I can’t imagine ever getting a call from the school telling me my 7 year old was in hand cuff and the cops were on scene. I would be scared beyond belief and to find out it wasn’t a serious threat? I would sue them for as much as I possibly could. Not for the money but to punish them for such a ridiculous outcome to a situation that should have never escalated to that point.
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