Racial Tension

[Lindsey 0]

The racial tension is pretty thick here in my little town. I try to teach my child better than that. Sometimes things happen that are hard to explain away, but I try to put those things in a better perspective in his mind.

Well, about an hour ago, my boy and his friend were playing in the woods behind our house. I was out back playing frisbee with my dog when a young black man two doors down walked out into his back yard with a pellet gun and SHOT at the boys. They weren't doing anything but playing! I yelled, "Are you shooting at my boys?!" And he shot again. Of course then I walked on over and introduced myself. Told 'em who I was and that it was my son and his friend that this young man was shooting at. The young man didn't say anything, but a young woman said, "I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Of course Jay's friend is the son of one of our State Troopers. Of course I called him and told him what happened, and he'll be stopping by.

This sort of thing stirs the pot. There's no way in hell somebody's gonna shoot any gun at my son without me responding in some way. While it could just as easily have been a white guy, it wasn't. When there IS this much racial tension and a black person shoots at a white kid it becomes a racial issue. I've just never been in this position before, but it's likely to cause a problem in this racially mixed neighborhood....

Arghhh~
linz

--
A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

[kallend 1,679]

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The racial tension is pretty thick here in my little town.
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linz

Where is that?

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The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Richards 0]

Either try to catch him on video doing that, or next time respond with a real gun. Pellet guns are not merely harmless stingers. If a pellet hits the eyeball not only will it blind your son, it has the power to penetrate into the brain. Anyone who will randomly shoot at a kid is a worthless peice of filth and his passing would not be mourned by anyone who mattered.

Good luck dealing with this clown.

Richards

My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

[Lindsey 0]

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The racial tension is pretty thick here in my little town.
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linz

Where is that?

We're in a little town in south Arkansas.

Mitch, the other little boy's dad--the State Trooper, called me back a little bit ago. The boy who shot at them doesn't live there, and the "young woman" is a high school student who is really worried about her parents finding out about this. Her parents obviously weren't home when it happened or when Mitch went by. He found out who the boy is--also a high school student, and he plans to arrest him tomorrow on assault charges.

I'm glad to learn that the boy doesn't live there, and that the people who DO live there aren't the kind of folks who would condone shooting a pellet gun at my son and his friend.


linz

--
A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

[warpedskydiver 0]

That kid will grow up to be a prison inmate after he kills his first victim, hear me now believe me later.

It may sound strange but being arrested today may be his last chance before he goes "gangsta" and start shooting classmates with a real gun.

[Lindsey 0]

I have such conflicting feelings about it. On one hand, I think you're right. But sometimes kids do stupid things for whatever reason. Being arrested on assault charges can seriously screw up any future you might be working towards. College? I don't know...

Then I had a "friend" in medical school (a classmate) who had been an Olympic athlete. He had several incidents in his past of violence that had been swept aside because he was smart and a great athlete. At the end of my junior year he stabbed his wife to death and then jumped from the top of one of our hospital buildings, killing himself.

Not that this kid is heading into that direction, but sometimes it's not a good idea to minimize violent behavior either. I am torn, though.

linz

--
A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

[warpedskydiver 0]

why should you be torn? would you feel better having to treat some kid who had his eye put out or had a pellet penetrate between the ribs and clip his aorta?

or how about a nice flesh wound of the subclavian artery?

Be proud you didn't just turn your head away and act like everything is fine.

Does anyone think ignoring the situation would be a better Idea?

[Erroll 52]

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When there IS this much racial tension and a black person shoots at a white kid it becomes a racial issue.

Linz, do you not think that this kind of reasoning might add to the racial tension?

Here in South Africa we have had a so-called non-racial democracy now for 12 years. By and large most folks get on well, but there are still very many pockets of extreme racism through out the country. Almost without exception, the moment there is a black-on-white incident, all the right-wing whiteys shout RACISM, and every time there is a white-on-black incident, all the darkeys shout RACISM.

I am pleased to see that you are teaching your child the right way, because that is the only way for the future adults to learn. When I look at the way my children interact with kids of other races, I often find it hard to believe how far we as a society have come. There is still a long way to go, and it is up to us as parents to show the way and educate the youngsters.

I am in no way condoning what this kid did, but I believe he should be punished for what he did, not because of his colour.

[StreetScooby 5]

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Mitch, the other little boy's dad--the State Trooper, called me back a little bit ago. The boy who shot at them doesn't live there, and the "young woman" is a high school student who is really worried about her parents finding out about this. Her parents obviously weren't home when it happened or when Mitch went by. He found out who the boy is--also a high school student, and he plans to arrest him tomorrow on assault charges.

You must use the resources available to you -
1) Make sure the girls parents understand what happened.
2) Make sure the black guy with the pellet gun is arrested.
3) Make sure you press charges fully.
4) DO NOT let those charges get swept under a rug.

Do NOT tolerate this incident.

We are all engines of karma

[Nightingale 0]

I'm assuming the kid is a juvenile, as he's in high school.

He SHOULD be arrested on assault charges, and better he learn now, while he's a minor, than later when he's an adult and has a chance of spending a lot of time in prison. After he's an adult, he can apply to have his juvenile records sealed.

[Skyrad 0]

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Mitch, the other little boy's dad--the State Trooper, called me back a little bit ago. The boy who shot at them doesn't live there, and the "young woman" is a high school student who is really worried about her parents finding out about this. Her parents obviously weren't home when it happened or when Mitch went by. He found out who the boy is--also a high school student, and he plans to arrest him tomorrow on assault charges.

You must use the resources available to you -
1) Make sure the girls parents understand what happened.
2) Make sure the black guy with the pellet gun is arrested.
3) Make sure you press charges fully.
4) DO NOT let those charges get swept under a rug.

Do NOT tolerate this incident.

Good advice, if that fails and he does it again shoot the shit.

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

[lawrocket 3]

I think the unfortunate thing about this is that over the past one or two decades, the term "hate crime" has entered into the vernacular. So, what would otherwise be an assault, punishable in its own right, becomes a racial issue because the inquiry is not limited to whether Person "A" assaulted Person "B." The most important "societal" inquiry is whether it was motivated by animosity.

To erroll, who posted about the reasonin that continues this line of thought, I think you are right. Unfortunately, it's the way we have been trained to think for 20 years. A crime is just a crime, unless it is motivated by "hate." If it is motivated by "hate" then it becomes something so much more intolerable.

That's the shame of it...

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[Darius11 12]

Oh god here we go again with the perfect DZ.comers who never do anything wrong want this kid in jail.

When I was growing up in the US we always used to play with our pellet guns. We would pump them once and shoot each other in the leg or body and it would sting like hell.

Is it stupid yes, Can you get hurt Yes, but we were kids and it was one of the many stupid things kids do.

I saw a few people already condemn this kid to a life of crime, which I think is ridicules.
Just because the kid is black doesn’t mean he is just waiting to shoot a cap in your ass when he grows up.
How old is this kid?

If he is 18 yes he should know better, if he is 10-12-14-16 he is most likely just playing as boys often do. The only person who is making this a racial issue is you. As you stated your self this could have easily been a white kid.
Just handle it as if a white kid would have done it.

The woman whom I assume you mean the kid’s mom already said it would not happen again. What else do you want?

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[rehmwa 2]

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I think the unfortunate thing about this ...n it becomes something so much more intolerable.

That's the shame of it...

Justice should be based on what one does, not what one thinks.

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Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[rehmwa 2]

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Just handle it as if a white kid would have done it.

what's color got to do with it for you to bring it up?

(any kid over 10, like you say, should know what his gun will do, the gun should be taken by his parents and the parents should be informed. If it happened in my neighborhood, I take the gun from the kid and give it directly the punk's parents. As for cops, a good scare won't hurt him and might help, regardless of age. If he's over like 14, then definitely get the cops to scare him. If he's 16 or 18, he should be covered by the laws of the area and arrested and formally processed.

The woman was not the mom or guardian, sounds like a girlfriend - high school age. And Lindsey called him a 'man', not a child. This so called 'man' didn't apologize or anything.)

As for you and your friends shooting at each other, your parents screwed that one up. No wonder city folks are so paranoid about guns, no one teaches them how to handle and use them responsibly. We knew this when we were shooting at the age of 6.

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Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[lawrocket 3]

Kids do stupid things, Darius. I did some real dumb shit things as a kid. Trust me - enough that my mother figured out that there was something medically wrong with me, which a doctor confirmed.

The issue is that kids should be corrected. Sure, you used to shoot pellet guns at your friends. Your friends used to shoot them at you. That's a given, but it sounds like it was agreed between all of you that you'd be taking aim at each other.

I agree that it is premature to condemn the kid to a life of crime. Kids do stupid things. But there is an issue with judgment and other problems with someone of any age taking potshots at kids.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[kallend 1,679]

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Just handle it as if a white kid would have done it.

what's color got to do with it for you to bring it up?

(

It is implicit in the title of the thread, so he was not exactly bringing it up, it was already up.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Darius11 12]

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what's color got to do with it for you to bring it up?

Dude that’s a stupid questions when the thread title is racial tension and the kid is described as the black kid.

I agree race should have nothing to do with it, and I am not the one that broght race up.
That’s why I said deal with it as if a white kid had done it.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[Darius11 12]

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Kids do stupid things, Darius. I did some real dumb shit things as a kid. Trust me - enough that my mother figured out that there was something medically wrong with me, which a doctor confirmed.

The issue is that kids should be corrected. Sure, you used to shoot pellet guns at your friends. Your friends used to shoot them at you. That's a given, but it sounds like it was agreed between all of you that you'd be taking aim at each other.

I agree that it is premature to condemn the kid to a life of crime. Kids do stupid things. But there is an issue with judgment and other problems with someone of any age taking potshots at kids.

It was not agreed I mean we didn’t sign a waver and set rules. We were kids we played.

I just think everyone gets way to carried way. There is always a victim and always someone to blame.
My solution is get over it. Sorry to sound cruel but people always want redemption shit happens.

The point is the Woman who I assume to be the mother of this kid said it will not happen again what else do they want? Do they want to sue the kid for mental anguish that there child suffered I mean come on dude.

Be happy your kid is ok and get on with it.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[dan_iv 0]

kids playing with eachother doing stupid stuff together is way different then 1 kid indiscrimently shooting at 2 other kids playing.

the women who'm you keep 'assuming' is the mother was already stated to be another highschool kid, actuall the daughter that lives at the house as explained earlier.

at highschool age, again as stated that the kid was, shooting a pellet gun at other kids is unexceptable.

[Lindsey 0]

what's color got to do with it for you to bring it up?

The only thing that color has to do with it is how people feel, think, and interact on my little street in this town. My concern about "racial issues" is that this sort of thing easily puts one in the middle of a conflict that's split along racial lines. A black kid on my street shot at two white kids. It's a small place, and I like getting along with my neighbors. I don't like the thought of being in the middle of some racially energized conflict.

So I walked over and talked to the mom today. I think we understand each other well. I think as far as she goes, we're on the same page. She's not allowing the boy or his friends to come back to her house.

(any kid over 10, like you say, should know what his gun will do, the gun should be taken by his parents and the parents should be informed. If it happened in my neighborhood, I take the gun from the kid and give it directly the punk's parents. As for cops, a good scare won't hurt him and might help, regardless of age. If he's over like 14, then definitely get the cops to scare him. If he's 16 or 18, he should be covered by the laws of the area and arrested and formally processed.

Yep. We'll just have to see what happens there. They'll be talked to at school today by the State Police, and I'm just gonna defer to them on where it goes from there. Apparently there was another boy at the house whom I never saw. If they've not been in trouble before then I hope he just leaves it at a good talkin' to. But I think I can trust that Mitch will get to the bottom of all that.

linz

--
A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

[StreetScooby 5]

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Just handle it as if a white kid would have done it.

Here's the flaw in your logic...

If it was a white kid, everyone would know who the Daddy was. And, the Daddy would deal with it. Probably very effectively.

I wouldn't be surprised if the kid with the pellet gun doesn't even know who his Daddy is.

We are all engines of karma

[wmw999 2,171]

Dude, that's just wrong. If we're going to be throwing gross racial generalizations around, let's at least remember that Lindsey lives in Arkansas, for pete's sake .

That's pretty tacky. You don't like people who don't look like you much, do you?

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[StreetScooby 5]

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You don't like people who don't look like you much, do you?

Not true.

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And, the Daddy would deal with it. Probably very effectively.

I stand by my statement.

We are all engines of karma

[Lindsey 0]

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Just handle it as if a white kid would have done it.

Here's the flaw in your logic...

If it was a white kid, everyone would know who the Daddy was. And, the Daddy would deal with it. Probably very effectively.

I wouldn't be surprised if the kid with the pellet gun doesn't even know who his Daddy is.

funny....around here NOBODY would know who my son's daddy is, and he's white. But everybody knows his MAMMA, and SHE's the one who deals effectively with any problems that arise. So I think the flaw in your logic was guided by something other than rational thought....

BOTH boys have been charged with assault....

linz

--
A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail