It seems a "wholesome" white child has killed his parents and wounded his siblings in Colorado.
That is terrible news.
Yet, as I read the story I noticed three things. First, despite an act more unwholesome than McDonald's new oatmeal, the boy was still identified as an all-around great guy by everyone. Second, despite being a cold-blooded murderer, the District Attorney does not know if he's going to prosecute the child as an adult. Third, it's good to be white.
Here's why I say that. Wholesome black children do not shoot their parents. Why? Because wholesome black children don't exist. And, even if by some miracle they did exist, which everyone knows is impossible, they would no longer be wholesome if they had the audacity to shoot their parents. Besides, black kids don't have "parents", they have a "parent". Usually a mother on welfare. Everyone knows this, right?
Right.
It is good to be white because any black child who has the audacity to kill another human being automatically gets tried as an adult. Those are the rules of life, just like the sun rising in the East and setting in the West. There is no debate about whether they can handle adult prison, instead the concern is making sure this depraved human being is prevented from ever becoming a danger to, well, white folks. After all, if the child was willing to kill family, Lord knows what the child might do to pure white folks.
The horror.
Was that too harsh? Did those comments overstep the boundaries of acceptable speech? Am I unnecessarily interjecting race into this family's private hell? Maybe.
And maybe not.
It is a shame that this young man committed such a terrible act, but it's more shameful that we handle horrible acts so differently based on the color of the perpetrators. Remember that 14-year old Florida boy forced to stay in adult prison for years after he accidentally killed a 9-year old girl while wrestling? Was he not "wholesome" enough to be spared such a cruel punishment that scarred him for life?
Rants about media coverage are the ultimate long hanging fruit, but they still cannot be avoided. As I read testimonials from the boys family and friends it struck me how the story was clearly written to maximize feelings of disbelief and not disgust. It amazed me that the District Attorney promised to consider the community's wishes when deciding how to handle the case. How often are little black murderers afforded the same consideration?
Never.
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7 comments:
This feels like piling on, but here ya go anyway. The good news in the below California story is that "...The boys were booked on suspicion of making terrorist threats, conspiracy and possession of ammunition, police said. They were taken to Monterey County Juvenile Hall." The bad news, not to lose sight of it, is kids getting in real trouble.
Two students arrested for alleged threats...
Let's be fair here that girl was actually ONLY6 not 9 and he was twice her size! I know kids like to roughhouse but he had no business doing it with someone so much smaller than him. And on top of that most of his fromer teachers said he was a bully plain and simple. I don't think that case really qualifies but I get what you are saying.
The truth of the matter is that when White people commit crimes they are individuals and when Blacks commit crimes it is reflective of our entire race. Just look at the media reports about the Craigslist killer. They wrote about him like it was some kind of aberration not that White men routinely kill or have a history of violence against women and minorities. The justice system is not fair and never will be because it is corrupt from beginning to the end.
I'm not surprised as this is yet another example of how the media treats whites.
Renee, you're right, white people have the privilege of not being judged by the actions of one individual.
Will the nation see the man who committed the Arizona shooting earlier this year as an example of the white man's lust for violence? No. If that guy was a black man, and thank God he's not, he would be demonized instead of excused.
America refuses to face the horrible acts of whites against POC throughout history. So, it's no surprise white killers and rapist of today get the same privileged treatment.
Thanks for the correction on the girl's age.
I agree that he shouldn't have been roughhousing with a girl. I disagree that he needed to be charged as an adult, bully or not. Research shows that children's brains don't fully understand consequences until they are well into their twenties. Booking him as adult implies that he made an adult decision and should face and adult punishment. When a case involves an accidential killing that seems extremely harsh, particularly when I see another child who planned out the death of his parents escape that same fate so far.
I agree he shouldn't have been charged as an adult but even as a child he should have known it wasn't exactly a 'fair fight'. He still should have recognized she was far too small for him to be play wrestling with. And his mother made me sick to my stomach.
Totally agree with what you said because its the truth. Reminds me of that clip by white comedian Louis CK where he states its good to be white. Fact is whiteness buys a certain level of privilege even in tragedy that black and browness will never have. If this boy had been black or brown, he would be charged as an adult plain and simple with no thought.
Reminds me of a well known white mom blogger whose 18yo son died of a drug overdose...real tragedy and I say that as a mother. Yet the mother is on a media tear trying to get the folks who gave her boy the drugs prosecuted. Never mind that by her own admission her son was an addict. Yet she uses language like child which of course makes us warm and fuzzy, Fact is at 18 the law says you are an adult but in whiteland you are a mere child and bad things happen to you rather than being of age and choosing to make bad decisions such as being with unsavory folks, taking drugs, etc...
Nope whiteness is good, better than an American Express black card.
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