After a grand jury decided not to indict Timothy Loehmann, the Cleveland officer who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice last year, debates have sparked across all media outlets, emotions running high in the process. While I can understand that it's inevitable for there to be differences of opinion on the subject, I'm amazed at the large quantity of Tamir Rice trolls making their presence known on numerous websites.
Here's a very condensed summary of what happened. On November 22nd of last year, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was playing with a toy gun in a park, a witness called the police about the matter, informing them it was "probably fake," yet the individual who took the call didn't report this information to the police, and two seconds after the cops arrived, Officer Loehmann shot and killed Rice.
I've heard all the arguments from those defending the cop's actions:
- "The kid should have known to drop the gun when the cops arrived!"
- "Why did his parents allow the kid to bring a toy gun to a park?!?"
- "What would you have done if you were the cop? What if you were in his shoes?"
- "The cop feared for his life!"
- "The gun looked real!"
- "Hey, you can't blame cops being worried about gun violence in an urban area known for that. If blacks want cops to stop thinking like that, stop shooting each other!"
Yes, I actually read that last quote on multiple occasions, and no, it's not racist at all... Look, we can point fingers at as many different parties as we'd like: From the boy's parents, to the boy himself, to the toy gun manufacturer, to the caller, to the individual who took the call, but at the end of the day, one thing remains - a 12-year-old with a toy gun was shot and killed by police, and something is seriously wrong with that. The fact many spend so much time attempting to justify his death is quite troubling as well.
When I was growing up, I can remember playing around the yard or neighbors' yards with toy guns. It wasn't a big deal. At no time did we feel our lives were in danger, that we could potentially be shot and killed by police due to what we were doing. At no time did our parents have to tell us, "You better keep those things inside, because if you don't, someone around here might get suspicious, call the police, and you could get into serious trouble, maybe even killed!" We were just kids being kids and everyone around the area knew it. So why was a kid like Tamir Rice not allowed to just be a kid too? Was it wise for Tamir Rice's parent(s) to not have at least accompanied him at the park while he was playing around so they could look after them? Probably not. Was it responsible of the individual taking the call to not inform the police the gun was likely fake? Definitely not. Should toy gun manufacturers more clearly differentiate between authentic and toy guns? Perhaps. Yet, given all of these questions and potential points of blame, should Tamir Rice have been shot and killed that day? Absolutely not. A kid should still be allowed to be a kid. A kid, while fully cognizant the gun is a toy, doesn't fully grasp the line between life and death, between fantasy and reality, so how is (s)he supposed to react when cops are pointing a gun at him/her, knowing full well (s)he is holding a toy? People often ask, "What would you have done if you were in the cop's shoes? What would you have felt?" What about the reverse scenario and asking yourself, "What would you have done if you were in the 12-year-old boy's shoes? What would you have done, holding a toy gun, frightened and confused as to what was taking place?"
Two areas of blame I haven't heard are with regard to politicians and the media. With the advent the 24-hour news media, not to mention the nightly news, we've increasingly been shown hatred, violence, terrorism, and warfare to be the norm. We've been taught to fear anyone and everything, especially on right-leaning networks with regard to blacks and Muslims. Instead of lending a helping hand to someone lying on the street, we've been told they could be a potential robber looking to steal a car, so to leave them be. Instead of letting a 12-year-old be a kid and play with a toy gun, we've been told he could be the next mass shooter. When did this drastic alteration in mindset happen? Was it on 9/11, or did the shift start before then? I don't know the exact answer, but feel 9/11 made a significant impact. If so, not only did 9/11 result in losing the lives of our citizens and soldiers, as well as trust abroad and money, it resulted in us losing our common sense of decency. No matter where we want to point our fingers, a 12-year-old kid with a toy gun was shot and killed by police due to our increasing levels of fear and paranoia, and more needs to be done to alter these crazed mindsets and decrease the likelihood of these tragic situations from occurring again in the process. In addition to that, all parties need to stop pointing the finger at someone else and start taking responsibility for themselves, and this includes the police. Tamir Rice's parents may not have done their job in better looking after their son, but then again, they weren't the ones that pulled the trigger.
RIP Tamir Rice.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/officers-tamir-rice-shooting-face-new-administrative-review-n487531
Here's a very condensed summary of what happened. On November 22nd of last year, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was playing with a toy gun in a park, a witness called the police about the matter, informing them it was "probably fake," yet the individual who took the call didn't report this information to the police, and two seconds after the cops arrived, Officer Loehmann shot and killed Rice.
I've heard all the arguments from those defending the cop's actions:
- "The kid should have known to drop the gun when the cops arrived!"
- "Why did his parents allow the kid to bring a toy gun to a park?!?"
- "What would you have done if you were the cop? What if you were in his shoes?"
- "The cop feared for his life!"
- "The gun looked real!"
- "Hey, you can't blame cops being worried about gun violence in an urban area known for that. If blacks want cops to stop thinking like that, stop shooting each other!"
Yes, I actually read that last quote on multiple occasions, and no, it's not racist at all... Look, we can point fingers at as many different parties as we'd like: From the boy's parents, to the boy himself, to the toy gun manufacturer, to the caller, to the individual who took the call, but at the end of the day, one thing remains - a 12-year-old with a toy gun was shot and killed by police, and something is seriously wrong with that. The fact many spend so much time attempting to justify his death is quite troubling as well.
When I was growing up, I can remember playing around the yard or neighbors' yards with toy guns. It wasn't a big deal. At no time did we feel our lives were in danger, that we could potentially be shot and killed by police due to what we were doing. At no time did our parents have to tell us, "You better keep those things inside, because if you don't, someone around here might get suspicious, call the police, and you could get into serious trouble, maybe even killed!" We were just kids being kids and everyone around the area knew it. So why was a kid like Tamir Rice not allowed to just be a kid too? Was it wise for Tamir Rice's parent(s) to not have at least accompanied him at the park while he was playing around so they could look after them? Probably not. Was it responsible of the individual taking the call to not inform the police the gun was likely fake? Definitely not. Should toy gun manufacturers more clearly differentiate between authentic and toy guns? Perhaps. Yet, given all of these questions and potential points of blame, should Tamir Rice have been shot and killed that day? Absolutely not. A kid should still be allowed to be a kid. A kid, while fully cognizant the gun is a toy, doesn't fully grasp the line between life and death, between fantasy and reality, so how is (s)he supposed to react when cops are pointing a gun at him/her, knowing full well (s)he is holding a toy? People often ask, "What would you have done if you were in the cop's shoes? What would you have felt?" What about the reverse scenario and asking yourself, "What would you have done if you were in the 12-year-old boy's shoes? What would you have done, holding a toy gun, frightened and confused as to what was taking place?"
Two areas of blame I haven't heard are with regard to politicians and the media. With the advent the 24-hour news media, not to mention the nightly news, we've increasingly been shown hatred, violence, terrorism, and warfare to be the norm. We've been taught to fear anyone and everything, especially on right-leaning networks with regard to blacks and Muslims. Instead of lending a helping hand to someone lying on the street, we've been told they could be a potential robber looking to steal a car, so to leave them be. Instead of letting a 12-year-old be a kid and play with a toy gun, we've been told he could be the next mass shooter. When did this drastic alteration in mindset happen? Was it on 9/11, or did the shift start before then? I don't know the exact answer, but feel 9/11 made a significant impact. If so, not only did 9/11 result in losing the lives of our citizens and soldiers, as well as trust abroad and money, it resulted in us losing our common sense of decency. No matter where we want to point our fingers, a 12-year-old kid with a toy gun was shot and killed by police due to our increasing levels of fear and paranoia, and more needs to be done to alter these crazed mindsets and decrease the likelihood of these tragic situations from occurring again in the process. In addition to that, all parties need to stop pointing the finger at someone else and start taking responsibility for themselves, and this includes the police. Tamir Rice's parents may not have done their job in better looking after their son, but then again, they weren't the ones that pulled the trigger.
RIP Tamir Rice.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/officers-tamir-rice-shooting-face-new-administrative-review-n487531
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