Are toy guns really the problem?
Every Christmas, a lot of parents question what to get their kids. Over the years, toys and games have become more violent. In my opinion, kids at a young age shouldn't want to be playing with things that are used in a violent manner. During the holiday time, presents are really thought about before purchasing these days. The big question is, is toy guns really the problem.
I have taken the time to watch an Op- doc from New York Times regarding this matter. In the video, there is a clip where a young African American male is walking around with a BB gun while on the phone. Although he did not notice that he was roaming around the store with a gun in his hand, many others did. 911 was contacted immediately with a description that "a black man was walking around pointing a gun at people." The footage shows the police officers running into the Walmart and shooting at the young man. They did end up killing the innocent man.
This event brought attention to many people. This is when people started stating that race did play a part in the killing of John Crawford. Many people participated in a Black Lives Matter movement for John Crawford. Indeed this was a killing of an innocent man with a fake gun. Not only was this a shooting over a toy in Ohio being held by a black man, as time passes there was a second killing due to the same reason. This is when you start to know that race is the problem. Not only were both these shooting over toys, they both lead to the death of two innocent black men. Both incidents involved the police shooting immediately at both boys as soon as they see them, within seconds....
This is not okay and shouldn't be okay in anybody's eyes. Racism does play a big part in a lot of police violent and brutality. Innocent people shouldn't be getting their lives taken over something that can be bought by their parents or given as a present. A present shouldn't put a child in harm's way. So the big question is " Are toy guns really the problem?"
Lili, your title stood out to me and made me click on this specific blog post. I liked the fact that I was drawn in right from the start with you opening statement of, "Every Christmas, a lot of parents question what to get their kids. Over the years, toys and games have become more violent." I was curious as to where you were going to go with this. As I began reading, I was unfamiliar with the incident you described. This seems to be very unusual. I think it was necessary that you in fact addressed the idea of how race may have played a part in this shooting. All in all, your analysis of the Op-Doc was thourough, and you opening statemnt and conclusion connected well!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love your blog post! The title was both and engaging yet left me wanting to read deeper into your post. I agree completely that race plays a huge role in most police brutality incidents against Black people and it is unfortunate the young man's life was taken away simply because of a BB gun. The Op-Doc definitely signifies a bigger message that systemic racism is prevalent in the American policing system and is in major need of reform.
ReplyDelete