Hate crime charge for teen recorded whipping classmate

There are some hard questions that we really have to ask ourselves when we see headlines like THIS one, which is all too often.

Two questions which may not occur to us right away, are:

1. Where did this kid learn his racism.
2. What kind of discipline is going to make for POSITIVE change.

We may feel like some justice was done, because this kid was locked away for a bit for his “hate crime” but…

Are we truly doing the world at large any favors by exacting this type of justice upon this child in this particular case?

What is that racist and impulsive teen doing and learning in Juvenile detention about race and racism?

Being detained in a correctional facility has only taught him to HIDE his racism, until he thinks he can get away with another “hate crime”.

Racism is a concept. Concepts leak through one’s fingers like water. The bigotry will leak out somewhere, in some way.

Fortunately concepts can be proved or disproved. They can be discussed and learned just as easily as racism. The wonder of it is, that we’ve taken over a century to begin to discuss the fact that,

RACISM EXISTS.

That reality in and of itself needs some unpacking: