Blog #3

I know a few of my classmates are already writing about the McKinney incident, but that article also really caught my attention.  To be honest, I was first drawn to the article because of the title “Neighbors allegedly called the Police after too many black teens showed up to a pool party!,” which really disturbed me, I could not believe that somebody would really call the cops for that kind of reason, but now I feel a little foolish after I found out how well the media played me.

My view might not be popular, but I do believe that this topic has been blown way out of proportion.  After doing a little bit of research, I came across a few articles that did not fail to mention the truth behind the real reason why the cops showed up to the party in the first place.  The initial reason of why the cops showed up to the party has not been disputed as of now, so I am assuming it must be pretty close to the truth;  a picture is painted of many teens crashing a pool party, jumping fences, and fights broke out, which seems like a very valid reason for cops to be called.  I must clarify that I do not agree that the cop should have cursed at little kids and used that kind of force on an unarmed 15 year old girl, who clearly should not be a threat to him. 

The fact that the media is posting titles such as “Mckinney pool party incident was about race,” and “The McKinney, Texas pool party: more proof that ‘Black children don’t get to be children,’” bothers me a little, since I know they are only playing with people’s emotions, and playing on recent issues of police brutality, trying to convince the public that ALL cops are not to be trusted, which are beliefs that I consider can only bring about a dangerous situation.

I believe that it is irresponsible to judge a situation based on a 7 minute video solely showing the aftermath of a much bigger issue, even though racially diverse residents that were actually in the area and were present during the altercation, reassure that “This isn’t about race, This is about outside kids invading our neighborhood and had no respect for authority or the residents here.”

Jonathan Capehart.  The McKinney, Texas pool party: more proof that ‘black children don’t get to be children.’ June 10,2015. www.wasingtonpost.com

Dorothy A. Brown.  McKinney pool party incident has everything to do with race.  June 9, 2015.  www.cnn.com

Wendy Hundley, Naomi martin, Jeffrey Weiss.  Dueling views of McKinney melee intruding teens, racist adults, police officer.  June 9, 2015.  The Dallas Morning News.