Black boy down

Time we surpass the color of skin. It is 2014, brothers and sisters.

                             Black boy down

Another kid killed in the USA. Media described young black man killed by police. I don't know. I was sadden a young man was killed. I didn't care if he was black or white.

A lot of people pissed off. Burning cities down. Who won? Poor family lost their child. Should of been a time of mourning and than a time of repairing. Repairing mean next election toss out the trash and train the police officers to hand situation with better care.

I was born and raised in Detroit. Good and bad people like all places. I never looked for trouble and trouble never found me. I was a white face in a mainly black school. I was rarely bothers and I didn't know. Some people looked down at the poor.

I was in the Army for almost 15 years. My mentors were Black Non Commission Officers. They looked at me as a man and I looked at them with great respect. Military taught us Soldiers. We are all blood, skin and bone. We have families, like to laugh and want respect.

Black boy down. Laying dead. Who to blame? All through the USA. Leaders are forgetting the kids. Kids need to be busy and active. Need education and opportunity.

Today I pray for the parent of  Michael Brown and  tamir-rice. Just kids. Here in the USA. We should be pissed off. Teach Police Officers how to handle kids. Killing should be the last resolve.

Today I'm holding sadness. Kids were killed. Lights of life gone forever. The child killed today could of been the savior of us from violence and hate tomorrow.

Don't burn the cities down. Vote the poor leaders out and demand police reform. Today I'm praying today for the families who lost their children. We need to stand with them and cry.

Here in the USA. Time to change to the ways of Europe. Some places in Europe, Police officers don't carry guns.
Kids have opportunity.

                             Coyote/John Castellenas

Author's Note

Sad days for the USA.

Reviews

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

Amazing how there was controversy cause he was black, if he were white there would not have been an issue… I watch a video once of a cop shooting a suspect, the first time it looked like he was shooting a man giving up, but in slow motion you could see the man was reaching for a weapon… not all is as it seems sometimes.

[Coyote Poetry]

I was a Soldier. You take cover before killing. Observe and decide. Being a police officer. Wound before kill. This isn't the old west. Last month in Washington State. Two white kids killed others and than themselves. Something is wrong. In my days in school. We had concern for the atom bomb. They taught my Grandchildren how to take cover under their seats at school. This is a sad world. Kids need hope and chance. Can get worst? Madness in all races.

[The Analog Kid]

Totally agree with Dale here.

[Bright Ocean Star]

I agree with you, John. Kids play with toy guns all the time. Kids that age play with bbguns and airsoft guns. Those "toys" don't have any bright orange tip identifying them as toys. Parents should never have to bury their child, because the cops didn't take 1 minute to assess the situation better. My heart bleeds for these parents and families that are losing their children. Police departments around the united states need to go into deep, intensive and extensive training, retraining and advanced training. The training should not stop after the police academy. I support our police officers. They have a very difficult job to do, and it is not made any easier by the current events plaguing our country right now, but this moment in our history can be looked at as an educational opportunity. It's important for everyone to listen, learn, and re-assess what we are doing and if we can do it better. God bless them all.

[Coyote Poetry]

Education is needed. A scary world for the kids. Police officer must use good judgement and parent must teach their kids. Respect.

[Bright Ocean Star]

Absolutely. There is an epidemic of disrespect in this country for authority figures. I strongly believe that is at the heart of many of our problems today. It started in the schools, and teachers screamed and complained, but it never got any better...and now those kids are all grown up and many don't respect the police officers. The rioting that is going on in Ferguson, MO is misplaced. I want to know where the rioting is for this child. This child losing his life, because the police officers clearly over-reacted. Where are the protesters in this city? Here is a clear cut case of police malpractice, yet no one is making any noise. The Ferguson, MO case was a tragic community-wide problem. Not a police mis-handling problem. There is obviously no respect for police officers in Ferguson, MO. But, community relations and dialogue, re-training is sorely needed.

[Coyote Poetry]

I agree. We must get along. Burning down cities. No-one wins.

[MomzillaNC]

For all the rage over the two grown men, who physically confronted the police, where is the outrage over that twelve year old boy with a toy gun, shot by police who apparently didn't even step out of their vehicle to shoot a small child?

[Coyote Poetry]

His name is here also. " tamir-rice". He was the child killed holding a toy gun. I don't have rage. I hold sadness. Here in my city of Detroit. Death is the norm for poor white and black. I lost three brothers to drugs and violence. Time we give every kid a fair change and policemen learn how to handle a dangerous situation without killing. I'm praying for poor family of kids killed who have a lifetime of sadness to understand. I'm proud the people of the USA are standing for the kids. We cannot allow this to happen again.

[MomzillaNC]

Things need to change. I just don't understand why that 12 year old isn't the poster child for this entire protest movement. Michael Brown was walking up the middle of the street and assaulted the officer when confronted. The guy in NYC is shown in video footage stepping to and shoving police when confronted. That child was playing on the sidewalk. The cops called out to him and shot him from their cruiser without any due diligence to determine if it was a toy in his hand or not. How could it not have occurred to them that a 12 year old boy was outside with a toy gun?

[Coyote Poetry]

Last year. Cops had a shootout in Detroit. A bullet went into a nearby house and killed a one year old baby. Support be a rule. No car chase in the city. Don't shoot rounds in a public place. Time for logic and concern. I wished I had a answer. I don't understand myself.

[MomzillaNC]

I guess it's something we're just going to have to keep going around about. Little by little, chipping away at the foundations of this injustice.

[Coyote Poetry]

We can stop it. Martin Luther King Jr. taught us. One voice can change injustice. If we don't stand against it. We are for it. A life accepting the wrong things. It a sad life. Post, scream, yell and demand is all we can do. Then we must.

[MomzillaNC]

And challenge dogma everywhere.

[Bright Ocean Star]

I agree with you, MommaZ. They are protesting because two grown men challenged the police and lost....What ever happened about learning from the situation and stop challenging the police? Yet no one is protesting over this case of a clearly innocent 12 year old with an air-soft gun. Thankfully, the Justice department appears to be investigating, and found the police in Cleveland, OH, were clearly negligent in dealing with their officer's record of brutality and over-reactions. I pray that good can come out of this, and re-training will be mandated everywhere. My 11 year old plays with airsoft guns that look real. We have a lot of land for him to run around on, so he is not in the public, but it scares me. God bless this child's family and our whole world. We need God's grace to heal this country.

[MomzillaNC]

My boy doesn't play with toy guns. But the neighborhood is full of little boys running around playing shoot 'em up games. I think that too, is a place to effect change. Weapons should NEVER be toys. PERIOD. We must get this warring mentality out of our culture.

[Bright Ocean Star]

MommaZ, My husband and I made a conscience decision not to buy toy guns for my oldest child. I didn't like the idea, and for years didn't allow it. We found him picking up sticks and pretending they were guns. He would play for hours outside in the woods. When we talked to him about the dangers of guns and why we weren't buying him any toy guns, he made them out of his legos. It was in him from the time he was 2. He never played a lot of video games; he'd play imaginary navy-marines outside. We never had any guns in the house. Boys play differently than girls. He was called to be a marine, and there was nothing I could have done about it. It is just something that was in him. I was just happy he had a happy childhood and didn't get into any trouble. No trouble with girls, drugs, or the law. He was a great kid, and now he's a United States Marine. We must instill respect in our children for others. That is paramount. My heart bleeds for these families.

[MomzillaNC]

See, mine only seems to pretend with guns when other boys are playing with them. On his own, he'll find some other imaginative thing to do with his sticks. Why do boys love sticks so much?

[Bright Ocean Star]

I don't know. But, I've thought about this alot, and i agree with you. If I lived in a regular neighborhood, where the kids played with each other int he streets, I wouldn't allow my child to play with toy guns. However, we live in the country with snakes and other dangerous creatures. My son's friends go hunting and do archery...so an airsoft gun in our situation was sort of natural. But, I would be concerned if kids in the neighborhood were playing with toy guns and pointing them at each other like it was a joke.

[MomzillaNC]

See, that's the part that needs to change. My sister is a farmer. Her husband and son don't go into the fields without a gun with them. I have another brother in law who was a long-haul trucker for 20 years and was likewise armed. It was necessary. But, kids running around pointing them at each other is worrying. Especially when the games usually come down to some variation of cops and robbers -- they are mentally pointing guns at cops. Or mentally shooting perpetrators as cops.

[Bright Ocean Star]

You are right. Our kids are playing games role-playing cops and robbers, learning what they will do in adulthood. I always told my son not to shoot at the animals (we have dogs and cats and rabbit), but they could shoot at the trees, targets, and snakes (if any were in the yard).We need to step in and teach them never to point a gun at another human being. We can set the rules and stop it.

[MomzillaNC]

Absolutely. I wish more parents would get it -- play is learning to be adults. Always has been.

[Travis Gibson (poetic h..]

Great way to highlight the truly important parts of these tragedies... Life. Life was taken and no matter the coloror creed, preserving life should always be the priority of our police forces. Tremendous write... Nothing but respect for your pen.

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you my friend. I was a Soldier for 15 years. We gave a warning shot first to unknown. Police officers need to save life, not take life. They need proper training. Hard world for the kids of today.

[icelandicblue]

No one can do this alone...we all need to do it together. It is becoming as common place as the weather and I just don't understand how we have moved back decades in a blink of an eye. We are devolving and it frightens me for anyone who has a son of color. You are right, we are all blood and bone. I saw the story from Cleveland today and wept for a 12 year old boy I never knew.

[Coyote Poetry]

Killed a 12 year boy with a fake gun. Need to use common sense. Warning shot before killing. I pray for better days. Thank you for reading and the comment.

[icelandicblue]

And it all took place in literally 2 seconds.

[Bright Ocean Star]

I saw that video. the kids was just holding the toy gun. He didn't point it at the officers. They had no right to even shoot a warning shot. Whatever happened to common sense, first? The kid was clearly young. Did it ever cross their minds to roll down their window, and say..."Hey, kid...What are you doing? Can I see that gun in your hands?" No. They shot within 2 seconds. Absolutely astounding to me....

[Coyote Poetry]

I agree. Hard to believe.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i remember 1964 so well...the beginnings of the civil rights movements....the resistence...then 1968 being on campus and the tension....we started to work through that back then.

now it seems we are back to years before the movement....we still haven't gained enough headway to understand that people are just people...we still see color much too vividly---too distinctly...

[Coyote Poetry]

You are right. We are going backward. Not only here in the USA. Greece and Spain had fallen into deep holes. Few countries in our world are doing well. Thank you Jacob for reading and the comment.

[Bright Ocean Star]

Sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better. I pray that all this unrest will spark a resurgence in community dialogue and retraining. Respect needs to be the order of the day. There is too much fear these days.

[Poetic Beauty]

This whole story is upsetting. Riots aren't going to change the lack of justice or the losses of life. This country greatly saddensme at how the police are getting away with murdering people no matter the color.ours time to get our country back.

[Coyote Poetry]

I agree. Need to re-think how the USA is going? It is. We the people. Not the few. Thank you for reading and the comment.

[Pryde Foltz]

Black boy down. Laying dead. Who to blame? All through the USA. Leaders are forgetting the kids. Kids need to be busy and active. Need education and opportunity.

Great write, Coyote. We do indeed need to start caring for all children.

[Coyote Poetry]

We need to. No jobs, low paying jobs and college loans. Hard life for the future generation. Thank you for Pryde for reading and the comment.

[Droc]

Interesting that this incident ndothers likeit a all gun related. We are talking abouta gun culture linked to a racist culture, and I see no comments that seriously say "GET RID OF THE EFFN GUNS!!!!!!! Gie up your frigging guns! THe wild west days have beenand gone! I ws recently chatting to a woman from the USA on google talk, and askedwhat all the noise was only to discover it was people shooting firearms into the night sky to celerbrate. The following days brought news of a young girl with severe brain damage as a result of this insanity. It's insanity to the rest of the world; luncy, but your country seems to see it s acceptable behaviour. You cant think 'guns' without thinking voilence, be it a thought of aggression,or a thought of defence.GET RID OF THE GUNS!!!!!

[Zahra]

It's surprusing the way racism still prevails. Thank you for the thought provoking write.

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you Zahra. Racism is a never ending battle.

[MsJewel]

This truly is a sad situation. Whether or not the police officer involved had no other choice but to shoot - we will really never ever know -
I do know, however, riots are not going to find the answer and they sure won't solve the problem.

Julie

[Coyote Poetry]

Riots are never the answer. Detroit is the prime example. Burning down your own city is really dumb. Cops need training. Warning shots and wound, not kill. This isn't war. Thank you Julie for reading and the comment.

[~Sarah~ Idríel T..]

Why there was no other way than to shoot the boy? Whether the police could have done something differently? Really sad tragedy.

[Coyote Poetry]

I was a Soldier for 15 years. I was taught how to deal with bad situation. Killing was last result. One child had a toy pistol. Take cover and asset the situation. Thank you Sarah for reading and the comment.