What do you tell your children about racism? How to stay safe?

[Anonymous]

The overwhelming majority of police encounters go just fine. I'm not saying systemic racism doesn't exist, or that individual police officers aren't explicitly racist, because many are. But risk needs to be put in perspective. I'm not saying to not coach your kids beforehand about what to do if stopped by police. But try not to heighten anxiety among children/young adults. 1,000 people were killed in 2019 by police officers. Out of millions of encounters. And those deaths are heartbreaking and tragic. But the risk is still incredibly small that it will happen to your loved one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For example, I my 11 yr old is 6’0”....he looks like a man. I have told him that he needs to comply if a cop asks him to do something as they have a gun but that under no circumstances should they consent to a sexual act or harming someone else. Am I missing something? How do we keep kids safe?

Best way to keep your kids safe is to live in safe areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For example, I my 11 yr old is 6’0”....he looks like a man. I have told him that he needs to comply if a cop asks him to do something as they have a gun but that under no circumstances should they consent to a sexual act or harming someone else. Am I missing something? How do we keep kids safe?

Best way to keep your kids safe is to live in safe areas.

And never venture out of your safe area?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For example, I my 11 yr old is 6’0”....he looks like a man. I have told him that he needs to comply if a cop asks him to do something as they have a gun but that under no circumstances should they consent to a sexual act or harming someone else. Am I missing something? How do we keep kids safe?

Best way to keep your kids safe is to live in safe areas.

Define safe because a POC can very much be targeted in a wealthy predominantly white area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For example, I my 11 yr old is 6’0”....he looks like a man. I have told him that he needs to comply if a cop asks him to do something as they have a gun but that under no circumstances should they consent to a sexual act or harming someone else. Am I missing something? How do we keep kids safe?

Best way to keep your kids safe is to live in safe areas.

Define safe because a POC can very much be targeted in a wealthy predominantly white area.

+1. Happens all the time in my very safe area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For example, I my 11 yr old is 6’0”....he looks like a man. I have told him that he needs to comply if a cop asks him to do something as they have a gun but that under no circumstances should they consent to a sexual act or harming someone else. Am I missing something? How do we keep kids safe?

Best way to keep your kids safe is to live in safe areas.

Define safe because a POC can very much be targeted in a wealthy predominantly white area.

If you need help defining safe area, you are beyond dcum help.

Get some meds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For example, I my 11 yr old is 6’0”....he looks like a man. I have told him that he needs to comply if a cop asks him to do something as they have a gun but that under no circumstances should they consent to a sexual act or harming someone else. Am I missing something? How do we keep kids safe?

Best way to keep your kids safe is to live in safe areas.

Define safe because a POC can very much be targeted in a wealthy predominantly white area.

If you need help defining safe area, you are beyond dcum help.

Get some meds.

I get it. You don’t have an answer do you resort to insults.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For example, I my 11 yr old is 6’0”....he looks like a man. I have told him that he needs to comply if a cop asks him to do something as they have a gun but that under no circumstances should they consent to a sexual act or harming someone else. Am I missing something? How do we keep kids safe?

Best way to keep your kids safe is to live in safe areas.

Define safe because a POC can very much be targeted in a wealthy predominantly white area.

If you need help defining safe area, you are beyond dcum help.

Get some meds.

I get it. You don’t have an answer do you resort to insults.

+1. They always do. It’s so predictable and boring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For example, I my 11 yr old is 6’0”....he looks like a man. I have told him that he needs to comply if a cop asks him to do something as they have a gun but that under no circumstances should they consent to a sexual act or harming someone else. Am I missing something? How do we keep kids safe?

Best way to keep your kids safe is to live in safe areas.

Define safe because a POC can very much be targeted in a wealthy predominantly white area.

If you need help defining safe area, you are beyond dcum help.

Get some meds.

I get it. You don’t have an answer do you resort to insults.

Define insults because some may say you are insulting a POC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For example, I my 11 yr old is 6’0”....he looks like a man. I have told him that he needs to comply if a cop asks him to do something as they have a gun but that under no circumstances should they consent to a sexual act or harming someone else. Am I missing something? How do we keep kids safe?

Best way to keep your kids safe is to live in safe areas.

Trayvon Martin would disagree, had he not been murdered because he didn't look like he belonged in his step-mom's "safe area."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For example, I my 11 yr old is 6’0”....he looks like a man. I have told him that he needs to comply if a cop asks him to do something as they have a gun but that under no circumstances should they consent to a sexual act or harming someone else. Am I missing something? How do we keep kids safe?

Best way to keep your kids safe is to live in safe areas.

Define safe because a POC can very much be targeted in a wealthy predominantly white area.

If you need help defining safe area, you are beyond dcum help.

Get some meds.

I get it. You don’t have an answer do you resort to insults.

Define insults because some may say you are insulting a POC.

I have no clue what you’re trying to say.

[Anonymous]

African American here. The problem is, white families teach their children about racism but they don’t experience it. The experience is what will teach them. How many black families do you invite in your home? Do you go into their homes? I am not talking about knowing a black family.... what about diversity within your school? Are the teachers black? Are the students black? Do you ask these questions when you go on school tours? Take them down to the protest. Let them see the pain on the African American faces and the whites that are standing WITH them. What community service are you doing with your kids? Are you taking them to the “hood” where the services are needed? Are you volunteering in nursing homes to hear the stories of the old African American people that have suffered first hand? What nationality is your nanny? The one that cares for your child every day?

I am so numb to all of this, not even outraged. Why? Because it’s all too common now. I get why the people are firing up the stores too though. It’s hard when no one hears you, looks at you (unless it’s in fear), and treats you differently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you chiming in that your kids are white so you don't need to worry, have you talked to your kids about what to do if they are out with Black friends and those friends are targeted by the police?

What about how they need to make even BETTER choices as a group if they have a Black friend in the mix?

That's a really good question.

My white son is 10 -- so just on the brink of that kind of independence where he's likely to be spending time with friends out in public without adults present.

We've looked for teaching moments to help him think this through. Conversations about how his black friends will be judged more harshly for innocent actions than he will be. Need to keep these conversations going, especially as he gets older.

There are a lot of great articles about how to have these talks with your white teens/tweens, but the salient factor is that "youthful indiscresions" can be deadly for Black kids. When I think back to my high school days, in a very white part of the US, we knew that we'd be "in big trouble" if we were caught drinking at the park, or trespassing in the town hall fountain, but there was zero chance we'd be physically hurt by law enforcement.

Living here, I need to talk to my kids about how they (as white kids) can protect their black friends by never pushing them to do that sort of thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The overwhelming majority of police encounters go just fine. I'm not saying systemic racism doesn't exist, or that individual police officers aren't explicitly racist, because many are. But risk needs to be put in perspective. I'm not saying to not coach your kids beforehand about what to do if stopped by police. But try not to heighten anxiety among children/young adults. 1,000 people were killed in 2019 by police officers. Out of millions of encounters. And those deaths are heartbreaking and tragic. But the risk is still incredibly small that it will happen to your loved one.

How many unwarranted stops of Black motorists in 2019?
How many unlawful stop and frisks of Black people in 2019?
How many unnecessary uses of force on Black people in 2019?
How many uncalled for instances of pointing a gun at unarmed Black people in 2019?
You can’t give me those numbers can you? Know why? Cause those aren’t stats that are logged by the police but they are indeed real experiences that Black people have to deal with every single day and yes it happens to millions of Black people day in and day out.
Don’t try and downplay the risk of being black in America with bullshit stats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For example, I my 11 yr old is 6’0”....he looks like a man. I have told him that he needs to comply if a cop asks him to do something as they have a gun but that under no circumstances should they consent to a sexual act or harming someone else. Am I missing something? How do we keep kids safe?

Best way to keep your kids safe is to live in safe areas.

Define safe because a POC can very much be targeted in a wealthy predominantly white area.

That’s how Trayvon Martin was killed! His dad lived in a safe area with a neighborhood watch.