Anonymous wrote:Op NEVER brought up ANYTHING about race. Very sad the conversation has devolved to this.

Op consider these options:

As a crime victim myself, I’d offer this as an opportunity to teach/reinforce some basic self-protection strategies. Your kid, in less than six months, will be on his own.

1. Get him the Uber/Lyft on the way home a few days per week
2. Consider writing him a pass for early dismissal (15 min before end of school day
3. Consider alternate routes home
4. Consider having him volunteer with a teacher/athletic team/after school club and leave later in the day

Has there been any mediation or restorative justice work done with the other kid who chased him? Any counselors/parents involved?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Well, you would be wrong. You have a very self serving interpretation of crime statistics, that not surprisingly, nobody has pointed out. Most white people don't live and/or associate with a significant number of black people, and therefore aren't victimized by them. Just because few white people are killed in SE DC doesn't mean that it's safe for White people. I can't believe that I had to explain this.

The idea that white people get a free pass by black people (especially kids) is a great dcum fairytale, but it's hardly what I experienced. And ditto for my friends and family. This was at a time when the crime rate was twice as high as it is today, and racial tension was high as well. There is a reason why everyone with a few bucks moved to the burbs.

Anyway, what school did this happen at? Will anyone on dcum volunteer to send their kids to this school?

That's actually quite true. While a majority of crime is between members of the same racial group, interracial crime is overwhelmingly black on white. In the instances where blacks and whites live/work together there's a significant amount of black on white crime. Based on population numbers and crime rates, blacks are 27 times more likely to attack a white than the other way around. In 2013 (last numbers I saw, Bureau of Justic Statistics) white violent offenders had black victims 4% of the time and black violent offenders had white victims 39% of the time.

Thank you for proving the EXACT POINT that I was making. A majority of crime is between members of the same racial group. That means that a black person is at much higher risk of being the victim of crime perpetrated by another black person than a white person is at risk of being the victim of a crime perpetrated by a black person. Similarly, a white person is at much higher risk of being the victim of a white criminal than a black criminal. That's the point.

But - you guys jumping to mistakenly cite problematic data about racial differences in crime rates is troubling. Your talking point about "27 times more likely to attack a white" is actually a talking point directly from the racist American Renaissance site, founded by prominent white supremacist Jared Taylor. Among other gems from this guy are "The races do not have the same average intelligence" and "Maybe, people could now openly admit to their neighbors, 'No, I don’t want blacks moving into the neighborhood because they are not like us.'" Here's a long piece on the history of the white supremacist effort to push the notion of black criminality that covers Taylor extensively https://www.splcenter.org/20180614/biggest-lie-white-supremacist-propaganda-playbook-unraveling-truth-about-%E2%80%98black-white-crime.

If you look at the academic research on this topic, you will see that poverty rather than race explains crime rates, period. The reason that blacks commit crimes against whites more than whites against blacks has to do with opportunity -- basically black people are orders of magnitude more likely to interact with whites regularly than the reverse (Robert M. O’Brien, “The Interracial Nature of Violent Crimes: A Reexamination,” American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 93, no. 4). Controlling for opportunity, at least one recent study has found that whites are actually more likely to assault black strangers than the reverse (https://thecrimereport.org/2018/06/22/interracial-crime-study-in-l-a-finds-whites-more-likely-to-assault-blacks-than-the-reverse/).

Anonymous wrote:Jumping is very common in some parts of DC. Todays paper has the conviction of a young person for jumping another over a perceived insult, and shooting them. At my parochial school the constant talk and threat of who would jump who (not sure there was follow through) gave me stomach aches and I cried daily at home . No one threatened me - I just hated hearing all the excited lord if the flies style discussion. As an adult, I know young people who have been jumped in DC and ended up hospitalized. Its disgusting and parents and schools should work together to change the culture, practice and allure. The kids who chased this person- if the facts are established - are at heart gross cowards to attack in a group, and in need of serious interventions. SEL and community condemnation, as well as policing and vigorous prosecution. Doubt it happens much in homogenously higher SEL schools. They have have subversive bullying and other issues, but jumping will put you in the hospital immediately. So gross.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Am I the only one who thinks this kid totally overreacted? He got chased. Period. he didn't get threatened or touched. One kid got chased by other kids. Isn't that just ... part of the life of a child?

Nothing bad happened.

The next time a group of people chase you while yelling threats, you should just carry on as if nothing was wrong. If they don't touch you, there's no problem.

While this may be common in most children's lives, doesn't it say something about our society that we accept it as a normal rite of passage?

There is a big difference between elementary or middle school kids and a high school senior. These are basically adults.

What’s your point? If someone is older, it’s no big deal? What a load of drivel PP

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Am I the only one who thinks this kid totally overreacted? He got chased. Period. he didn't get threatened or touched. One kid got chased by other kids. Isn't that just ... part of the life of a child?

Nothing bad happened.

The next time a group of people chase you while yelling threats, you should just carry on as if nothing was wrong. If they don't touch you, there's no problem.

While this may be common in most children's lives, doesn't it say something about our society that we accept it as a normal rite of passage?

There is a big difference between elementary or middle school kids and a high school senior. These are basically adults.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Well, you would be wrong. You have a very self serving interpretation of crime statistics, that not surprisingly, nobody has pointed out. Most white people don't live and/or associate with a significant number of black people, and therefore aren't victimized by them. Just because few white people are killed in SE DC doesn't mean that it's safe for White people. I can't believe that I had to explain this.

The idea that white people get a free pass by black people (especially kids) is a great dcum fairytale, but it's hardly what I experienced. And ditto for my friends and family. This was at a time when the crime rate was twice as high as it is today, and racial tension was high as well. There is a reason why everyone with a few bucks moved to the burbs.

Anyway, what school did this happen at? Will anyone on dcum volunteer to send their kids to this school?

That's actually quite true. While a majority of crime is between members of the same racial group, interracial crime is overwhelmingly black on white. In the instances where blacks and whites live/work together there's a significant amount of black on white crime. Based on population numbers and crime rates, blacks are 27 times more likely to attack a white than the other way around. In 2013 (last numbers I saw, Bureau of Justic Statistics) white violent offenders had black victims 4% of the time and black violent offenders had white victims 39% of the time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the comments seem to come from suburbanites that thought living in the city would be cool. This type of situation happens a lot in middle and high school. You can't protect your son forever so seek a solution versus avoidance. Say you keep him home the rest of the year. What happens if he's out somewhere and encounters the kid again? It will be very ugly. So it's now or later!

If the school says there hands are tied, reaching out to the parents is your best option right now. It is already at a boiling point so either he fights the kid(s) or mediation. Going thru all the DCPS red tape is an option but won't help right now. You want an immediate solution. A friend went thru the exact same thing and she reached out the parents. They had no idea what was going on and immediately diffused the situation. Still pursue the DCPS options in tandem so the parents know the seriousness of the situation.

How old are your kids? I'm guessing elementary school. This is questionable advice for elementary kids. For 17/18 year olds it's loony.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So you’re almost 18 year old adult aged son is so terrified for his life at the prospect of being chased that you are attempting to involve police escorts and politicians in an attempt to protect him from an unknown threat? If he were over 18 (which maybe he is already) there would be nothing you could do anyways because it would be his issue to deal with as an adult. How in the world do you expect him to survive in college without police escorts or mommy and daddy showing up to defend him?

You are horrible. You sound like you don't have kids in DC public schools and have no idea how vicious kids can be. Also I don't know if OP's son is a POC, but it can be especially rough for black/Latino boys in DC publics.

Really? You think Black kids are more at risk? You don't think white kids in a prediminately black school, likely located in a rough neighborhood, have it rough? Are you in fantasy land? This is the reason why many families either avoid DC school like the plague, or they do everything in their power to avoid particular schools. I don't blame them at all.

I don't think you have any experience of this topic. Black kids are much more at risk. If you look at crime statistics, this is also true of adults -- being white makes you less likely to be a victim of crime.

I went to rough a rough, poor all white middle school. I fought almost daily and often carried a knife outside of school. Two guys who used to jump me for fun went to jail for manslaughter soon after high school graduation. My parents moved, and I went to a rough majority black high school. I was never once in a fight or bullied or threatened. It was like I was assumed to be an un-involved bystander in the fighting that went on, which I was happy to be.

My impression talking to parents at my kid's majority non-white high school is that parents of color have much more to be concerned about in terms of peer pressure and fighting than my white kid. He's assumed to be a bystander and, as he says, if he doesn't look for trouble he has none.

Well, you would be wrong. You have a very self serving interpretation of crime statistics, that not surprisingly, nobody has pointed out. Most white people don't live and/or associate with a significant number of black people, and therefore aren't victimized by them. Just because few white people are killed in SE DC doesn't mean that it's safe for White people. I can't believe that I had to explain this.

The idea that white people get a free pass by black people (especially kids) is a great dcum fairytale, but it's hardly what I experienced. And ditto for my friends and family. This was at a time when the crime rate was twice as high as it is today, and racial tension was high as well. There is a reason why everyone with a few bucks moved to the burbs.

Anyway, what school did this happen at? Will anyone on dcum volunteer to send their kids to this school?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So you’re almost 18 year old adult aged son is so terrified for his life at the prospect of being chased that you are attempting to involve police escorts and politicians in an attempt to protect him from an unknown threat? If he were over 18 (which maybe he is already) there would be nothing you could do anyways because it would be his issue to deal with as an adult. How in the world do you expect him to survive in college without police escorts or mommy and daddy showing up to defend him?

You are horrible. You sound like you don't have kids in DC public schools and have no idea how vicious kids can be. Also I don't know if OP's son is a POC, but it can be especially rough for black/Latino boys in DC publics.

Really? You think Black kids are more at risk? You don't think white kids in a prediminately black school, likely located in a rough neighborhood, have it rough? Are you in fantasy land? This is the reason why many families either avoid DC school like the plague, or they do everything in their power to avoid particular schools. I don't blame them at all.

I don't think you have any experience of this topic. Black kids are much more at risk. If you look at crime statistics, this is also true of adults -- being white makes you less likely to be a victim of crime.

I went to rough a rough, poor all white middle school. I fought almost daily and often carried a knife outside of school. Two guys who used to jump me for fun went to jail for manslaughter soon after high school graduation. My parents moved, and I went to a rough majority black high school. I was never once in a fight or bullied or threatened. It was like I was assumed to be an un-involved bystander in the fighting that went on, which I was happy to be.

My impression talking to parents at my kid's majority non-white high school is that parents of color have much more to be concerned about in terms of peer pressure and fighting than my white kid. He's assumed to be a bystander and, as he says, if he doesn't look for trouble he has none.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So you’re almost 18 year old adult aged son is so terrified for his life at the prospect of being chased that you are attempting to involve police escorts and politicians in an attempt to protect him from an unknown threat? If he were over 18 (which maybe he is already) there would be nothing you could do anyways because it would be his issue to deal with as an adult. How in the world do you expect him to survive in college without police escorts or mommy and daddy showing up to defend him?

You are horrible. You sound like you don't have kids in DC public schools and have no idea how vicious kids can be. Also I don't know if OP's son is a POC, but it can be especially rough for black/Latino boys in DC publics.

Really? You think Black kids are more at risk? You don't think white kids in a prediminately black school, likely located in a rough neighborhood, have it rough? Are you in fantasy land? This is the reason why many families either avoid DC school like the plague, or they do everything in their power to avoid particular schools. I don't blame them at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, is there any way you could drive him for the next few weeks?

I would not feel comfortable driving my kid to school because the threat of the saftey is still there. Who's to say that this kid won't have his friends attempt an assault in the bathroom or cafeteria or a stairwell?

So, why did you even mention an Uber?

Anonymous wrote:Am I the only one who thinks this kid totally overreacted? He got chased. Period. he didn't get threatened or touched. One kid got chased by other kids. Isn't that just ... part of the life of a child?

Nothing bad happened.