Mom "Helping" Son Defend Himself?

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Do you think the mom was right?

I am looking at this story and thinking to myself that Chelisa Grimes (the mom) did not do the right thing here yet on further pondering I also realize that at some point frustration becomes to much to bare for the student and the parent. I think one of the facts about this case that makes the public possibly feel some sympathy with Darnell "Dynasty" Young's situation is that he is gay and that there have been recent incidents where people have taken their lives or been assaulted because of who they are. I think it may be fair to say that this young man would not have brought that stun gun to school if he was not being bothered at all.

The idea of kids bringing weapons to school however should not be a lightly taken issue. We have seen the damage that can be done and we know the possible damage that having a weapon in school could pose if tempers flare. So what could have avoided the situation? Could the school officials have done better?

In this case as in most cases of bullying that end up tragically.... yes!

One of the things you hear when these cases hit the national spotlight is that the parents and their child believe that the school and school officials have not done enough to help the bullied child. The scenario is simple, when a bullied child just cannot take it anymore and has access to a weapon then you are asking for trouble. It can either result in suicide or the child bringing the weapon to school. School officials for a very long time have not handled bullying properly or enough which is why you see the types of things that are happening today. It's not enough to react in 2012, school officials should know by now that they have to be proactive in finding ways to make their students feel safe in their schools. Just because they may not be witness to the bullying doesn't mean they should brush it off or not take it seriously. Everyone is aware that bullying happens with youth (even adults) and that this can be a damaging thing for youth.

Just this week, another case of a youth committing suicide because of bullying. It just underscores that maybe there isn't enough being done. This story just happened upon me while writing this post this week but I'm sure you can google bullying suicides all day long and read sad stories.

So was this mother right to give her son a stun gun to defend himself? I still do not like it because you never know what can happen when you bring a weapon to school or in public for that matter. However, I understand the frustration of the Chelisa Grimes, the mother of Darnell Young. The fortunate part is that Darnell Young was not frustrated to the point of taking his own life or that he was not confronted by police, particularly with what can happen to young black men who carry objects that appear to be a gun.

Time for the schools and society to wake up.

O24's Friday Box Office: The Avengers

O24's Friday Box Office: Case Depart

This film is one I saw at the Montreal Black Film Festival last fall. The comedic look at slavery through the experiences of two brothers from France will make you laugh at a topic that we don't really see as something funny and easy to talk about. Some may like the comedy, some may not like the comedic take on this issue.

Check out where it's being shown, I see that it is destined for selected cities. The film is in French as it is a French production from France.

"Unlock the intelligence, passion, greatness of girls" by Leymah Gbowee

Quebec's Students and Riotting

Maybe its me, maybe not. Students in Quebec are currently "on strike" in order to protest the province's planned tuition hikes over the next several years. Much has been made of this in Quebec and outside Quebec particularly since if you look at this issue from the outside, you probably cannot understand how Quebec students are so upset that the province wants to bring tuition towards the national average.

In Quebec, we pay about $2,500 a year in university tuition compared to other parts of Canada where tuition is easily double. The strong student unions in Quebec have for many years now been able to mobilize and convince the Quebec government to freeze university tuition to what we have now. However, this was before the economic decline and the tightening of the financial purse by the Quebec government.



As someone who has only recently gone through the university system in Quebec I can say that the reality of increasing tuition is not a problem solver but also isn't a bad idea. Understandably students are concerned about future school debt and I realize that but what would someone in other parts of Canada who hold down $30,000 in school debt say to a Quebec student with $10,000? The answer cannot just be for the rest of Canadian universities to go the way of Quebec and drop tuition. That might be great but pure idealism, be real on this issue. Universities are businesses and that might be wrong but that's the reality of higher education in North America. The European model of free university education only means we need to make fundamental changes in how we finance the universities. Free tuition is great but someone still pays for the university to function, for profs to be paid, for programs and courses to be added to a university campus. I wish my university had a Criminology program or a wider diversity of programs that you see in Ontario universities. Would higher tuition make that possible? Who knows, however the current model is not necessarily great and the current model is not necessarily putting the most possible Quebecers through to getting a university degree.

VIOLENCE


That brings me to the violence that we have seen on the streets of Montreal. If you are not from Quebec or Montreal you must be saying what is wrong with Quebec students and I'll admit, I'm saying the same thing. In the last couple weeks, I have been firsthand witness to students marching throughout downtown as I went to and from work, watching cop cars speeding to the next demonstration then watching on the news the masked "students" being as violent as they claim the police are towards them. The different student groups have done their bit and put their message out however it seems that there are people who supporting students who go to these demonstrations with the sole intent to cause damage and take on the cops.... usually called anarchists but who's labeling. What do you say when demonstrators go to a rally dressed up with covered faces and end up kicking in store windows, smashing cars and throwing projectiles at cops? I'm willing to give students the benefit of the doubt and believe that a minority of people are causing this violence but when the main student groups cannot denounce the violence that is being caused by people who are supporting them then that is a problem.



It would nice to see these student groups strongly denounce the violence instead of reading a statement. I'm pretty cynical about the idea of students picketing classrooms while other students still try to get an education. Yes, the student unions voted to "strike" but these are not fulltime workers we are talking about. Many students are trying to get their education done for many reasons whether it be that they paid their year already or they have a job waiting or what have you. To think that students can just stop going to school and nothing happens to their year, that they can just pick back up where they left off like fulltime regular workers is naive and ridiculous. If you voted to strike then fine but students who want to get through the year should be able to.... unless the school decides to cancel the classes which is another story. To say the least, many students have much invested in getting through the school year on time.

I'm hoping that the "leaders" of the students who are getting more media time than they deserve understand that it really is in their best interest to get to some "serious" talking with the government so that those who are interested in returning to class can do so and those who just want to stir violence will no longer have the cover of student demonstrations to do so. 

"The Danger of a Single Story" By Chimamanda Adichie

The Story Behind "Fired up! Ready to go!"

The Impact defeat TFC

With the Montreal Canadiens season over and no baseball team to satisfy my sports appetite, I have turned to soccer to fill my early summer sports void. The Montreal Impact are in Major League Soccer this season and despite starting the season at 0-4-1, the have played well enough to at least threaten to get a win. Well, that win came against our rivals from Toronto on Saturday as our Canadian rivals came to town a disappointing 0-3 and left 0-4.

Yours Truly @ Olympic Stadium

With over 20,000 fans in attendance, the Impact gave the home fans what we really wanted. A first MLS victory and a victory over Toronto FC. A great experience to be at Olympic Stadium even if I was seated behind the travelling supporters of Toronto FC.

The Impact's 2-1 victory hopefully starts a turnaround for the team as this long soccer season is just getting heated up. As for Toronto FC fans, see you again for Canadian Championships in May.

The Fulltime Score

O24's Friday Box Office: 21 Jump Street

I usually post up trailers of movies coming out but here is one that I have seen that I'll recommend if you are a Jonah Hill or Channing Tatum fan. Yes Ice Cube is in the film as well but it's the Hill and Tatum that make this film go and they are two funny guys. The movie won't win any awards but as a comedic film its not a bad choice. 

The Issues of Race in (North) America

The Trayvon Martin case has continued to expose the divisions of race that still exist in America and for that matter North America. Forget for a moment that George Zimmerman, the shooter is still a free man over a month after killing the 17 year old. Also forget that the cops seem to have bungled this whole case from the start and forget the audio tapes of Zimmerman and the dispatchers in which Zimmerman was told not to pursue Trayvon Martin.

Take a look at the discussions that have been brewing in all circles over the last month. Discussions of race and how blacks see this case and how non-blacks see this case.... and everyone else. It's amazing that a lot of people still do not see where the RACE issue in the Trayvon Martin case is evident. Whether you are black or non-black you really need to understand the history of racial violence in the United States particularly towards black men. There is a history... well documented in fact of the violence that blacks have endured over hundreds of years in America, much of which the perpetrators are never brought to justice. You can start at the time blacks came to America in the 1600's up until the the end of the 19th Century. You can take the 30 years after the end of the U.S. Civil War alone with the emergence of the KKK in the U.S. South. How many blacks have been victims to racial violence with no punishment for the people committing murders? All this may be a little deep for some to understand but then you realize that blacks in America are over represented in America's jail, a ridiculous 800,000 black men! The perception that if a black person simply does anything criminal the book gets thrown at them is also a part of this.

As I saw this I realize many blacks deserve to be in prison and we can't always pin this on race however you just have to know that this is what black people are thinking about when I saw this is a racial issue. The questions of what if Zimmerman was black and Trayvon was white? Would Zimmerman still be free a month later? If you can honestly say yes without hesitation then maybe you are the optimist in our society but you must understand why a lot of black people would not be so optimistic.... again you must realize the history of it all.

It boggles my mind when people try to explain and have discussions about these points and then they get labelled as racists and the alone thing they want to bring up is race all the time. It just seems that some people are so afraid to talk race when it is a factor that they will become obsessed with trying to deny that it is even an issue. We have to stop being politically correct and talk about  because Barack Obama or not, race still matters in (North) America and denying that justifies racial profiling in stores, in the subway and on the streets... ala Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin.