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5.10.2013

Busted - Feedback Friday

The following video was recorded and uploaded onto YouTube by a 12 year old boy:




It's Feedback Friday...

What was your initial reaction to this video? Did your feelings change after thinking about it?

Do you think this child was disrespectful or justified in approaching the police officer?

On the Today Show, Wendy Williams mentioned that if the child in this video would have been African American the interaction would have gone much differently.  Agree? Disagree?

17 comments:

  1. I think the kid was just being a little jerk. If the motorcycle was owned by a tatted-up, leather jacket wearing, bad boy, he wouldn't have said anything. Police officers deserve our respect, and while they should be setting a good example and following the law, who cares if they park on the sidewalk?

    I don't see how the color of the kid's skin would have changed the way the officer reacted. Why does everything have to come back to race?

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    Replies
    1. No one one the Today Show panel acknowledged Wendy Williams' remark about race. I hate that it always gets tossed in.

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  2. I agree that the kid was being a jack ass. He's basically harassing some cop simply because he can. And there's no way to say what would have happened if the kids would have been African American. Usually the African American community teaches their young children to avoid cops.

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  3. I'll think about it and see if I change my mind, but I think it's a jerky kid filming a jerky police guy. I don't really know how skin color would have changes things, but things might have been different if he wasn't filming.

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    1. Thought about it: I feel like the kid is an obnoxious punk and I might have been too hard on the policeman. We all know this type of kid and most of us can't stand them. Wouldn't rather all have the cop run in fast and get a drink and get back to duty?

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    2. I, also, put some jerkiness on the police officer at first glance but changed my mind as it continued. Was wondering if anyone did the same and you did!

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  4. pretty sure if the cop had been parked on the sidewalk in front of this kid's house following a robbery or vehicle crash or something requiring the assistance- that kid would have been speaking different to the cop.

    i think it comes down to respect- the kid was trying to bully the cop and hiding behind the video camera.

    i have no problem with a cop parking on the sidewalk and running in for a coke. call it a "pay it forward" for the next time your house gets broken into, or you get assaulted or some scenario where you will want that cop to be nice and compassionate to you.

    and i would smack my kid if he ever did this to a cop or any adult.

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    Replies
    1. I would have never let my kid do this let alone upload it!

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  5. What happened to respecting authority. Should he have parked on the sidewalk? Probably not, do we need snarky 12 year olds calling him out. Nope. Would the cop have acted differently, I don't think so. LIke Jill said ~ too often everyone pulls out the race card.

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  6. I agree that the biggest difference in the cops reaction would be if there had been no visible camera. I, too, would kill my kid if he did that!

    My first reaction when watching for the first time was a little irritation that the cop had parked on the sidewalk but after I thought about it more I became angrier and angrier with the disrespect he showed the cop as it went on.

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  7. Wow!
    I´m reading these comments, and they really freak me out!
    I strongly believe that respect needs to be earned, or it is worth nothing. Come on, don´t just respect someone just because he´s wearing a uniform!
    People parking motorized vehicles on sidewalks really, really annoy me - I still remember many incidents when I had to push my twin pram on the street because the sidewalk was blocked by some car, and this policeman is supposed not only to stick to the law himself, but state an example to others to uphold the law.
    He´s being paid by taxes, and therefore serves the community. I´m not sure, but in the german language, there is the word "Statsdiener" which means "servant of the state" - and of course he should have showed the kid his ID!
    Also, he could have reacted much friendlier - if he, for example, had just smiled, and told the kid "See, I´m really sorry, but I was in a hurry to get my milkshake, and I´m really happy there was YOU, and aspiring upstanding memeber of community, this video wouldn´t even have gone viral - because he then would have shown some human qualities.
    Which I think are essential in his job.

    I don´t know this policeman. Maybe he is, normally, good at his job.
    But from what I see from this clip - if he breaks the law for a milkshake, and then treats a minor, who basically does exactly what he would - or should have been doing, like an annoying fly, and even wants to see an ID of him though he´s just 12 - you still all think he deserves respect?

    Come on. If you respect people for a piece of cloth, then respect is really worth nothing.

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    Replies
    1. Sorry, but I can't agree with that. Just becoming a police officer comes with inherent respect. An officer doesn't have to earn someone's respect every time they do something. If a kid with a camera came up to you and started questioning your actions, do you think you'd keep a level head? I think this officer showed restraint, because I wanted to smack the kid upside the head. That kid was just trying to bait the officer into doing or saying something that would cause an uproar. He could have taken the license plate number off the bike and reported the officer without trying to cause a scene.

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    2. Not sure how HelenClyde thinks this kid is an aspiring upstanding member of the community. The kid, like Wendy Williams, is a bully. If it had been my kids, they would be apologizing on video to the police officer!

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  8. I don't respect someone for the clothes they wear. I respect them for what they do. That includes police officers, firemen and military. They don't have to prove anything to me before I offer them respect.

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  9. That kid is a pain in the but. He doesn't need to be challenging a police officer. Sanctimonious kids! Argh. And...I park my motorcycle on the sidewalk, all the time, everywhere. It's not a big deal. I'm never blocking anything.

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  10. #1: Can I see a show of hands? How many of you would give a newly hormonal 12 year old with a camera phone and internet access your ID number? Social security number? Drivers License number? Phone number? Would you even give him your name? Didn't think so. I certainly wouldn't.

    #2: How often do you see a police motorcycle parked out in the parking lot? Ever wonder why they don't do that? Think about it. Ok...here's a hint...missing mirrors and Sharpie markers. Do you really think he's going to explain that to a kid...any kid? Please, just tell me a of kid who wouldn't try it or at least think about it if the opportunity presented itself.

    #3: I am soooooo tired of the media always trying to stir up the race issue. Journalism 101...if the story is boring throw in the race issue. It MUST be in a text book someplace because so many of them do it.

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