Everybody, and I mean EVERY.BODY in the Cussing Tot debacle is taking the path of least resistence. The Police Union, Child Protective Services, Black Men United of Omaha, the Media, the Black punditocrisy, Twiter, cussing tot's relatives - just everybody. We've covered this over at the WAOD Facebook Fan Page.
For those who are not aware, the Omaha Police Officers Association is highly aggrieved and they want the public to know about their sucky job responsiblities. like dealing with aggressive dogs, facial tatoos, Nebraska Senator Ernie Chambers, supervised release laws, and "The Thug Cycle."
And so they used a 2 year old toddler as a sword in their ongoing battle to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with having the deal with criminals.
So a loyal follower alerted us to a local thug’s public Facebook page today.She was outraged about what the thug had just posted for all to see.
We here at OmahaPOA.com viewed the video and we knew that despite the fact that it is sickening, heartbreaking footage, we have an obligation to share it to continue to educate the law abiding public about the terrible cycle of violence and thuggery that some young innocent children find themselves helplessly trapped in.Here it is.
Now while we didn’t see anything in this video that is blatantly “illegal”, we sure did see a lot that is flat out immoral and completely unhealthy for this little child from a healthy upbringing standpoint.
Listen to the discussions this child is immersed in.
-Sexual discussions.
-Gang discussions.
-Violence.
-Profanity
The thug that posted this video indicates in a subsequent comment that the child is his nephew.
You can clearly hear at least two other adults in the background as well, one being a female.A man can be heard asking the toddler, “what hood you from?”.We can only assume that the female voice is likely the child’s mother, and if that’s true that means she actually allowed this behavior to occur. Omaha POA
I laugh at their statement that they didn't see anything blatantly illegal because anyone who has been in the general vicinity of a criminal courtroom or a law library knows that at any given moment all of us are committing about 5 felonies. In other words, if you want to arrest someone, you can usually find a section of a statute somewhere that justifies the arrest. I could easliy make an argument that the little boy in this video is being abused or neglected and there is probably a judge that would agree with the argument.
So instead of contacting CPS or asking the crazy/lazy social worker already assigned to this family what she thought of this, they failed to protect the interests of a 2 year old that they took an oath to protect and serve and offered him up to public ridicule.
As a general rule, one of the primary job responsibilities in being a police officer in an urban area is that you will come into contact with the scum of the Earth on a daily basis. You come into contact daily with people, the average person prays their whole life never to encounter. You see people at their absolute worst. That's the job, if you don't want to do that--- do something else.
But apparently what was most offensive to people is that they labeled this little boy a thug. And THAT apparently was the greatest offense committed in this debacle.
Willie Hamilton, executive director of Black Men United in Omaha, said that although he doesn't condone behavior portrayed in the video, it is inappropriate for the police union to single out this child to draw sweeping conclusions about the cycle of violence.
Many people have called him to say that the video further damages the relationship between Omaha police and the black community, Hamilton said.
“The police actually have a website that is perpetuating mistrust and anger, and I think that is what it is meant to do,” Hamilton said. “I thought posting the video was crossing the line. To use that incident to say that our kids are going to grow up and be thugs is far-reaching and insensitive. We are talking about a child that hasn't even gone to school yet.” Omaha World Herald
Far reaching and insensitive? I'll address that later.
What the snarky and unprofessional police union did not tell you was that this todder was hit by bullet fragments when his home was shot up in October. The OPOA didn't tell you that some crazy or lazy social worker decided that it was perfectly fine to leave this child in a home headed by a 19 year-old relative along with 4 other minor children after the cussing tot's grandmother was carted off to jail on weapons charges. The OPOA didn't tell you that cussing tot's father is dead, as a resultof gange violence and cussing tot was conceived when his mother was 12 or 13 years old. Cussing tot's maternal grandfather is also apparently in prison. "Court Records Show a Troubling Family History"
The Omaha Police Department has a horrible reputation in Omaha's Black community, which they RICHLY deserve based on the tone and tenor of all of their Facebook posts - they will get no defense in this space. But I take umbrage with the focus of the outrage in this case. People are outraged because this child got labeled but appear to be less moved the the all around hellish nature of his environment. I'm not saying not to be offended by him being labeled a thug. I'm saying, can we add some things to your list of outrages?
Y'all don't mind do ya?
Where were the outraged citizens of Omaha when a much older man/ boy was impregnating the cussing tot's then 13 or 12 year-old mother? He's almost 3, his mother is 16. Do the math. Where was the Black Men United of Omaha when cussing tot's mother was shot in the leg and arm and when bullet fragments richocheted and hit the baby? ( They made the evening news back then) Where is the outrage directed at cussing tot's pos uncle who fed him obscenities and then posted it on YouTube. Where is Black Men united of Omaha's public statement condemning Black men and boys who troll the neighborhood for 12 year old sex partners?You should be outraged about a social services agency that was aware that this child was being shot and and his mother forced to fend for herself at the age of 16 in household with 4 other minors being headed by a 19 year-old relative.
But NO, we focus on the HORROR of the word "thug" instead of the hellacious nature of this child's life.
To my earlier point about Black Men United's comments- No, it is not "reaching" to think that any child whose family business is CRIME, will probably also enter the family "business."Your feelings are hurt about a label when this child has already been shot at and wounded before his 3rd birthday and he was possibly conceived when his mother was 12 year's old? "Thug" is what hurt Black folks feelings in Omaha?
We're all like Effie Trinkett from the Hunger Games standing in front of doomed competitors in a death match saying "May the odds be ever in your favor." Knowing good and darned well that the odds are absolutely NOT in their favor because the system's been rigged for all but one of them to die.
Th odds are NOT in cussing tot's favor. That's not a reach. And that's not because he's Black. That's because every male member of his family is literally dead, in jail, or an active gang member. Though the odds are not in his favor, they are odds and not certainties. And if we cannot have hope in the endless possibilities of small children, then all is lost. Children are the living embodiment of "hope." They are blank slates and lumps of clay to be molded. If there is no hope for small children, then there is no hope- period.
So at this point the only constructive discussion of cussing tot is how to shift the odds that are NOT in his favor.
The most obvious answer is to place your bets on cussing tot's 16 year old mama. It's a risky bet, but if you save her, he's got a fighting chance. For those praising the virtues of foster care, I would suggest that you go live for a week in your local foster care system - most of you wouldn't make it past Thursday.
The institutions of the Black community have got it all wrong. Their myopic focus on the interests of the young Black male, often to the detriment of young Black women is a cultural death spiral. Like patching a gaping wound by wiping up the blood that already silled onto the floor. It's actually the reverse. Preserve, protect and defend Black women and girls and the lives of Black boys infinitely improve. Why? Because who the heck do you think is raising boys in a community with a 70% -80% oww birth rate.
Cussing tot's 16-year-old mother is taking a lot of flack in the comment's section of most posts about him. But as much as people want to ignore and vilify her, you don't get to toss the interests of Black women and girls overboard and think black boys will prosper.
Despite my many critics protestations to the contrary, What About Our Daughters is inherently about our sons.