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January 9th, 2014
12:16 AM ET
What happened to the toddler in the obscenity-laced video?
New fallout after a disturbing video of a toddler trading obscenities with adults goes viral. It was posted by a police union claiming it was meant to educate the public about "the terrible cycle of violence and thuggery." Anderson discussed what happened to the child with attorney and children's activist Areva Martin.
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Post by: AC360 Filed under: Areva Martin |
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I think it is wrong to publicly put this video on Facebook. The police, and parents are all to be held to a higher standard. Get the parents help but why punish the child? It is not right to plaster this child all over the internet. The police are not a social agency and do a great job but this is not fair to the child.
I remember a "Funny or Die" video, from not long ago, where a young white girl used what could be described as offensive language. Did that young child's family also have the threat of authorities hanging over their heads? I absolutely think the adults in this video used poor judgement in the language and subject matters that they exposed the toddler to. But what is acceptable? Is it a disgrace to laugh when your three-year-old repeats the expletive she heard you yell at the irresponsible driver who cut you off on the highway? Is it reprehensible to custom write a skit, which is full of course language, uttered by your preschooler and publish it for the world to see? It turns my stomach that the police's reaction to this is based on (what I believe at a minimum)classicism.
I disagree with Areva Martin, the general public needs to see this kind of generation gang life. I work in the public school system and our district is seeing 5th generation gang members going through our educational system. The only way society will get a handle on gangs is through education and posting this type of video will give the general public (black, white, yellow or green) a look at realities of gang life at home.