Just this past week, I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed, when I saw a news story that shocked, horrified, and disgusted me, as did many Americans. Four African-American young adults cowardly attacked an innocent, mentally disabled man and posted it on Facebook Live for all to see. What shocked me even more was not just the treatment that poor man suffered, but the lives these cowards lived. I will not be mentioning their names because I will not give them the notoriety they sought.
One of the suspects had two small children. Another took care of his twin brother in a wheelchair. Another was in college and had a job. One even went to church with his grandmother. Three of the suspects are 18 years old, and one was 24 years old. One or more had run-ins with the law. I have a bone to pick with all four of them.
You should be ashamed of yourself and you knew better. You are a coward. Do not pull the "I was in fear for my life" or the "he provoked me" card, okay? You befriended him, and afterwards you proceeded to beat him down to the ground, on video, like he was nothing but a nuisance to you. You beat him because he was white, and he couldn't defend himself. One of you even laughed in the video as you punched him. He screamed as one of you walked up to him with a knife. I can't imagine the horror, sadness, and ridicule you needlessly put him through.
What if what you did happened to someone you loved? What if it happened to your grandmother, two children, or the twin brother in a wheelchair? What if it was filmed on video and posted online for the world to see? You'd be pretty enraged, right? What you did enraged millions of Americans. What you did was not assault and battery, it was sheer terrorism caught on tape. I could care less what kind of childhood you had or how you were brought up. You wanted your 15 minutes of fame, and you got it by attacking an innocent human being who only wanted nothing but a night of New Year's Eve fun. Now you're facing serious time in prison, and you have also been charged with two hate crimes. You are between 18-24 years old and you have already messed up your life. What were you thinking?
To all of you: this has nothing to do with any of the political uproars going on in our country right now. We need to stand up for all people with developmental, mental, and physical disabilities who are bullied everyday. They are human beings just like us who have hopes and dreams. We need to put our differences with race and political beliefs aside and do good for future generations, starting now.
