Chai's Analysis

Close your eyes for a moment. Now imagine yourself back in elementary school. Remember how you looked, what you weighed, and what mattered to you the most. You didn't want to be different. You wanted to be the same. You didn't want to be teased. And when you are teased, what did you do? Did you fight back? Did you say mean things to the bully? Did you hurt the bully sometimes? When you look back, do you see childhood events in your life that you are apologetic for? Open your eyes.

After you thought of your childhood events, did you ever do something that may have gotten you arrested? Oh, I don't know, like hit a person for hitting you. Or doing something that was so irrational, but you never got in trouble? In Fresno, there is a child who is facing felony charges because she threw a rock at another kid, reacting to his taunts and after he threw a water filled balloon.

In April, police arrested the Fresno girl on suspicion of felony assault after Elijah Vang was hit with a rock. She spent five days in Juvenile Hall, then was placed under house arrest and forced to wear a monitoring anklet for 30 days. She is expected to stand trial in Juvenile Court today. If the allegation is found true, the fourth-grader could spend the next four years incarcerated. LA Times

Four years in jail because she threw a rock back at the kid? Yeah, probably not the smartest thing to do, but again, remember how old she is: ELEVEN. The prison industrial complex has taken over our country and we need to stop it. Charging kids with felony assault because of this is one example, but there are hundreds of these cases as of late. And it is a shame that our country can and will do this. I agree with her attorney.

"What we have here is just kids being kids," said Richard A. Beshwate Jr., the girl's lawyer. "Somebody got hurt and it's unfortunate, but this behavior does not rise to the level of criminal activity."

But, following my mantra, I am try to find a silver lining in every negative action. The silver lining:

Last Friday evening, a multiracial coalition that included Muslim and Christian leaders, immigrant groups and civil rights organizations held a vigil at Juvenile Hall in support of Maribel. Carrying placards that read "Stop Police Brutality," the group said Maribel's treatment was typical of how authorities police minority neighborhoods in Fresno.

And neither another example of why there needs to be coalition building among all groups of color: Elijah is Hmong, Maribel is Latina. They live in a working-class neighborhood of Lations and Asians. Like Rev. Al Sharpton said yesterday, having a coalition among these groups can ease the possibility of racial, cultural bias and crimes. At the very least, having a coalition can educate the communities of various differences. I will continue to keep track of this case and I'm sure you will too.

posted by Chai at 11:59 AM