Wilson Reyes was treated just like any other hardened criminal when the NYPD responded to a complaint of assault and burglary. Reyes was handcuffed, taken into custody and interrogated by tough cops for hours on end as they attempted to make him crumble and confess. Despite being grilled by the NYPD’s finest, Reyes held fast to his innocence: No, he did not steal the 5 dollars dropped by another seven year old at his lunch table.
Of course the jaw dropper on this story is not that Wilson Reyes was an innocent taken into custody, but that he was a seven year old school boy interrogated by the NYPD over a little money mix-up.
A few questions come to mind regarding the basic sanity of the adults who were involved in the ‘handling’ of this issue. First and foremost- even if this kid had stolen some money, why would any school staff need the NYPD to settle the matter? Furthermore, why did the police officers responding see the situation fit for standard criminal procedure? Why did they spend a total of 10 hours interrogating him between the school campus and the police station?
According to Wilson‘s mother, Frances Mendez, she found her son traumatized, handcuffed and crying ‘Mommy, it wasn’t me! Mommy, it wasn’t me!’ After the December 4th, 2012 incident, Wilson’s family has hired a lawyer to take legal action on his behalf. According to documents outlining the lawsuit against the city and the NYPD, “Reyes was handcuffed and verbally, physically and emotionally abused, intimidated, humiliated, embarrassed and defamed,”
Although the NYPD has since issued an apology and partial denial of the situation, the lawsuit remains in action.
Despite the extreme measures of Wilson’s situation, this incident is hardly an isolated event of bizarre punishment against school kids. Recently in Pennsylvania a five-year old was suspended and accused of making terrorist threats by bringing a Hello Kitty bubble gun to school and suggesting to friends, “I’ll shoot you, you shoot me and we’ll all play together.” Since the implementation of zero tolerance policy in schools, kids have been suspended over everything from pocket knives to making finger guns.
Aside from sending kids the message that the authority figures in their life lack basic discernment, how is this type of overreaction effecting our nation?
“It makes me nervous.” Felix* stated in response to an public opinion interview with Truth Hack. “I immigrated here from a communist country, and I don’t think the United States is very far away from… becoming the same (communistic) way.”
Others feel that rather just going along with the flow of law enforcement, more should be done for kids before they end up in trouble. “The fact that so many kids are being suspended for small things because of zero tolerance reflects a lazy society because it shows that we cannot come up with a better way to reach kids.” Danielle* told Truth Hack.
It seems that while solid parental discipline is on the decline, school and government discipline of children is on the rise. This brings to mind the uncomfortable realization that if this is reflecting a lazy society, the problem may have begun not in schools or police stations but right inside the typical American home. The truth of the matter is that parents are becoming more and more reluctant to discipline their children. Rather than bringing up touchy issues, a parent may choose to coddle and spoil a child because of the little amount of time they have together. This leaves bad behaviors unchecked and more likely to show up on the school yard. Despite this rising trend in the United States, most parents strongly dislike the idea of their children being unjustly punished by their school or local law enforcement.
“It makes me feel like our nation has been corrupted over the years and it is slowly getting worse.” Nick* said.
The most bizarre punishments and policies have been implemented in the name of control and safety, but are really protecting kids when there’s so much confusion?
It’s been said that kids who kill are often so desensitized from video games that they have lost their sense of discernment for what’s real and what’s fake. So what’s the excuse for adults who cannot tell the difference between a hello kitty bubble gun and a real threat? What are we telling the kids when we punish them wrongfully?
The Bible says that the “fear of man brings a snare but whoever puts his trust in the lord shall be safe.” Meaning that when a society hands over their rational and good sense for paranoia and extreme measures, they are in fact setting themselves up for failure.
Rather than parents depending more on the school systems and government to raise and discipline their kids, they need to take their rightful place as teachers, leaders and fair discipliners. To fail to do so not only leaves the child unruly, but with a feeling of unlove and neglect. It is no wonder that the Bible says “he will die for lack of dicipline, led astray by his own great folly.” Prov. 5:23. The government is overstepping it’s boundaries in many areas, but it should not be allowed in the lives of children. In order to protect the children of America, parents and citizens alike need to become more involved in reaching out to kids and giving them the love and stability that they need.
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