That mom in Baltimore that hit her kid

I'm sad about that whole situation. I am mad about what happened to Freddy. I am mad that these types of thing keep happening to the youth of the country. But now I am upset and scratching my head at all the people that are applauding this woman that, out of frustration, dragged her son from the protests and hit him over the head. I get where she was coming from. She was scared to death that she would not see her son again, with great reason. I know she was most likely thinking that she would rather embarrass him and beat him before the streets killed him. I get it. That was something that should have been done in private. That was their private moment to discuss and for her to let out her feelings to him. IN PRIVATE.

Several other things make me pause about the situation.

Most of the people applauding her are doing it for the wrong reasons. They are saying "Hey! She gets it! More of these parents need to be present in their kids' lives and discipline them to keep them off the streets!" Perhaps. What I saw was a private moment now exploited by most. I am not one for embarrassing my kids in public. I hated it when it happened to me. I won't do it to them. I was thinking about some of the times I was embarrassed in public and how today I completely disagree with the reasons my parents did it. Now, as a parent, I can see how easy it is to lose your cool and go off! I have felt fear turn to rage inside me when one of my kids did something dangerous or they were in danger. Controlling your emotions in that situation is very tough but you have to do it. You have to. I pray for patience and clarity all the time because I know there are times I feel lost as a mom. Feeling lost turns to anger or frustration. I can't let it control me. I try every day to do better than the last. For their sake, I have to do better. We've got to be better than that. We have to!

The first thing I thought when I saw the footage mentioned above was "Now America is seeing that the only way to control a young black man is with violence." This whole scene felt like justification for the actions of the police. The thought makes me sick to my stomach. SICK. I have a son. He is half black. He is half Mexican American. I would HATE the thought of someone thinking the only way to control him is with violence. Teaching someone that violence is wrong with violence doesn't make the point in the long run. It does strike fear. But once the fear subsides, the lesson is lost and the memory of violence remains. I worry about when he gets his first speeding tickets. I worry about his smart mouth and short temper. I worry that he won't be seen as an equal because of his ethnicity. That will most likely happen. I see it now and he is only in second grade. I worry about so many things for him. Things like the situation in Baltimore don't put my mind at ease.

I am not generalizing. I am not about the hate. I am one of the most positive people around. I am not obsessing about this. My wish and prayer is that all of us do better. Everyone wants change. I know I do. But do those same people WANT to change? I do. I want to do better and set that example for may family.