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Tuesday, October 06, 2015

Stare Down!

Stock photo of a Black man staring at a White woman. 

Did you know that if I stare at you, I can get in trouble?

Well in Cincinnati, this little boy got a suspension from school after he was caught staring at a little girl. The boy and girl were playing the staring game. According to the school, he made the girl nervous. The girl told her parents and the school handled the problem accordingly.

Now I don't want to jump to conclusions. There was no threat of gun violence in this incident.

However, I can't believe this! A staring game leads to suspension. Maybe he said to the girl that he can "shoot laser beams or bullets out of his eyes".

It seems like all the attention was brought upon the color of the children. It was a Black boy and a White girl.

Now I am just speculating but reading from the Dayton Daily News, Addicting Info and Fox 19 websites, I see that I may be right on this.

This suspension was taken to the Ohio court. St. Gabriel Consolidated School in Glendale suspended the boy in September.
St. Gabriel Consolidated School. The Cincinnati Catholic Archdiocese owns the property. 
The boy's mother Candice Tolbert isn't taking this sitting down. She took her concerns to the junk food media and now it's a viral story.

The parents filed suit in Hamilton County Common Pleas court to try and get the suspension erased claiming the school didn’t give their son due process.

A judge denied the claim, which means as of now the suspension of the 12-year old stands. "The perception is he intimidated her," said the mother.

"My son stared at a girl who was engaged in a staring game," she said. "She giggled the entire time," she said from her Liberty Township home.

Candice didn't want to play the "race card" but stopped short of saying that the girl was known to be a troublemaker.

"The same girl that accused my son of this act of perception of intimidation, aggressively poured milk on someone else's lunch. When she did that there was no penalties for that. She received nothing for that," said Candice.

The school sited the handbook, which they feel supports their position on the suspension. It reads in part, "The principal is the final recourse in all disciplinary matters and may waive any and all rules at his/her discretion for just cause."

The parents are considering appealing the judge's decision.

Any thoughts on the controversy?

Cincinnati News, FOX19-WXIX TV

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