You've seen the riots. The chaos on the streets of Charlotte. Earlier this week, a police officer shot and killed Keith Lamont Scott.
HIs death sparked looting, fires and violence in the Queen City. It's hard to avoid these images online and on TV. Which means, kids are seeing the turmoil. As a parent, how do you talk to your kids about the protests?
You explain that a protest is a group of people who come together to take a stand against a social injustice that they don’t agree with. To explain the situation in Charlotte, you might say hundreds of people protested the police shootings of African American men and in particular, Keith Lamont Scott. The ultimate goal of a protest is social change or to stop an injustice. There’s power in numbers.
After seeing videos of Charlotte protests, some kids might wonder if violence goes hand-in-hand with protests. Let your kids know that violence and protests aren’t synonymous. Explain that protesting – taking a stand against something – isn’t the same as violence. Violence, starting fires, robbing stores, shooting people and destroying property are criminal behaviors – against the law. Jailable offenses. There are other ways to make your point and to be heard.
To bring about change, peaceful protests are more effective than violent protests. Violence breeds violence. In an MSNBC interview, Rev. Al Sharpton once said, “To have justice we must act justly” when he talked about Michael Brown, a black teenager who was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.
Share your thoughts with me on Twitter at @blancacobb. Remember to use the hash tag #BlancaOn2. Or, you can find me on my facebook page.
Blanca Cobb is a WFMY News 2 Contributing Editor, body language expert and keynote speaker/trainer who covers nonverbal communication, psychology and behavior. Follow her @blancacobb. The opinions expressed in this article are exclusively hers.
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