Did the soldiers who killed numerous Vietnamese civilians, including women and children, at My Lai care that they were killing kids? No. Do cops who kill Black, Latino, and Indigenous youth care that they killed kids? No. Do the people who randomly target South Asian, West Asian, Sikh, Muslim, and Hindu youth care that they killed kids? No. Do the US soldiers who bomb villages in Iraq and Afghanistan care that they’ve killed kids? No.
So why is it that we can’t criticize the mostly white Parkland students for their frankly ludicrous and regressive manifesto? Because “they’re just kids”? So only white children get to be “just kids”, excused for their immaturity and ignorance? So only white children get to be praised for their seeming “bravery” in “standing up for themselves”, when Black, Latino, Indigenous, and Asian youth have had to stand up for themselves and fight back long before movements like Parkland gained ground?
This reveals the component of white supremacy known as white fragility. White children get to be children for as long as they remain young, but children of color (particularly Black, Latino, and Indigenous youth) have to grow up too fast, and must get used to people treating them unfairly as adults. We see that in the disproportionate incarceration of Black and Latino youths in the juvenile system as opposed to white youths, for instance. We see that in how students of color are routinely villainized by faculty and administration, while white students get away with bullying, rule-breaking, and vicious behavior.
In this case, too, not a single person of color can criticize the mostly white Parkland students because those students are “just kids”. Because at the end of the day, thanks to the nature of white fragility, white children will always be treated more humanely, while children of color are held to impossible and unfair standards of conduct.
carlyyo