Also some speculation that the HPD officers were likely black too. Racism is institutionalized in police departments.

that don't wear badges. Oh, and don't forget the milk delivery.

Who lets a 13-year old go on a trip like that without supervision?

Or do they not count, for some reason?

My point exactly.

And don't come at me with any of this racism bullshit, implied or otherwise. My attitude about a 13-year-old girl on an unsupervised road trip with a couple of boys not much older than her has nothing to do with anybody's race.

When I was 12, my parents let me ride home cross-country with my older sister (17) and her two best friends rather than themselves after a family reunion.

(Insert distinction without a difference here...)

One of them graduated H.S. in 2009 so that should put him at 21 or 22. Does that meet your approval?

Edit: Facebook page for verification

https://www.facebook.com/josiahaxiom/about

There is no age or race of men that would meet my approval for taking a 13-year-old girl on a trip like that other than a family member or very long-term trusted friend, and not taking her to a hiphop dance party.

I guess that makes me a prude.

What I would consider as a parent of a girl that age would be a school-administered function where there would be many students together with sufficient chaperones. If the girl was a serious dance student, then I'd have her enrolled in a real dance school, not running around the country with a couple of guys. And you can bet I would check the references and insurance of that school before I ever let her travel alone with them.

"I guess that makes me a prude .."

That's one of many ways to rationalize it.

because they would have assumed they were related.

They may have found the combination of age, race, demeanor, and activities something that attracted attention.

The girl is in protection. I hope that somebody looks into her family situation before returning her to her mother.

"The girl is in protection." - From what exactly?
"I hope that somebody looks into her family situation before returning her to her mother." - Why exactly?

The girl is 13 freaking years old. She isn't an adult.

Or is it just male chaperones = neglect?

Has nothing to do with their race. I will stipulate that if they all were of the same overall appearance, the cops might have assumed they were siblings and left them alone.

But yes. It is shockingly bad parenting, in my opinion.

So it is not that they are black, it is simply that they are male. So, leaving your daughter in the hands of a 29 year old male is shockingly bad parenting. Opinions like yours are why male teachers are disappearing from from elementary and middle schools.

I run a non-profit that organizes adult mentors working with kids just like that 13-year old. We do this every week. First, with regard to all the racial slurs shot my way, this group is a melting pot of all races. More than half the students are African-Americans and Hispanics, because we try to help the lowest income neighborhoods. But we don't do anything different based on the races of the students or the mentors. It simply isn't an issue. So if anybody wants to imply otherwise about me, they can go fuck themselves.

Now let's talk about reality. A legitimate operation will be fully bonded, will have a physical liability policy of at least a half million bucks. And most importantly, any legitimate organization that pairs adults with young children outside the presence of their parents will carry PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT insurance. It is damned expensive, let me tell you, and we don't even do road trips like this one. And in maintaining this policy, the insured is required to periodically show that they have clearly documented and consistently followed procedures that protect the students under their care. For example, our procedures never permit any adult to be alone with any student -- EVER. Students are always within plain view of at least two adults. There are no closed doors in any of our sessions, other than the perimeter of the building. Parents are invited to participate in every session. etc. etc. etc. That is what is expected of legitimate businesses teaching young children.

So if somebody can show me that the two guys who took this young girl on the road trip are associated with a school or business that carries a professional conduct policy such as I have described, which covers activities like this road trip, then I will take back every word of what I said and admit that I completely misjudged the situation.

I have not shot one racial slur at you whatsoever, I asked questions. I'm so glad that you are not racist, otherwise I doubt you would be talking to me.

Here is where I have an issue. You don't like the fact that her chaperones were men. You have stated it with some very strong words across several posts.

You so far have said the following:
"There is no age or race of men that would meet my approval for taking a 13-year-old girl on a trip like that"
"The girl is in protection. I hope that somebody looks into her family situation before returning her to her mother." - I'm not calling you a racist by any stretch. However, by your own words, the fact that they were men is a problem. In your first comment, you state that ALL men are a problem and would not meet your approval. In your second comment you stated that she needed to be in protection, from both her chaperones and her family, because she was taking a trip with two male instructors. When asked what she needed to be protected from, you stated "Neglect". Then you further went on to state that having two male chaperones is "Shockingly bad parenting".

So to summarize your own words, no male should ever be a chaperone at all. Because it would be shockingly bad parenting, even so much as to state that it would be a case of neglect, worthy of taking the child into state custody, while the parents are investigated by the state.

I stand by my words: Opinions like yours are why male teachers are disappearing from from elementary and middle schools.

With regard to the concerns that parents should have. Statistically speaking, most abuses of young girls are by men. But I wouldn't be that much happier if the 20 and 28 year old (or whatever the ages are) were women or a man and a woman unless they were part of the kind of professionally managed school I described and carried the protections I described.

But that is me -- and being n the business of mentoring students, I may be cautious to a fault. The original objection was the police action. I think it is fair to say that the visual profile of this particular trio, in that setting, at that hour was something that reasonably could bear investigating. Cuffing seems way over the top if the young men had a letter that could be verified, but I don't know if there is more to the story that resulted in the cuffing. I did watch the video, read the entire Kos article and tried to follow the link to original reporting, but that didn't work.

Regarding male teachers disappearing from schools, I have not noticed that in my community. I am in public schools several times a week and I see plenty of male faculty. In my own personal knowledge (not a scientific sample), I can only think of two cases in the past 5 years where a man left the profession other than for retirement or health reasons and one of them had been shot by a student, so I really can't blame him for wanting a change. And offhand, I can think of 40 male teachers I know pretty well who have been with the district for 10 years or more.

I certainly agree with the point that it is important to have good male role models in the teaching profession.

They're all just a hair-trigger pull away from fucking any underage girls in the general vicinity, right?

Because that's what your post comes off as suggesting, and frankly I find it disgusting.

And if you're seriously concerned about your daughter being molested, you do realize that most rapes and molestations are done by family members and/or close family friends, right?

was put into handcuffs and arrested.

interesting that the only concern is for the white girl.

Did the black guys deserve it or something?

There isn't anything too unusual about of couple of 20-year-old boys taking a road trip on their own. I don't know why they were treated roughly. Perhaps the cops acted badly, or perhaps the boys came across with an attitude. Perhaps the cops felt it might be an "Amber alert" situation and they proceeded with an abundance of caution.

Obviously the trio did something to attract some attention or else the cops wouldn't have been called in the first place.

This whole underlying tone that it is only black people who get hassled by the cops is really disgusting, or at least ignorant. I've been hassled more than a few times by cops in situations when I didn't think that was warranted. And if I had reacted with an attitude, I have no doubt I would have been in cuffs too. On a couple of occasions, they have said exactly that to me.

Maybe being two Black males with a White female...might have been the tip off? Could they not have just sat there and just by the race issue they considered them a problem. The article clearly states they were at a gas station and tired wanting to find a place to crash for the night. The girl was sleeping in the back seat and the two boys were looking at their gps at a gas station. This is Oklahoma and not to generalize...but I don't give much hope to some of these Southern States as being very open minded. Gas station could have just called when they saw that combination. Anyway this is a law suit.

Actually as a point of reference. No one says only Black people get hassled by the cops. Obviously based on the article that is not the case since they arrested the 13 year old White girl. The problem is that Black people do get hassled MORE than any other race by the cops and you can't deny that. The justice system doesn't really work in our favor, just saying.

Therefore if people assume there must be a race issue involved...it's with good historical reference...like I don't know going as far back as 15 minutes ago where I am sure a Black or Hispanic kid just got stopped and frisked. You can put your heart shaped glasses on and give them the benefit of the doubt. But the way this story is jiving...I see some racial profiling going on.

Further more, many people here had a lot of reason to wonder why there doesn't seem to be much concern to what happened to the boys. All this is from the background of the girl.

The reason I wonder if there is more to the story is that it appears somebody called the cops. That tells me they were around there for a fair amount of time or else the cops in that area are a whole lot faster than they are in my city. It is possible that a "good citizen" just looking out for the public good, just happened to notice the girl sleeping in the car and found that, by itself, so strange that he or she put in a 911 call. I won't deny that there are people that are so tripped out racially that they might do that. But it really seems pretty much of a stretch, even for Oklahoma.

That's why I assume there was a bit more than the reporting disclosed, especially considering that the whole premise for the story was that the completely innocent kids were unfairly targeted by completely insane cops. My guess is the truth is somewhere in the middle.

The story didn't indicate any serious mistreatment, other than the wrongful arrest in the first place. I'm glad for that.

Again, this is not in written with the perspective of the boys in mind. The girl's mother was the one interviewed and it focused on the fact a 13 year old was handcuffed. My issue is that if there is such a concerned citizen, would they have done the same thing if everyone there was White and would they have done the same thing if everyone there was Black...would they have done the same thing if everyone there was female. From what I can see, and I will say I am cynical. They would most likely not have done such a case. And if the people were there for such a long time because so they could be arrested, it supports the fact that the boys were looking on their GPS for a suitable location to stay the night. Therefore they felt they had done nothing wrong and nothing criminal. So whoever called profiled them as criminals in order to call the police and the police also committed a crime by arresting them when there was no reason too.

and were otherwise doing nothing to attract attention, I think most people would assume they were siblings.

It is "racial", but not necessarily "racist" that this raised attention.

Many of my cousins could "pass" if they wanted too. Hence the racial profiling. What if it turns out that that girl was related to them? The point is...the police nor the idiots that called new otherwise but assume it to be the case.

Or did you just stop at the part: "white girl, two black instructors?"

They were going to take dance classes with industry professionals, not as you put it "taking her to a hiphop dance party".

What would you consider to be a "real" dance school?

Would it be one that instructs in the following: Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Tumbling, Gymnastics, Aerobatics, and HipHop?
Would it be one that has instructors that have choreographed Discoveryland!’s award-winning productions of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s OKLAHOMA, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Who have coached several Broadway dancers? Those who have studied at The Broadway Dance Center, and Steps in New York City. Folks who are NCA Dance All-American nominees and a two time NCA Dance All-Americans? Those who have performed and choreographed Broadway shows?

'Cause that's the school that girl was enrolled in.

Let's take a peak at her instructor: He joined his first dance team when he was 15. He has traveled the country with different dance teams and became an official dance instructor at the age of 20, co-instructing Union High Schools Hip Hop team… sending them to receive 2nd runner up in Nationals for 2005-2006. He has also attended classes at the New York Broadway Dance Center in NY. Emmanuel has danced & work-shopped with dancers like Twitch from “So You Think You Can Dance” & Step Up 3, Tucker Barkley, Leslie Scott with Millennium Dance in L.A, Shane Sparks and more. He has done his own workshops with Pandora from Step Up 3, and world-wide known Di “Moon” Zhang from Marvelous Motion.

He sounds like a qualified professional to me.

Hiphop is dance. It is art. It takes a real athlete to perform it well. It is not an art that should be held lower than other forms of dance.

It makes you a bigot.

Yeah, not so sure about prude but it does make you something else imo.

As though Hip Hop dance can be only associated with something dirty and not a legitimate form of dance and self expression.

try to do some 'performance art/dance'...some here pretend that anyone can do it. I think most forget how incredibly in shape you have to be to professionally dance OR they have no clue as to what they are talking about and should simmer down.

She had spent the weekend training with some of the best dancers in the industry. She was not taken "to a hiphop dance party."

It was late, after a full weekend of training. They stopped to look at the GPS to figure out where they were going, and were surrounded by police. They were doing nothing but looking at a GPS. That and existing while black and having a white girl with them.

And they weren't "running around the country." They went to an adjacent state.

How do you know she didn't check references and insurance of the chaperones she had?

Get it!? WINK WINK. The doubling down by said poster is getting interesting...

of black men being likely to rape any white young woman they're around. It's ugly to see it here.

nt.

Perpetuating an idea doesn't mean your a racist. Just means your ignorant as all fuck or have a poor choice of words. Because sorry to say, after reading the comments by that poster I took a step back because the racialized comments were hitting hard.

And, just playing the odds there from my experience, probably pretty safe to leave a teenage girl with...

Nice. What could possibly go wrong now?

Add in passing out in the car at a gas station and it adds some validity to the authorities concern.

Let's not forget that.

Get it!? WINK.

nt.

Try to keep your eye on the ball here...

Is that so wrong? And by the way, did you read the rest of the Goddamned thing on Kos?

"The dance instructors had notarized document detailing that they were the young girl’s guardian. What else were they expected to do to ensure they would not be treated like common criminals but the productive human beings they are?"

They had fucking notarized documents for God's sake. The mother obviously thought highly of them and trusted them with her daughter. Instead these idiot pigs arrest all three because they just don't understand how a white girl can be with two scary black men.

Clearly we have a split of authority on this...

and she doesn't have to meet your unreasonable requirement that younger men are by definition unsafe chaperones. She gets to decide who is a reasonable chaperone. Since she knew the chaperones, she was in the best position to determine how trustworthy they are.

Nothing like a bunch of trained racists.

Therefore I won't call him/her racist without evidence of what he/she would have done had the instructors belonged to a different racial group than African American.

black.

he didn't say 2 guys. he dind't say 2 older guys . he said BLACK .