Today I'm in a school that's having a police appreciation parade. Meaning the students lined up in the hallway to cheer while local police officers walked through the building. Each class presented something to them. Some presented individual cards or crafts, some presented one thing from the whole class.
The class I'm on presented one card from the whole class. The 2 students that were chosen to present it are 2 black boys. Initially I felt some kind of way about that. Given the current climate between cops and black people. I wasn't sure if I was overreacting or if there was an agenda there. Like trying to get a photo op of black kids with police officers. I thought about choosing different kids for that reason.
Later I realized those 2 were chosen because they're the helpers for today. So for a second I relaxed but then I was like... Well what if they were chosen as the helpers FOR that purpose?
I didn't want to take it away from them because it's their job for the day and they don't understand my thought process and I didn't want to make that their problem but like... Should I have chosen different students?
Did I Fuck Up?
You didn't do anything wrong. However i do feel like the school planned that shit and chose to use those boys as props, and that to me is disgusting. I don't find fault with you as you were trying to asses the situation but i sincerely doubt the school wasn't aware of what they were doing
I don't know that it was orchestrated that way but if it was that's wrong and shame on them. I think the idea is nice to bring the police into the school to help narrow the divide that Currently exists in the community. It is a long shot but it does start at the foundation and building relationships with the community so that the police can serve and protect the community. It may help the police and the community to bond and not be looked at as a statistic and just another number. But if the school did plan it this way so that those students could present the gifts so that they could have photo opportunities that's a damn shame and if I was the parent I'd be causing a scene but I hope that's not the case.