TAMIR RICE, 12 -- KILLED BY CLEVELAND POLICE

[HairOfTheDog]

Bullshit. I have no idea why people call airsoft guns toys. Nerf guns are toys. Orange laser guns that flash lights are toys. Airsoft guns fire non-lethal projectiles. While created for recreational purposes, they're more sporting equipment than toys. Would I give a kid a fencing sword to go play in the park for 3 hours alone? Hell no, he might hurt himself or others. I can foresee the chain of events that led to this kid getting shot... obviously his mom foresaw possible danger.

I don’t see any bullshit, Cutz.

I can tell you why a pellet gun is sometimes referred to as a toy gun. It’s because pellet guns are used for recreation, as you noted. Kids have been playing with pellet guns for ages. When kids use something for recreational purposes, it’s often referred to as a toy. Tamir was a kid.

I’ve seen and myself referred to the pellet gun as an airsoft, a plastic gun, a toy gun, a fakie, a replica gun, and other terms. None of them are incorrect, IMO. Just like I could call a "pistol" a gun, a weapon, a hand-gun, a semi-automatic (in some cases) and other terms – all of which would be correct. It’s not bullshit nor difficult to understand.

And, last time I checked, you and Samaria Rice weren’t kids. A kid wouldn’t likely be thinking that giving his friend a plastic gun (call it whatever suits your fancy) could result in the friend being shot to death by the police or hurting himself with it.

Anyway, there are no gun control laws associated with pellet guns. So, whoever gave Tamir the gun did not commit any crime. Even if the same person removed the orange tip, that was stupid, but it wasn't a crime (though many wrongly claim it is -- it's against Federal regulations for airsoft manufacturers not to include the orange tip, but not illegal for the consumer/user to remove it).

In any case, I don't disagree that Tamir was irresponsible with the plastic gun in today's environment.

Second, I think you personally would be having the exact same conversation if the shooter was black and the kid was white. You're interested in these types of stories. The media in general, tho, would not give it this kind of attention. Particularly, there'd be way more acceptance that the kid directly contributed to his death through his actions instead of playing it up as an innocent 12 year old. That video of him like throwing a snowball? "Typical kid stuff," says white newscaster obviously portraying the sweet poor black kid gunned down by tyrannical white police officer angle. It's ridiculous.

Well, yeah, as I said “we” would be having this discussion even if Tamir wasn’t black and/or the officers weren’t white. Mock isn’t a media site and we’ve discussed the shooting of non-black kids here before. There’s no disputing my statement.

IMO, it’s highly likely that the media would cover Tamir’s killing even if he weren’t black and/or the officers weren’t white. A child (or adult) being shot to death by police when packing only a plastic gun is gonna make the news, in my experience.

I disagree with your contention that a non-black child with a plastic gun being shot by police within seconds of approach would be presumed any more or less responsible for his own death than a black one. It’s been about the same in the case of Andy Lopez; some blame the training officer and the rookie cop, some blame the kid, some blame the manufacturer, some blame the parents, some don’t blame anyone…

Now, if you’re suggesting that Tamir’s case wouldn’t be getting so much media coverage and attention from a large audience were he not black and the cops not white, I think you’re right. I think Tamir’s case is getting more national coverage than I'd have expected in the past because of Tamir’s killing being in such close proximity to other high-profile stories of young black males across the country being killed by police officers and the resulting protest movement.

You use the word "ridiculous" liberally, IMO. It wasn't ridiculous when many people (including investigators) questioned why the 911 dispatcher omitted some information from first responders, IMO, even though you claimed it was. And, it's not ridiculous, IMO, to look at a 12-year-old boy walking around in the park, waving a plastic gun, throwing snowballs, and talking on the phone and consider it "typical kid stuff". It might not be typical in your experience, but it's pretty typical in mine and some others'. I can see it being subjective.

Here's what's not subjective -- before the surveillance video was revealed, the officers or their reps pushed a story to the media that Tamir was with a group of people and that he picked up the gun and put it in his waistband when the officers approached him. Why do you think they would lie like that if they felt confident that Tamir's irresponsible childish actions made him responsible for his own death and that they had responded appropriately?