Stay Classy, South Carolina

Why am I not surprised that the latest viral video of wrongdoing by law enforcement comes courtesy of South Carolina? I've said it before, and I'll say it again: South Carolina has issues. My brief time in the state left me with a sour taste in my mouth that resurfaces from time to time when I see some nonsense like the latest video showing the law enforcement officer pulling a female student out of her seat and throwing her to the floor. If that girl had been white and blonde rather than black and not blonde, you know damn well she would not have been treated the way she was. I am not against child discipline. I grew up getting spanked and back in the old days when I went to school, teachers used to hit kids with paddles. (Detroit Public Schools in the 1970s and 80s.) I know some kids are just awful: bad attitude, back talking, and general ugliness. Still, grown folks (grown men and law enforcement, in particular) shouldn't be assaulting teenagers in school. There are other ways to handle disciplinary problems with high school students. Now the school is claiming the student hit the officer. I'd hit that joker too if he put his hands on me like that! The head of the FBI is claiming police officers are slow to react or non-responsive to criminal calls because they're afraid of being caught on video. Hey, I've got news for you, FBI guy, viral videos aren't going away. They're on pretty much every cell phone now and officers just need to expect to be filmed when they're on the job (or off). That's just the reality.