A McKinney Lesson?

There was a bit of a contretemps in McKinney, Texas recently when a group of black teenagers crashed a pool party and police were called after fighting broke out ... resulting in another cell-phone video that purports to show police brutality against minorities ... see: Breitbart News Story.

This incident reminds me of an experience that I had in my distant past that might offer a lesson to these put-upon teens in McKinney:

In the late 1950's I was getting a ride home from college for Christmas vacation with a few classmates when we were pulled over in Vermont for speeding. The policeman directed us to a nearby justice-of-the-peace where the driver was summarily found guilty and fined $50 (a lot of money in those days.) During this proceeding we were acting like a bunch of teenage wisenheimers ... faking our ability to raise this money ... and behaving like stupid teenagers. This was annoying the judge and the policeman ... much more than I was able to decipher.

After we had paid the fine and were leaving the judge's chamber, I placed my hand on the policeman's shoulder and tried to smooth things over by saying, "Merry Christmas anyway." To my shock, this gendarme turned on me, grabbing me by the shoulders and threw me against the wall, saying that I was under arrest for assault. It took about 30 seconds before, even after my plea for leniency since these event was right in front of the judge, I was fined another $50. Fortunately we were even able to raise this additional amount and were then on our way ... a much wiser bunch of callowed youths.

I am white by the way, yet I still wonder if these black McKinney teens will learn a similar life-lesson? Probably not ... since all the rabid race-baiters around our country are coming to the defense of these doofuses. Instead of humility, they probably will be encouraged toward even more hubris.