*I had to wait a few days to post this because I try not to talk when I’m angry.*
I've only been back in the States for a little over 24 hours and already dealing with a #NeighborhoodKevin.
If you’re a parent (or Aunt, Uncle, Grandpa, Nan) then you know how hard it is to get kids to go outside and play. They have all sorts of electronic distractions to keep them inside- so any outdoor activity is celebrated.
Well this “Kevin” decided that kids playing hide and seek outside was too much of a threat to his existence and called the cops on the neighborhood children two days ago. The cops came and left because… well I don’t know - there is REAL CRIME happening out there. However, they did talk to the children (without the parents present which is very problematic)- but I can only do one thing at a time in this post.
Yesterday, one of our neighbor’s sons was riding his go kart outside along with the other boys on their bikes and scooters (it does not have a car engine- it’s electronic). Again “Kevin” became infuriated at this particular child enjoying his life and decided to come outside again to yell at the kids and threatened to call the cops once more.
At this point my nephew came and got my sister and we (myself, my partner, our next door neighbor and another mom down the street) all walked over to his house to talk to “Kevin” to try to understand what the issue was for today. In total 4 moms, 2 concerned aunties and three other children who were originally inside (because well, it’s hard to get kids to go outside ).
When we asked Kevin what happened and why wouldn’t he alert the parents instead of yelling at the kids and involving law enforcement (which we know can immediately turn deadly- especially with a mixed group of kids- namely black children)- if he was so concerned? “Kevin” said that the go kart should not be on the street because the street is for actual cars.
Kevin did not have an answer for why he didn’t alert the parents first. So, I asked “Karen” (Kevin’s wife) if she thought it was a good idea for husband to behave this way and she said that she didn’t have an answer because she didn’t “have all the facts”.
Well here we are- I have the facts:
Dear Kevin (and Clueless Karen)- this street is not yours- you do NOT own it or the people in this neighborhood.
You are not the law- or judge and jury.
While you may have a misinformed hero complex, you are indeed the villain in this fake scenario in your mind.
We pay the same taxes you pay and unless someone is in YOUR YARD or doing illegal harmful acts of danger in your presence to harm this community or the people in it, SHUT THE ENTIRE FUCK UP!!!! Calling the cops when black children are around is a death sentence and you know what you’re doing.
NO ONE OWES you anything!
You are NOT the center of the universe!
I DON'T care if you feel like America is not yours anymore- IT WAS NEVER YOURS to start with.
Get over yourself OR DIE TRYING!
I’m so tired of the “white man’s burden” and your fragile ego and you getting off on yelling at neighborhood moms because no one is taking your bullshit anymore.
And I’m not even going to pull the race card here- although I could - but the kid on the go kart does not look like my nephews. HOWEVER, “Kevin” looks exactly how you think he would…
“Kevin” fits the description- old angry white male, former Marine and ex-Police Officer who has nothing better to do than sit in his window and scowl at any type of joy that anyone else is having.
Kevin believes that the entire world is against him. He’s so stuck in 1965 that he doesn’t even care to meet the neighbors and concerned parents who came all the way to his home to introduce themselves and to give him several outs (and support) if the kids were in fact misbehaving. (WHICH THEY WEREN'T) He didn’t even apologize or ADMIT that no real crime was happening. He was on a power trip
And before any of you “both sides to every story” folks try to come in my comments. My sister called the police herself and waited for them- she asked about the go kart- and the cop said there was absolutely nothing wrong with the go kart being on the street- it does not have an engine-electric powered- so it’s considered a toy. Since the kid was in the street (public property) and not in “Kevin’s”yard- again there was no issue. (Also, as my partner had to point out to “Kevin”, we live in a residential neighborhood- not on a highway or busy Main Street- so no one should be doing 70-80 mph where they can’t stop in time enough for a kid playing in the street.) No one should be going above 25mph in our neighborhood giving folks plenty of time to stop and be aware. And our neighborhood stops signs are well positioned for caution.
The KICKER is the kid on the go kart lives ACROSS THE STREET from “Kevin” and “Karen”. They are so far up their own asses, that they didn’t think to knock on the FUCKING DOOR and just talk to the parents!!!
Also there needs to be laws set in place for white people weaponizing the police. We know that law enforcement has more empathy and patience when the person they are interacting with looks like them- so the margin for error is raised significantly higher when white cops are called and black boys are present. This is a death threat and I do not take this lightly. EVEN IF THE BLACK BOYS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT! (Again this wasn’t my nephews’ go kart and he wasn’t riding it.)
If there is no crime happening, you should not be calling police. Call 311 or a mental health hotline.
I’m so tired of the Kevin’s and Karen’s of the world making it harder for everyone else who does not want to relive 1968 with them! We live in a mixed neighborhood and the boys are making friends- (a lot of which don’t look like them)! It sucks because everyone is happy except unhappy people. I could tell one of the moms was so confused about what was happening because she hadn’t experience anything like that before- she just thanked us for talking to him.
Kevins and Karens of the world you either LEAVE or get in the fuck line with this new kumbaya, b!tch!
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