Remember that disturbing video just over a week ago featuring two Missouri girls getting into a fight? The one where the girl, whose name turned out to be Kaylee Gain, had her head slammed against the concrete several times?
Yes, it was disturbing to watch, and yes, the girl who did it is facing charges for such a wanton act of violence.
According to the anonymous perpetrator's family, however, she was the victim here because she was being "harassed and bullied," according to the New York Post.
The girl's family highlighted her academic and extracurricular achievements, such as playing violin, being a polyglot who speaks four languages, being on the volleyball team, and getting into Advanced Placement (AP) classes.
As a result, they started a GoFundMe to raise $150,000 for their girl's legal defense and are asking Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey not to have her tried as an adult after an initial drive was shut down for having "said the teen was 'unfairly' painted as a bully and that she is the victim 'in a complicated situation," according to the Daily Mail.
The girl's family also claimed to have received death threats and been subject to doxxing attempts to make her name public while they are saying, "the focus should be to pray for the healing and reconciliation of both parties, as this truly was a teenage fight that should’ve never happened to begin with, but did and spun completely out of control."
I am aware of how ludicrous it may sound for what appears to be an open-and-shut case of severe violence that the family has no right to argue against, but I do not blame this girl's family for what it is doing. I understand exactly why it is doing it and would probably do the same if I were in their shoes.
But at the same time, they also claim that the girl "was merely defending herself under intense and flight vs fight circumstances." Looking at the video, victim Kaylee Gain does appear to have started the fight, but it stopped being a fight when the girl slammed Gain's head into the concrete several times.
As of Monday, Gain, who suffered a fractured skull, brain swelling, and bleeding, has still not regained consciousness. Still, Gain's family said through its lawyer Bryan Kaemmerer, "Although the family would like justice to eventually be served through the legal system, their focus at this time is dedicated exclusively to Kaylee’s recovery."
I am right there with them in that regard, and I hope Kaylee regains consciousness and recovers. That would be my main priority right now too.
Still, as my friend Lincoln Brown said, imagine if the races were reversed: "There would be marches, vigils, boycotts, and who knows what else. Joy Reid, Ibram X Kendi, Robin DiAngelo, every member of the media, and most of academia would light up the airwaves with choruses about the evils of whiteness and white privilege, white tears, white rage, white violence, etc."
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I am willing to wait and hear all of the facts about this tragic event before making further judgment, but I will ask you this: If you were this girl's family, would you not do the same for her? If you were Gain's family, would you not want to make sure your girl is conscious again before wanting to see justice served?
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