Here's What People Are Saying About The McKinney, Texas, Pool Party Video [NPR.org]

The video of a McKinney, Texas, police officer slamming a 15-year-old black girl to the ground and pointing his gun at unarmed teen boys has, unsurprisingly, elicited strong reactions. Here are a few that might help you make sense of this incident.

Kirsten West Savali at The Root comments on gender dynamics at play in the video:

"Yes, it was painful to watch the boys restrained in handcuffs ... Still, it is the young girl, forced by her hair to the ground as she screamed for her mother, that chilled me the most. It's the pleasure the white officer seemed to take from exerting power over her black body — as adult men, both black and white, stood by and did nothing — that enraged me."

Stephen W. Thrasher at The Guardian also expressed feelings along these lines:

"The video made me cry because it showed me how black children are not allowed to play. How they're not allowed to just be fucking kids. How their play becomes criminalized and how they're socialized to become black adults who internalize that their very breathing selves are criminal."