WATCH ABOVE: A video of mother disciplining her son allegedly involved in Baltimore riots has gone viral. The “mother of the year” has received both praise and criticism for her actions. Mark Carcasole reports.
As the sun rose over Baltimore Tuesday morning, the damage left behind after a night of destructive civil disorder was readily apparent.
The violence erupted during protests aimed at condemning the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray in Baltimore Police custody.
Grey was arrested on April 12 for possesion of a knife. A week later, he was dead due to a severe spinal injury. The questions around it remain unanswered. Six officers are suspended with pay pending an investigation.
READ MORE: National Guard takes up positions in Baltimore following widespread rioting
During Monday night’s unrest several Baltimore stores were looted and cars and buildings were burned down.
The night’s events were captured in hours of video not only by media outlets, but by civilians posting clips and photos on social media.
One of the images that has stood out the most is that of a loud, angry woman clad in a yellow shirt, smacking and pulling at a hooded protester wearing all black.
According to reports, the woman, nicknamed by some online as “Mom of the Year,” had just caught her son allegedly engaged in destructive behaviour. She can be heard repeatedly yelling expletives at him while slapping him in the face as he tries to get away.
Her actions have garnered a lot of reaction online.
“She is truly a phenomenal mother” writes a viewer on one of several YouTube pages displaying the video.
“Parenting done right. Way to go, Mom!” says another.
Even Baltimore’s Police Commissioner gave her a nod Monday night.
“She started smacking him on the head because she was so embarrassed,” said Anthony Batts. “I wish we had more parents that took charge of their kids out there tonight.”
But not everyone is so sure beating the snot out of a teenager is the right way to teach them a lesson.
“If that kind of embarrassment prevents him from doing something like that again, that’s great,” says Toronto psychologist Dr. Oren Amitay.
But he doesn’t condone the violent approach.
“If, however, he just gets really angry at that and just decides he’s going to take that anger out on others when his mother’s not around, unfortunately, it’s going to have the opposite effect.”
Toronto-based community activist Andray Domise sees the entire scenario differently.
“When you look at the history of Baltimore and the brutality of police, she knows that he could be dead, just as dead as Freddie Gray was a few days ago,” says Domise.
A 2014 Baltimore Sun report titled “Undue Force” says that the BPD has paid close to $6 million in settlements and court judgments related to brutality and civil rights violations since 2011.
So with that in mind, Domise says he is not sure the woman is disciplining her son so much as protecting him.
“It sounds to me like she was terrified for her son’s life.”
As funny and emotional as the video may be, activists hope it doesn’t distract from the issues at hand.
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