Fans and students maced by police for postgame dance

Roosevelt (Utah) Union high school had just lost a close game to rival Uintah High last Thursday, 17-14. Several fans of Tongan descent began performing an ancient war dance called a Haka to lift the spirits of the Roosevelt players. It should be noted that many sports teams on all levels use some version of the Haka as a rallying cry. The Haka is not meant to incite violence nor intimidate. Roosevelt police didn't get the memo. Several students and fans gathered near the field exit where the young men were going to perform. What happened next was nothing short of shameful. Have a look at the video below (email subscribers click here).

This is really disturbing. It took the officers less than ten seconds to decide to spray mace into a crowd of kids who weren't attacking each other or them. Most Hakas take less than 30 seconds to perform and the young men probably would have moved on without incident. Simply asking one of the other kids what was going on would have provided a quick answer to the situation. Officers acted irresponsibly by not only spraying the five or so dancers - but spraying the other students as well.

The incident brings up a question that's long overdue. Why are we afraid of kids? Yes, we are terrified of them. This is why half of us let them do anything they want and the other half would just as soon mace them as look at them. We fear what we do not understand and I submit to you that we do not understand our kids. We don't know the difference between kids dancing to support their team and kids preparing to fight. A few moments talking to a kid would have prevented this. Matter of fact, talking to a kid for a few moments would prevent most things. Until next time...

Be a Good Sport!

-Sol