Dear Mr. Zimmerman, My Son Wears Hoodies and Carries Candies and So Do Some of His Friends

angry boy

I’m putting the alert out now. My son is fourteen-years-old. He is the tallest kid on his football team. He is built stronger and leaner than most men, let alone teenagers. He works out. He walks from the house to the store and from the store to the house. He sometimes wears hoodies and carries candy. He has been known to eat Skittles. He has a kind face but if you met his silhouette in a dark alley, you’d probably piss your pants. He can be a smart alec, at times. He is mindful, respectful, helpful. He is a kind boy. And he is capable of getting into normal boy trouble. And I am putting the word out now, for any gun wielding neighborhood watchmen, be it in Sanford, Florida or elsewhere, if you hurt my son or any of his friends of any ethnicity, size, shape, fashion sense, age, smart ass attitude, candy proclivities, I don’t care if he or they were mouthing off to you or putting you on your ass after you got in their face and/or waved a gun, if you hurt him or them, I will find you and I will put you on your ass, myself. Be warned. If you think a hoodie wearing, candy carrying boy is criminal, you will not be able to conceive of his mother.

Best make a call, let those boys go on their way. If they are getting into trouble, let the police deal with it. Or their mothers. Trust me, we know how. No gun-wielding, racist, psycho bullies required. Okay? Great. Glad we got that out of the way.

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Eckleburg is a print and online literary journal that offers original fiction, poetry, essays, music, art, writing workshops and more.

4 Replies to “Dear Mr. Zimmerman, My Son Wears Hoodies and Carries Candies and So Do Some of His Friends”

  1. Wow. This is so powerful. Thank you for writing this. And thank you for writing this sentence in particular: “If you think a hoodie wearing, candy carrying boy is criminal, you will not be able to conceive of his mother.”

  2. Just a perfect little mouthful to spit back in the face of injustice. I want to post this on my FB wall but I’ve already been wrangling for a day and a half. Yes, thank you for writing this, and the photo is priceless.

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