Mom of the year? Baltimore woman isn't a hero to all { Watch Video of Single Mother of Six Kids & Weave } (1560 hits)

 Marisol Bello, USA TODAY4:48 p.m. EDT April 29, 2015

Baltimore mom Toya Graham has been hailed as mother of the year after she was caught on video smacking her 16-year-old son when she found him participating in rioting that gripped the city.

Now, the single mother of six children is facing some backlash on social media for beating her son in such a public manner.

"Hypocrisy of the law, she should be arrested for assault, battery and child abuse," said one tweet by a user identified as @cotrial.

Others questioned why anyone would condone or celebrate her actions.

"Tired of hearing about this Baltimore 'Mom of the Year,' " said a tweet under the handle @DaAnGrYASiAN. "If she raised her son better, she wouldn't have needed to do that."

Brandon Hartzell, 27, a golfer, questioned on Twitter the hypocrisy of praising Graham for hitting her son while admonishing football player Adrian Peterson, who faced criminal abuse charges for disciplining his son with a switch.

"We accused one person and praised another for the same action," he said. "It's so hypocritical."

Graham told CBS News that she was only concerned about protecting her son when she saw him Monday throwing rocks during violent protests during which buildings were burned, stores looted and more than 20 officers injured.

The riots erupted Monday afternoon after the funeral for Freddie Gray, who died April 19, a week after he was arrested and suffered a severe spinal injury while in police custody.

An investigation into Gray's death is ongoing. Baltimore's police commissioner plans to present a report on the case to prosecutors Friday. The Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation.

The city was mostly calm again Tuesday night as police and National Guard troops blanketed Baltimore and a curfew took effect.

But not before Graham became a media sensation.

"He gave me eye contact. And at that point, you know, not even thinking about cameras or anything like that -- that's my only son and at the end of the day I don't want him to be a Freddie Gray," Graham said.

Graham told CBS News she spotted her son Michael wearing a hoodie and mask amid the protesters.

"At that point, I just lost it," said Graham. "I was shocked, I was angry, because you never want to see your child out there doing that."

Many on social media continued to praise her, saying she should be the rule for responsible parenting, not the exception.

 

"#Baltimore 'protesters'! You are losing! Winning? Brave men who stood to protect the community and the mom who took her son off the street," said one tweet by a user identified as @randalladams.

Posted By: Yaiqab Saint
Wednesday, April 29th 2015 at 10:50PM
You can also click here to view all posts by this author...