A Human Light

[Lowdark 5613]

I thought long and hard about posting something here but decided I needed a forum outside of places like FB and Twitter where everything just turns into white noise. By now, everyone is aware of the story of Amanda Todd, the young girl in Vancouver who committed suicide to escape bullying. And here in Ottawa, we just observed the one year anniversary (what a wretched word for such a sombre occasion) of Jamie Hubley's death, a young boy who suffered such relentless bullying that he too chose to take his own life. There are countless more stories and they seem to pile up with every passing day. And the callous and the cowardly crawl out of the woodwork, mocking these children even in death. I don't wish to rehash what caused these children such pain that death was the only solace they could find, and I am not a religious person by any stretch of the imagination, but I think most of us should offer a prayer to who or whatever you believe in for these lost souls and for the families left behind. Thanks for indulging me.

[CristyCurves 169032]

They are at peace now, I can only imagine the pain their families are feeling. How kind hearted of you to remember them. I do hope they pass a law to make it illegal for cowards to pick on others via the internet. It happens far to often.

[Kubrickfan 12836]

I thought long and hard about posting something here but decided I needed a forum outside of places like FB and Twitter where everything just turns into white noise. By now, everyone is aware of the story of Amanda Todd, the young girl in Vancouver who committed suicide to escape bullying. And here in Ottawa, we just observed the one year anniversary (what a wretched word for such a sombre occasion) of Jamie Hubley's death, a young boy who suffered such relentless bullying that he too chose to take his own life. There are countless more stories and they seem to pile up with every passing day. And the callous and the cowardly crawl out of the woodwork, mocking these children even in death. I don't wish to rehash what caused these children such pain that death was the only solace they could find, and I am not a religious person by any stretch of the imagination, but I think most of us should offer a prayer to who or whatever you believe in for these lost souls and for the families left behind. Thanks for indulging me.

 

Amen.

 

If the "average" bully, or someone who goes along with the bullying, would ever spend a day walking in the shoes of someone who is bullied, I think a lot of attitudes would change quickly.

[Guest *ig*a**]

I think some bullies are created by other bullies this situation needs to be addressed and quickley. Laws need to be passed and help has to be given not only to the victims but also the bullies.

[oldblueeyez 15475]

The hacker group Anonymous is claiming to have identified the bully. The fact that she was taking antidepressants didn't help, as it's a known fact that they increase suicidal tendencies in teenagers. Friggin' society doesn't help much either; with seemingly everybody and their dog getting famous by posting sex tapes or flashing themselves, what do we expect our children to do when asked to flash? And teens are just too damn wired, or should I say 'wirelessed'; their whole lives revolve around texting, Facebook, and all that crap; it seems nothing is more important to them. Imagine the peer pressure we experienced decades ago hypermultiplied countless times by today's instantaneous and omnipresent technology. Back in the day, a nicely placed punch stopped my tormentor, but how do you punch back in the digital ether? Also, the internet makes it too easy to learn how to effectively commit suicide.

 

It's a terrible tragedy and while I'd like to say, "I hope he's brought to justice," what justice will he really get in Canada? A few years at the most maybe, if there's even anything they can charge him with that'll stick. Sometimes I yearn for the days when criminals were hanged on display at the entrance to Halifax harbour. Sometimes.

 

Overall, I'm a father and this scares the shit out of me.

[scribbles 6031]

I think suicide is terrible, and nothing will ever make it less so. However, I also think perspective needs to be taken even in the middle of what is clearly an incredibly emotionally charged situation and set of circumstances. We all need to remember accountability: society, and our part in it, in creating an environment where the belittling and degradation of others is an increasingly popular means of making yourself look stronger; the bullies, for knocking someone down to mask their own insecurities and boost their own self-esteem; and those who take their own lives, for choosing to deprive their loved ones of themselves.

 

Amanda Todd's death is terrible. It's terrible that she lived in a world made so hyper-technologically socialized that one incredibly bad decision, to flash her breasts on webcam, became instantly public. It's terrible that a bunch of sadistic punks chose to torment her for that because it made them feel cool. It's terrible that our society models that behaviour in the way we love to watch and laugh at the Honey Boo Boo's and Charlie Sheens of the world. It's terrible that Amanda's family will live without her because she chose the worst way out of a terrible situation by killing herself, solving nothing.

 

There's enough tragedy in all of this to go around. Unfortunately, we can't only point the finger at the bullies, and no law will fix this situation. It starts with all of us.

 

Sent from my HTC EVO 3D X515a using Tapatalk 2

[Phaedrus 209521]

And teens are just too damn wired, or should I say 'wirelessed'; their whole lives revolve around texting, Facebook, and all that crap; it seems nothing is more important to them. Imagine the peer pressure we experienced decades ago hypermultiplied countless times by today's instantaneous and omnipresent technology.

 

From what I've read, this is a huge problem. At least the previous generation, if they were bullied at school, had an escape from it at home. But now, kids get out of school and it immediately continues on Twitter/FB/etc and there's no escape at all. I can't imagine this makes it easier to deal with.

[Gia Wren Marlowe 67985]

It's not just that there's no escape from it at home. If it's cyber bullying it can follow you your entire life. These kids feel like their lives are permanently damaged and unfortunately there is some truth to that.

But I agree that I'm not sure what laws would really fix it.