what an oxymoron. i'm mentioning ahead of time that i'm feeling very opinionated when it comes to this topic. i just read the times coverage on the story about the high school student in south hadley, ma who killed herself because she was being bullied. relentlessly bullied. the difference here is that 9 kids have been charged with everything from stalking, harassment to statutory rape. some school administrators and teachers are also under scrutiny for not doing enough to stop the emotional and physical attacks on this 15 year old girl.
my first questions - what kind of a world do we live in where a teenager would feel so tortured by another person or group that they would kill themselves? what happened to parenting and teaching values and compassion and proper behavior? are the poor examples that are so very evident on tv, the internet and in movies gotten so completely out of hand that kids don't understand reality from fantasy? we wonder why the word snarky is used so much and it seems to me that many teenagers today exemplify the very definition. some are so ill- mannered, disrespectful and entitled that some parents have given up. unfortunately, this is not an option.
years ago after reading another story along the lines of this one in south hadley, i began wondering what would happen if parents were held responsible for the actions of their minor children. parents would suffer consequences, get fined, perform community service, and if necessary go to jail. it seems so drastic, but it seems so necessary. once a year mandatory parent education might be the place to start as a preventive step.
wwcd: sometimes drastic actions are the only solution to an untenable situation
my first questions - what kind of a world do we live in where a teenager would feel so tortured by another person or group that they would kill themselves? what happened to parenting and teaching values and compassion and proper behavior? are the poor examples that are so very evident on tv, the internet and in movies gotten so completely out of hand that kids don't understand reality from fantasy? we wonder why the word snarky is used so much and it seems to me that many teenagers today exemplify the very definition. some are so ill- mannered, disrespectful and entitled that some parents have given up. unfortunately, this is not an option.
years ago after reading another story along the lines of this one in south hadley, i began wondering what would happen if parents were held responsible for the actions of their minor children. parents would suffer consequences, get fined, perform community service, and if necessary go to jail. it seems so drastic, but it seems so necessary. once a year mandatory parent education might be the place to start as a preventive step.
wwcd: sometimes drastic actions are the only solution to an untenable situation
your points here spotlight that the standards of acceptable behaviors have changed in pop culture. this relegates the assignment of responsibility for the effects of one's actions and the moral implications of one's action to some other sector. i agree that parents and other family members need to be included in the consequences or the behaviors will not likely be reformed. that would also help the youngsters feel that they are not alone making the decisions.. but in fact do have a network to support them to make different choices then following the bullying path to feel their own existence matters...
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