Sinnful Thoughts

This journal post has been hard for me to write. It has been sitting in draft form on this journal for a week. Even going back to reread what I originally wrote, it nags at me and makes me wonder whether my thoughts were truly in order. At some level, it feels as though I should do a lot of research before delving into this and swimming to the depths. However, it is such a hard and dark subject to even discuss, I don’t know if the darkness is worth it.

Our class discussion on the 8th opened with Amanda Todd’s video. Aside from the obvious subject matter of cyberbullying, I had no idea what we were watching. She talked about the horrible things that happened to her, being essentially groomed by a pervert, antagonized and threatened by this person, the subsequent school bullying as a result, and her two previous suicide attempts. One of which involved drinking bleach. And then we were told this was her suicide note . . . A deep silence enveloped the classroom. The atmosphere was palpable. No one said anything. Honestly, after something like that, what can you say?

This video has stayed with me since that class. I cannot even bring myself to watch it again. It is heart wrenching to see her struggle; it’s worse knowing that she felt all along and that her parents did nothing to stop it. While the cyberbullying is a very real thing for today’s youth, it is astounding to me that parents are not more present. After the Columbine Shootings on April 20, 1999, bullying has become a huge issue with huge Government funded anti-bullying campaigns. Sadly, it appears as though this other element of it is not being fully addressed. It makes me wonder what it will take for people—more specifically parents—to wake up and start seeing this as a malignant problem.

Growing up in the 90s when the Internet was in every household, cyberbullying was not something I really faced and it was easy to disconnect from the modem. It was also during this time period that there was the rising trend of girls being kidnapped after being lured away from home by some guy they met in a chat room. That being said, I remember when my parents talked to me about giving out my personal information to people and how dangerous is it was. Moreover, my life was not lived on the computer, I had to ask permission to use it, and my parents closely monitored my online activity. It is strange to see children on Facebook, kids younger than 10 carrying a smart phone, and having zero accountability. At what point is cyberbullying be perpetuated by absent parents who choose to see the Internet, Facebook, phones, or whatever as a free, easy babysitter for their children?

Going into the high school setting to teach English, I know that this will be an issue I encounter; however, I hope and pray that parents will start to grow up, stop abandoning their children, and take an active role in their lives. I have no doubt that this new avenue of bullying will continue, but it is my sincere hope that children will find other uses for their time, stop responding, and have a firm foundation in their home life.