There Will Be More

I spoke before on here about a teen I once knew who was treated like dirt. Today I flick on the CNN website and I see this black and white video of a girl peeling card after card away telling her miserable story. It reminds me of a sad version of Dylan's video, Subterranean Homesick Blues.

Amanda Todd, a thirteen year old from British Columbia, made the mistake of flashing her breasts to some guy via web cam. He was recorded it and then splattered the picture all over the BC area. Little time passed before her “friends” at the school got a hold of the picture and tormented her to no end about it. Once again, teen politics took over and her social status was wiped out between lunch and biology class. Welcome to Loserville was the next stop on the train in her social life.

It was a mistake to show off like she did. Do I blame her? Nope. She was a very young teen and they sure as shit don't have the best judgment on the whole, do they? I'm 48 and I still can't hit a 100% success rate on all my choices.

But here's what struck me. Amanda's mom, looking out for her daughter's best interests, felt moving away to a different school system where her daughter could start fresh would be a great idea. Move away? Run away? Guess who else had to run away when the community around them made it very plain they weren't welcome anymore. The Jews.

“Oh! Oh! Oh! You can't compare this even with the Holocaust! It's totally different!” some may say.

My answer to that? “Bullshit.”

People...we're dirt bags a lot of the times. If it wasn't Jews we were chasing down, it was gypsies, blacks, Indians, short, tall, fat,skinny...you name it. And, we chase down 15 year old girls who make the silly mistake of being goaded into flashing their breasts. Had she been in New Orleans during Mardi Gras and did that, she'd have beads and probably a coupon for a free beer.

Moving to another town was just a respite for Amanda, before her teen world ripped her apart again. As of today, she's dead.

I hear a lot of talk of choice and responsibility. It's usually aimed at the individual to BLAME them for their inability to rise above whatever personal demon they may be trying to conquer. Blame makes it very easy then to NOT help and walk way. One can feel quite smug because you managed to frame the situation as their personal, private failure. You on the other hand are the best thing that ever existed...right?

So, here's a challenge to every moral coward out there. CHOOSE, take RESPONSIBILITY to NOT grind down some poor sap who's having a hard time. Don't worry, I'm not asking you to save them...just have the moral guts not to make it worse, and we'll see just how strong and upright you really are.

Click Pic

Click This