Bullies, Facebook, Rape and U-Tube

What is going on with our kids?  I know there are a lot of good kids in this world, but we don’t hear nearly enough about them.  Instead, we see bullying in our schools, on buses and social media, especially Facebook.

None of you have missed the news about a young 16 year old girl being raped in Ohio.  She was drunk, passed out and being treated like a bag of trash.  Two young men raped her while other young kids stood around laughing, taking photos with their cell phones and shouting, ‘she’s so raped.’

There is something so wrong with this image.  Three lives have been totally ruined, and the town needs to come together to see the truth of the matter.  These kids were underage and shouldn’t have been drinking and there should have been adults there to stop this scene.  Where were the teachers, coach or parents?

These kids were normal kids, but whenever you get any group together whether adults or children a mob mentality develops and everyone loses control.  All it would have taken was for one kid to use his cell phone to call 911 or the police to stop this rape.  Instead, they used their cell phones to take pictures of the rape and post them on U-Tube.  I have no idea what they were thinking or thought they were doing.  From there laughter, they obviously thought the whole scene was funny.

To me this scene was disgusting.  Have none of these kids been taught right from wrong?  They obviously have no respect for each other, or anyone else.  It’s a travesty for the town not to band together and stand behind the young girl who was raped.  By not doing it you may have another suicide because this will be impossible for her to live with unless she gets outside help. 

The boys will need help, too.  They will be scared at what they have facing them in the future, but I hope someone is able to get through to them that what they did was wrong.  Both boys are good-looking, but I don’t see remorse on their faces.  I just see fear and they have every reason to be afraid because there are consequences for every action.  Who taught them this kind of behavior is okay. They'll learn a very hard lesson now; it's not okay. The young lady was trying to fit in with the in-crowd, but she has learned a hard lesson, too.  It's not worth getting drunk to fit in.

I hope all the families of these kids involved in this tragedy sit down and have long talks with their children.  This is not a time to take sides.  It’s a time to think of your children and be there for all of them.  The parents and teachers might even ask yourselves what you should have done to prevent this horrible event.  You might ask: what did I do to contribute to this act?  

This town is in the limelight now, and I guarantee there will be a lot of people around the world judging your town.  What I have to say to the other towns is that you better check into your own schools to see what is going on.  Boys calling girls whores and girls calling each other whores in classrooms.  These kids have not been taught to respect each other or themselves.  Do parents know how their kids are acting out?  If they don’t know; they should be finding out.

Bullying and abuse has to stop in our schools.  It’s becoming an epidemic and starting at even younger ages than high school.  Something has to be done.  I don’t know what the answer is, but could spending more quality time with your kids help. 

What do you think we should do to save the children? 

Have a great Sunday, and I'll see you next week. 

Best always,

Sandra K. Marshall
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com

All about Love

I'm behind this week, so I'm posting a blog I posted elsewhere last week.  So sorry!

Valentine's Day is coming up soon, and although I'm not an authority on love I'm a romantic suspense author who writes about love.  The old saying: Love thy neighbor as you do yourself comes to mind.  Who do you love?

There are many different kinds of love. For instance, love between spouses, love between parents and their children, love between siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles, grandchildren and a whole slew of people.  I love everyone even those I don't really like because I care what happens to them.

In many cases there are varying degrees of affection for the people you care about.  Of course, you're going to love those who are the closest to you like your husband, children and other family members, but there's always room for others. 

Friends come to mind for me and I have several lifelong friends.  I have great affection for them, or I wouldn't have stayed in touch with them. You can love neighbors who become friends when you have lived next to them for years. 

Is it possible to love someone who hurts you?  I draw the line at loving people who abuse others physically or mentally, but I write about them in my stories.  I even humanize them with some background about them, but I can't care for them in their present lives because they chose the wrong path.  Or in my stories, the path I chose for my character.  This is when you have to care and love the victim.

I love my hubby more than anyone.  When my mother was alive it was a tossup between hubby and mom because I loved them both equally, although, in totally different ways.  My siblings and children are next in line, and then the rest of the family, friends, etc. 

Who matters most to you?

Sandra K. Marshall

http://www.eirelander-publishing.com
http://www.sandramarshallblog.blogspot.com