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

Do Authors Write from Experience?

Good Afternoon,

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone is enjoying their day even though it’s cloudy and gray in my part of the world. Relax, I’m not complaining as I’m happy to be alive. Smile.

Today, I’m going to give you a smidgen of a look at how an author writes their story. I was at a retiree luncheon for TWA employees last week, and one of the guys I worked with had read my very first book, The Catalyst. This book isn’t in print now, but I hope it will be again some day. Sorry for my digression. Lol Those who know me well know I do that a lot.

This mechanic told me he enjoyed my story, and he liked the progression of showing the emotion of the rape victims and how I advanced to the sex scene. Thanks, Ralph B., you put me on cloud nine that day.

I have had people ask me if I write from my experiences. All authors use some small measure of their experience, but usually not exclusively. In The Catalyst, the only thing I had knowledge of had to do with the youngest daughter in the story but even that was not the same situation. What I used for her was a combination of traits from several people in my life.

For writing the emotion of rape victims, I asked questions of a friend of mine, Cheryl, a retired Kansas City Police Department detective. Her answers really surprised me. One thing I learned from her is how even prostitutes have a hard time getting over becoming a victim of rape. Also, she told me that many homosexuals are raped and are afraid to come forward because there is not much sympathy for them.

So many rapes go unreported no matter the gender, and it’s sad that they feel nobody will help them. Victims feel tainted and will remain afraid if they don’t seek help. Most police departments will recommend counseling and even give you a name of a doctor to make an appointment with. No one can get past a heinous crime by themselves. One of the things recommended for a victim is to take defensive courses so they feel in control . Once again, I have digressed but this is an important message.

To get back to the question of do authors write from experience, the answer is yes and no. lol My very first book was about me, my mom and her friend in Hong Kong. That book didn't sell. A few years ago, I threw that manuscript away. To write about my life would bore everyone to death as I spend most of my day at the computer writing, promoting my books or checking email

As an author it’s my job to learn how my characters will react in real life situations. I hope I have done that in all of my books.

Thank you for your time.

Sandy AKA Sandra K. Marshall
http://www.skaymarshall.com
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/addiction.htm