I have to blog again about Glenn Beck. As I have said before, I used to listen to his radio program in the early part of 2000. He was funny, irreverent, creative, and lovable. There was mostly dark humor and sarcasm about current events and his 'sick freak' callers. Back then no one listened to his show...he was syndicated on a measly 43 stations and he was a 'soft core' shock jock. There was definitely no talk of politics. The only controversial topic I remember him discussing was the case in Florida regarding Terri Schiavo who was going to be taken off of life support. And when I heard him talk about this, I thought, GB WTF, this isn't your shtick. The old Glenn Beck was a recovering alcoholic who was a 'Howard Stern' wannabe.
I remember thinking .. this is so strange that HLN gave him his own show. He was awkward and the show didn't get ratings. Enter Roger Ailes at Fox.. this Svengali-like influence turned this alcoholic shock jock into a major media phenom. I didn't get it then and I don't get it now. I guess because I was one of the few who knew him, 'back when'.
This is why I can't support him, or his rallies, I remember him back when...... And now he just seems like a phony.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Why Have Some of Our Young People Become Sociopaths?
It's been a while since I've blogged. Mostly because my recent ankle surgery and recovery has dominated my entire being. But I am back because I am extremely disturbed by the recent suicides of young people (children really) because of the actions of other 'children' who it appears have become sociopaths.
Five suicides in three weeks...... this is horrific. As a heterosexual, it is really hard for me to 'wrap my head around' why someone is gay. But I definitely believe that this is not a choice for someone. With the hatred in our society for them, why would anyone choose this? This is who they are. I don't have a lot of gay friends, but the ones that I have or have had in the past have been nothing but loving, giving, funny, hard workers, honest.. the list goes on. So I am outraged that vulnerable young people have to deal with this hatred in silence.
Let me also say that this is not an exclusively 'gay' issue. It has become a national news story because all five students in the last three weeks have been gay, but there have been other bullying incidents that have tragically led to other suicides.
Phoebe Prince in Massachusetts, Megan Meier in Missouri, and I'm sure there are others.
Problem #1 - Legislation addressing this issue is non-existent. Technology marches forward at a pace that is hard for legislators to keep up with. Prosecutors are left with 'invasion of privacy','criminal harassment','violation of civil rights' or perhaps 'felony stalking' charges. We need to push for more legislation targeting these specific crimes.
Problem #2 - This generation of young people have no concept of privacy. What it is, why it is important, how violating someone's privacy is not right... I think most good parents don't think about ever talking to their kids about privacy. Until now, I think people just took for granted that certain things were meant to be private, and assumed that their kids would think the same. Children these days have a warped sense of what should be private. Technology has fueled this fire. Come on, sending naked pictures of yourself to classmates? Oh Lord, look how far we have come.
Problem #3 (and the most important) - Faculty and staff at schools need to wake up and start taking 'bullying' more seriously. These aren't just your 'run of the mill' pranks. Before his suicide Tyler alerted his RA and other University officials, and his plea for help fell on deaf ears. The abuse that Phoebe Prince suffered was witnessed by many faculty and students at her school, and again no one said or did anything to help her.
My sincere hope is that these recent tragedies will at least start a dialogue on how to combat this problem.
Five suicides in three weeks...... this is horrific. As a heterosexual, it is really hard for me to 'wrap my head around' why someone is gay. But I definitely believe that this is not a choice for someone. With the hatred in our society for them, why would anyone choose this? This is who they are. I don't have a lot of gay friends, but the ones that I have or have had in the past have been nothing but loving, giving, funny, hard workers, honest.. the list goes on. So I am outraged that vulnerable young people have to deal with this hatred in silence.
Let me also say that this is not an exclusively 'gay' issue. It has become a national news story because all five students in the last three weeks have been gay, but there have been other bullying incidents that have tragically led to other suicides.
Phoebe Prince in Massachusetts, Megan Meier in Missouri, and I'm sure there are others.
Problem #1 - Legislation addressing this issue is non-existent. Technology marches forward at a pace that is hard for legislators to keep up with. Prosecutors are left with 'invasion of privacy','criminal harassment','violation of civil rights' or perhaps 'felony stalking' charges. We need to push for more legislation targeting these specific crimes.
Problem #2 - This generation of young people have no concept of privacy. What it is, why it is important, how violating someone's privacy is not right... I think most good parents don't think about ever talking to their kids about privacy. Until now, I think people just took for granted that certain things were meant to be private, and assumed that their kids would think the same. Children these days have a warped sense of what should be private. Technology has fueled this fire. Come on, sending naked pictures of yourself to classmates? Oh Lord, look how far we have come.
Problem #3 (and the most important) - Faculty and staff at schools need to wake up and start taking 'bullying' more seriously. These aren't just your 'run of the mill' pranks. Before his suicide Tyler alerted his RA and other University officials, and his plea for help fell on deaf ears. The abuse that Phoebe Prince suffered was witnessed by many faculty and students at her school, and again no one said or did anything to help her.
My sincere hope is that these recent tragedies will at least start a dialogue on how to combat this problem.
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