Stop Glamorizing Suicide

*Update for further clarification added below

You won't like what I'm about to say.  It's controversial, it's straightforward, it's the dialogue we should be having instead of having pity.  Another day, another suicide from bullying.  It's parents fault, it's the school's fault and we all take sorrow in a child/teen dead.

Every time we glamorize the suicides (most notably from bullying lately) we are telling kids, "Aw, poor thing, I'm going to give you the recognition and sorrow you should have gotten in your life".  Kids on the edge are being pushed over by the notion that they'll get famous, in my truly honest not-so-humble opinion.  Even a decade ago, suicide was shameful.  Not to mention two, three or four decades ago.  I experienced the full realm of bullying from having my homework stolen out of my hand and no teacher willing to listen, to being thrown from my desk (or it toppled with me in it), hair pulled, spit on because I was a heavy girl (not even obese at the time, just not a stick), because I refused to go anorexic, a double whammy in wearing glasses, a triple whammy in being poor and a quadruple whammy in having a messed up family.  I was taunted, teased, physically harmed, every day of my school life until I got so fed up (even with my straight A's) that I stopped going overall.  Parents even hated me because I addressed them as Mr. and Mrs., which they felt was trying to suck up to them.  The early boyfriends I did have ended up dumping me sometimes because of the pressure they faced from peers taunting them about being with the fat, ugly chick.

AttackWatch.com Dispels Lies or Perpetuates Them?

A good friend of mine posted a link to Attack Watch on her Facebook today.  I thought it was satire (I'd been out of the news loop for the last day).  It's real, it's run by Obama's campaign manager.  Not only is it butt ugly (all that money and you can't spring for more than black and white?) but it's part opinion, part lie.

Obama's campaign is to have us all tattle on each other.  Seriously.  You can go to the site, put in an "attack" from a drop down menu and even attach files to support the attack you want to report.

Feel free to go to the report section and put in silly attacks like "Obama refuses to wear underwear" and flood the report system so someone has to weed out the dumb ones from people genuinely tattling on people they don't like.  This wouldn't fly with me regardless of who it is.  Obama has successfully turned the country to racist, classist, elitest, religious groups all hating each other.  Now, you too can tattle on that "other race", that person that has more than you, that person who has a job or that damned Catholic down the street!

I'll tackle the first "attacks" here.

9/11 In A Child's Eyes - Never Forget

10 years.  I was 17, turning 18 the 12th.  Now, as a mom to four sons - I allowed my oldest, who turns 8 in two weeks to watch the news footage and personal videos of the horrific acts that day.  I made kiddie coffee, something I wanted to share with him at the right moment that my Pappy let me have when I was 8.  (About a teaspoon of coffee in milk and sugar.)  I made us cinnamon rolls and we curled up on the couch together to begin watching.  The others were asleep.

I was prepared, but still flubbed the words to explain "Why did they attack us?".  As I started to explain, I realized that my wording was leading him to think all Muslims were bad.  I had to clarify further the definition of terrorists and extremists and that there are good Muslims out there.  He had many questions.  I answered them as unemotionally as possible, but I teared up when they showed the jumpers.  I tried to convey their feelings when he asked why they would jump to their death - noting that if they knew they would die, it's better to jump and die quick than to burn alive.  He said "Mommy, I'd jump too.".

 (More after the jump)