My last rant was full of angst about the Steubenville football players being convicted of the inhuman treatment of a young girl at a drinking party. I felt the punishment was not strong enough, and obviously did not send out the message because a few days later, the same incident occurred between football jocks and two very, young girls in Connecticut. The victims even got death threats from the family of the perpetrators.
Not to belabor this incident, but I was reading the follow-ups to the Steubenville trial, and learned that many of the student partiers admitted taking photos (over 900 photos were taken) and texting to their friends (more than 1,000 texts were sent out), but not one helped the victim. When interrogated, many of them admitted that she was unresponsive and had way too much to drink, but continued to participate in their social media antics, and then walked away.
What happened to people helping people? When did the “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” rule get thrown out the window? This attitude is so pervasive among our society, that it goes far beyond the “I don’t want to get involved” excuse.
We teach our children to be compassionate and to help others, and when someone needs help, be there for them. And, yes, the majority of the people are great human beings, but for those who only watch while these atrocities take place, shame on them. And shame on their families for trying to protect these criminals.
Most of my rants are usually humorous, but I find it hard not to comment on these tragic incidents. We, as parents, must lead by example, teaching our children to do the right thing.
