So, um, any of you celebrating the parents of the five year old, Ryland, who are allowing her to transition from a girl to a boy... you should be ashamed of yourself- this is a FIVE YEAR OLD who has been totally exploited by her parents.
So, um, any of you using the parents of the five year old Ryland who are allowing her to transition from a girl to a boy, to discuss the downfall of culture and all things evil... you should be ashamed of yourself- this is a FIVE YEAR OLD who has been totally exploited by her parents.
There was this awful story this week. I'll sum it up. Two girls got involved in a super dark world through an awful website and ended up stabbing another girl to make a fictional character happy. I clicked on the website for like three seconds- it was evil. I believe in evil. I clicked out of the website, for fear of what more than five seconds could do to my soul. The thing is...this is a parent issue, and is tragic for all involved. I just don't understand why we (educators) aren't doing more to teach parents about the very real danger of the interwebs for not only children, but adolescents as well.
I cannot stand the lack of value some people put on parental roles and responsibilities. That is all.
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| We are a sight to see whenever we are out |
So Jonah Hill is an actor and I have really indifferent opinions about him. This week, he was being harassed by a paparazzi and ended up kind of losing it, saying really awful things including that super hurtful F word. Normally when celebrities screw up, they just kind of try to apologize to get out of trouble. This was Jonah Hill's apology.
I was WICKEDLY impressed. The thing is, I have been there. When someone says something and you just want to say the most awful thing back to them, to hurt them as they hurt you. And it never makes it better, and it always makes you look like an idiot. So anyway, well done Jonah Hill- thanks for pointing out a dangerous behavior and doing something RADICAL...taking responsibility for it!
I'm not really as cranky as I might seem, but man, sometimes I have to remember the words of my old boss, who he stole from someone else..."everyday, look at yourself in the mirror and say, 'people are crazy, and I am not the Savior'." Good advice after a week like this!
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| oh, and any time I get too cranky- I just think of this face :) |
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#1- Oh, that whole thing just bothers me. I think the child is getting exploited on so many levels by so many people. Sad.
ReplyDelete#5- Someone REALLY said that to you??? Shocked.
Yes, the ryland story. So sad. Matt Walsh wrote a response to it that I think totally hit the nail on the head. But its terrible that this little girl has become some kind of icon for something she isn't even capable of understanding.
ReplyDeleteSee, I didn't love Matt Walsh's article either, even if technically I agree with some of his premises. This is a FIVE year old. I feel like she's also become this icon in the other direction too, to represent everything wrong with our world. Watching how some people discussed it really bummed me out.
DeleteWhat you are saying is true! We wave a flag against things sometimes just as much as people wave a flag for them. And the same people are getting caught in the middle of it all. Its a sad situation all around
DeleteMary if you need help with number 4, call.
ReplyDeleteLove to read your posts
oh, my friend, will say some prayers for you! I am still amazed by what people will say to me and I am usually only bringing my youngest 3 or 4 with me. But then, I had a family member say that same thing to me when I was expecting my last (#6) AMAZING!
ReplyDeleteblessings
Karen
The other post you had about kids using the internet falls along the slender argument...the issue is for me there really is NOTHING on the internet that is really appropriate for kids/teens. By the time they really want to be on the internet all they really want to play is this evil stuff not abc mouse or pbs kids or whatever. On the surface it all looks like games or fun apps but when you look at it--you realize that it isn't good. Anyway--yes, Slender came out several years ago and my eldest showed me this site and I was like--this is stupid and weird--don't get why this popular...then the boys wanted to play it. I don't get it and don't like it. But I would say that almost all kids of the pre teen group know of this site even if they don't play it. Kids talk about it in school/bus/playground. My problem is that there is no way that you can really keep your kids from it as other kids play this stufff unless you home school in a bubble and secondly--believe me, Slender is only the tip of the iceberg. There are so many popular questionable sites and internet characters and all the kids in their classes know all about this stuff which is generally awful. 99% of the stuff the kids want to play is not good. It is a real problem for us. And I don't think most parents are even aware of this stuff....I could go on but I will stop.
ReplyDeleteeh, like I said then, I don't think the solution is to keep kids entirely protected from the internet. I just can't see how that is helpful. I think the solution is very strict monitoring, and introducing things at age appropriate times. There are ways to monitor and moderate what young people are looking at. I am not someone who is 'computer savvy' but I have taken the time to learn how to protect young people from the dangers. There is nothing inherently evil about social media, and our Church has said time and time again it's benefits far outweigh the dangers. She has also been clear that it is a particular responsibility of the young Church to evangelize the digital highways. BUT, I always say, if you are incapable or don't feel confident in your own ability to protect your children from the dangers, by all means keep them off it. I just don't think it's the ideal way to deal with the very huge problem we have.
DeleteCame across this ,thought you might appreciate this different perspective on the whole sitch. http://www.ncregister.com/blog/simcha-fisher/when-your-child-has-problems
ReplyDeleteOk, so I CANNOT believe someone actually used that phrase. At all! When did it become okay to talk to anyone like that? I mean, unless it was a drunk friend in which case you are justified in slapping them. Makes my stomach turn. I do agree that sometimes we are quick to take offense, when in fact, the person may just be making an observation, like today, when I was in fact busy keeping both children contained at Target. Yes, lovely old lady, they do keep me busy, but thank you for smiling at them and engaging them as well.
ReplyDeleteAs for #1, you already know I can't talk about it. It makes me that angry for exactly the reasons you said. Both sides. When will we start seeing people as people and not issues...and who the heck is protecting our children from any of it? Blog post coming on that one...especially after the other article about what we may be facing with medical professionals. Trying to research that one a bit before blasting out a post...
I have to admit I kind of stuck my head in the sand with that story on the two girls. It was overwhelming. Won't say more other than you know I'm totally in agreement with 99.9% of what you say about the internet and kids/teens. I just added at .1% discrepancy rate in case there is something I don't agree with in the future. :)
As for Jonah Hill - that was pretty awesome.