Sometimes I am absolutely shocked & disgusted by people.
As details emerge about the tragic murder of 10 year old Jessica Ridgeway, the armchair critics & sanctimommies are out in full force, blaming Ridgeway’s mother for her death by allowing her to walk the two blocks to meet friends to walk to school & sleeping through calls from the school after working the late shift.
(Comments can be found HERE, but be warned, they aren’t for the faint of heart)
These women must think I’m horrible, as my two eldest walk to school with friends every single day! Maybe it’s because I’m from Canada, but I don’t believe there’s a psycho around every corner. I’ve educated them about strangers & they have their cell phone with them.
A similar mentality applies to the suicide of Amanda Todd. People are still bullying the girl, cracking jokes on Twitter & blaming her, saying she deserved her own torment.
I’m sorry, what?
Both of these cases involve the death of a young person under horrible circumstances & I hope that no one I know ever has to go through what the Ridgeway & Todd families are going through. Ridgeway’s mother has lost her precious child, do you really think wagging your finger & tsk taking is going to help? I’m not going to speculate about Todd’s behaviour but even if she was the things that bullies said, is it really the place of another child to judge?
There is a serious empathy chip missing. We all “like” the RIP poor Amanda Todd Facebook page but continue to bully others. Teens will say “oh so sad” & then mock an unattractive teen @ school. Adults will say “where do kids get it?” & then judge their own friends & mock them. Perhaps we should try being genuinely nice. Stop shaming a woman in mourning. Stop mocking a dead child.
We should be rallying around people in times of grief, not adding to their pain. Take a moment to show another person some kindness, it’ll go a long way.
The Misadventures of MHC 