So there was this page up on Facebook that basically mocked teenage suicide victims. I am not going to link to it mostly because it is gone now. Though like anything on facebook or internet in general it is only gone as much as it takes someone to set up new digs elsewhere. The owner of the page, some shit-for-brains that calls himself ***Luigi*** plans on putting the page back up as soon as his ban is up.
We run into this all the time on Wikipedia. We have banned the vandals, but there are always more.
My fellow atheism bloggers (can I say that? have I been around long enough?) want to go the petition routes. I get that. Really. I do. I have been there. Many, many, many times.
http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2012/12/03/help-with-this-petition-regarding-a-facebook-page-on-teen-suicidal/
http://freethoughtblogs.com/brutereason/2012/12/03/please-sign-my-petition-to-remove-the-no-respect-for-suicidal-teens-facebook-page/
I applaud their efforts. I do.
I worked a suicide hotline when I was in grad school. Since 2002 I have donated to the Trevor Project.
I have even worked with a community of friends of mine to raise even more money for the Trevor Project.
(see my other blog for more details on that).
So this asshole is going to come back. Will petitions do the trick? Maybe. Sure. They have worked in the past. But in my mind they carry less weight than doing something. Let people know that teen suicide is a terrible reality.
It's been a long time since I was a teen. Hell, it's been a long time since I was in grad school! And as adults we forget how things are for teens, were for us as teens. I had it good. I was a normal kids with great parents, great siblings and in a pretty decent school. Not everyone has that.
So for my part I am going to ignore this douchebag and just donate money to the The Trevor Project.
I suggest you do the same. Or donate time. Or help educate others.
The trouble is you can never, ever stop all the assholes. But you can minimize their effect and you can maximize the things that counteract them.
If you want to give to the Trevor Project this is a great time to do it.
Here is a page to help you. http://www.thetrevorproject.org/Give/Ways%20to%20Give
Or how about this one. Reach out and help the kids that need it.
We all have different responses to injustice. My response isn't limited to petitions. I also write to educate people, and I plan to become a therapist and to start a nonprofit that sends therapists into schools to do pro bono work with kids who can't afford it, as well as give presentations to children, teachers, and parents.
ReplyDeleteBut donating to the Trevor Project is also a legitimate and worthwhile response, so thank you for doing it. :)