Oct 12
19
Bullying? Sexual Harassment? Or is it Sin?: Rod Taylor
In recent years, the destroyers of innocence have run a number of side-campaigns aimed at disarming and/or vilifying promoters of traditional family values. One such campaign has displayed a disproportionate focus on the word “bullying”, most often used as a code-word—a kind of red herring—to legitimize homosexuality and other sexual perversions. In most cases, the so-called victims of “bullying”, at least the ones the MSM likes to talk about, are poor, misunderstood, adolescent males who are confused about their gender. In spite of the fact that research indicates a far higher incidence of real bullying against young people who are unusually fat or skinny or tall or short, the usefulness of the “anti-bullying” campaign has clearly been as a victim-centered appeal to normal, well-intentioned people of all ages and classes to “call off the dogs” of meaningful discussion, (er, I mean “spiteful homophobic hatred”). They call on us to “get used to the new normal”—that is, to a daily experience where hardly anyone is normal and where those who still cling to infantile notions of traditional morality do their best to hide it.
The series of events which led to the tragic death of Amanda Todd are unusual in that they don’t appear to be associated with homosexuality, lesbianism or gender confusion. The public outrage over the mean-spirited abuse she suffered through social media is vaguely reassuring. We want to believe that this is a one-time random failure that can be “fixed” by a multitude of townhalls and memorial services. One is encouraged that—in spite of the brutal treatment Amanda received from one online sexual predator in particular and the crude and thoughtless trash talk and physical violence she suffered from her peers—at least the vast majority of Canadians are still able to be shocked and capable of compassion.
The internet was used, along with peer pressure and the emotional vulnerability of youth to coerce this sensitive girl to do things she didn’t want to do, including ultimately the taking of her own life. Now there are vast numbers of concerned citizens of all ages who “want to do something” to prevent a reoccurrence of this lonely and deeply painful death and who have mobilized in various ways to educate young people and change the behaviours of both victims and perpetrators. I suppose one should be grateful for that outpouring of emotion and resolve…I suppose it could be worse. I suppose all this might have happened with no decent folks left to call for reflection.
In the wake of this tragedy, though, I want to be sure that some elements of this story are noticed and not forgotten, because if we truly want to protect other children from this chilling and desperate descent into lonely despair and hopeless self-destruction, we need to understand all of the elements of Amanda’s story. The following pieces of the puzzle may all have contributed in some way to the events that so marred Amanda’s life. Think about what an obstacle course—in our country—adolescent life has become for young people who just want to grow up normal, accepted and loved.
Here are the challenges:
- Broken homes. Many young people in our broken culture struggle with self-esteem and a “longing to belong”, to have things make sense and to experience the complete bonding with both their parents and the sense of security and approval that we all were meant to enjoy. In addition, the nurture and protection that the family was designed to provide is lacking for so many young people today, making them vulnerable to both physical and emotional attacks.
- A hyper-sexualized culture. From the time that an infant can process images, the relentless assault on his or her senses—of nudity, sensuality and wanton pleasure-seeking—can confuse any young person, whether a victim or one seeking gratification. The school system follows up on daily fare of entertainment and marketing media with earlier and earlier attempts to engage young children in discussions of their sexuality. While blissful ignorance of the sexual nature of human relationships within the family structure is neither possible nor desirable, the constant bombardment of information about sexual orientation along with the innuendo that “everyone’s doing it” can wear down the defenses of even a disciplined young mind. When so many are drifting without an anchor, choices can be made, the consequences of which can never be undone, like 12-year old Amanda Todd’s peer-pressured exposure of her breasts to a webcam.
- A lack of purpose and understanding of mankind’s divine dignity. For years—at school, in many homes, in the thrall of the TV and even in liberal churches—young people have been defrauded of a deep and abiding faith in God and of the perspective that they are made in the sacred image of God, that God watches over them and that they have a responsibility to seek to please Him…and that when they do so they can expect His favour. Amanda Todd had a sense of being abandoned and of having nobody that loved her. She was wrong about that but the lies of the age we live in had hidden from her the truth—that God loved her and sent His Son so that she could have an abundant, joy-filled life; she was deprived of that confidence because those around her, those who might have been her friends or mentors, had themselves believed a lie.
- A violent, self-pleasing, aggressive and malevolent culture. It’s not the unbelievable cruelty and selfishness of her seducers and tormenters only that needs to be exposed and challenged. It’s a whole culture—especially youth—that soaks up “reality” shows like “Survivor”, disrespectful and mocking talent shows like “Talent” and “Idol” where the losers are paraded, prodded and dismissed with pithy and sarcastic epithets. Shows like “Dragon’s Den”, where aspiring businesses are boosted or sunk (with a deadly combination of vitriol and humour). It’s the “wrestling” shows with excessive and gratuitous violence. It’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos” where the audience roars with laughter as people fall off their bikes, run into trees, get scared out of their wits. And of course it’s a careless culture of choice where 100,000 babies are deliberately killed (in Canada) each year by abortion and MPs arrogantly spout off about “choice”.
Add to the mix a few sadistic pedophiles and an emerging technology that invites graphic interplay and anonymous addictions and you have a recipe for disaster. Poor little Amanda Todd wandered unsuspectingly into this morass and all of us wept for her tragedy. But if we are going to fix this problem, protect young people from predators and set a higher standard for respectful and compassionate behaviour, we’re going to have to dig a lot deeper than “cyber-bullying”. We’re going to have to repent for abandoning human morality and the God to whom we owe our existence.