I'm glad the country is beginning a campaign to fight youthful obesity, but we need another kind of campaign started that should be aimed at the kids as well. I'll tell you why.
Last Fall a high school kid here in south Florida was burned almost to death by his school friends. This past week a young girl was beaten so that she is hanging on to her life by a thread in the hospital. What is going on and what are we going to do about it?
Our kids seem totally desensitized to violence. And why not? The video games which they play repeatedly are filled with it. Even shows on the Disney channel have surprised me. ( I keep it on for my pups to listen to the fun voices). Guns are so easy to come by that if one gets mad at someone all they have to do is go home, get a gun and shoot them. They don't even have to go home. In some neighborhoods, I recently learned, they are kept in a trash bin on the street. We have lost our character and our morality. And kids are not afraid to go to jail. They get their three meals and better health benefits than we do, plus the training on how to be a better criminal.
And the internet!! We have to warn our kids repeatedly not to expose themselves on the internet...it can easily return to haunt them. And if those in authority (parents, school administrators, community leaders ---if there is such a thing) find out about sexual explicitness or threats that are being made on the internet what are they doing about it? There appears to be no real retribution for the criminal type acts that are being committed in cyber space.
On tv this morning were scenes of protestors walking the halls of Congress while shouting and spitting at members of whatever party. These were not kids. How did they get in there in the first place? Wow are our government behaviors setting wonderful examples for the kids! If you don't like something then yell, spit, shove or probably soon---just beat them to a pulp. Or worse yet 'shoot' 'em!
What can we do? I say organize town hall meetings. Bring in some respected leaders (there must be some that are out there not cheating on their wives), psychogists, PTA presidents, whomever, and let's get some ideas as to what to do about this problem. We used to have to take seriously any kid who says something about killing themselves. Now we have to take even more seriously any kid who says something about killing anyone else.
Of course these things are happening because parents are out of jobs or not around altogether. Obvioulsy many factors from family life play a very important part in what's going on. And our moral code still begins with the first people who take care of us. And it sure doesn't help if they are abusing one another either. How many families sit down to a meal together and actually talk? That would be a good place to start.
What has simply happened to the teaching of right and wrong? Where are the healthy outside games? Who's playing sports after school, or taking an art class, or one in theatre, or chess? Maybe these activities can make the kids feel good about themselves and dispel their anger toward others while at the same time keep them occupied away from the grounds where crimes take place.
Lets write or talk to our Mayors and schedule some time to work on this very dangerous pattern that is growing. Let's take some kind of action, or who cares about terrorism? We're destroying ourselves with the terrorism of the bullies that appear to make up our youth.
'Nuff said' Maybe this session will do some good somehow. Love you all...
Dr. Mimi Scott
954 926-0134
917 846-2449
Mimi@drmimiscott.com
http://www.drmimiscott.com/
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4 comments:
It does appear to be getting worse. I've always been astonished that people play those horrible video games where killing is the object. They are way too graphic and I really do feel they desensitize people to violence. I may be old fashioned, but I believe in stage decencies.
Mimi, this was a wonderful statement. I went to one of the town hall meetings at my son's high school on Miami Beach. This occurred right after the shooting death of the young girl due to infatuation. Do you know how many parents showed up? Five parents including my husband and I at a school of over 1000 students. A good question to ask is did either the victim of the recent assualt or the assualtant's parents attend thier town hall event in thier community? I bet the response would be no, on both sides. You just don't believe this would happen to your kid or that your kid is one of those children. I believe that it is all on the family and parents. If a parent doesn't know thier child who else would? This is a tradedy that has a solution but it requires something other than apathy from parents. It will have to get worse before it gets better. From Michelle Ruiz forgot my user name and password.
Mims, You are so right to be so passionate about this. That's part of the problem - that others are not - They don't seem to see how situation after situation is becoming the norm.
Good idea to have town meetings - Communities must pull together in order for families to be on alert and more aware of what is going on "out there" and in their own homes.
Good for you Mims for making such a huge statement. (and thanks for not SINGING it...hahahahahaha)
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