I just saw the very powerful You tube video
posted a few days ago by a Jonah Mowry (already over 6 million people have
watched it).
I don’t want to comment on the video – it speaks
for itself. What I want to address are some of the comments that the video
has received.
It is difficult for me (and I am a psychiatrist
and am supposed to understand these things) to read so many cruel comments (I
will not dignify them by repeating them here). Why are so many people
posting such cruel and vicious comments? Are so many people by nature so
cruel and so vicious? Is this a phenomenon that is encouraged by the medium
of electronic communication? Is this a reflection of levels of homophobia
so deeply rooted in our society? Is this the result of anxiety aroused by
seeing a young person in distress? Why the anger?
I have no answers to these questions. But I
do know that such cruel and vicious comments are wrong. There is no place
for such cruelty towards others in our society. Trying to understand why
however does not excuse us from taking action to stop such cruelty. This
is an obligation from all of us. From those who control the electronic
world – there should be no e-space for such attack. From those who are
teachers and coaches and parents – we have to stand firm and make it clear that
there is no social space for such attack. For peer and friends and all
young people – you have to stand up and make it clear that there is no teen
space for such attack.
The sooner we get our sh*t together on this, the
better for all of us.
-Stan
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