I feel so deeply disturbed by her death. I think it's because it seems so complicated. Somebody posted this note on facebook and (because I'm pretty certain no one else knows about my blog) I will post it:
so there are three different ways people are reacting to amanda todds death. one, would be the mourners, activists against bullying, the ones who strive to defend her reputation, even if they did or did not know her. The second kind are the people who are now defending themselves - being the bullies- as well as continuing to go on about how horrible of a person she is, even after her death. the third kind of people are the ones who are sick and tired of the media/facebook/twitter attention it's getting, and say "if you didnt care when she was alive don't pretend you care when she is dead."
I don't disagree or agree with any of these people. I believe bullying needs to end, and that it's riduculous. Girls are horrible to one another and the fact Amanda and or anyone else would feel that the only escacpe from pain is death, is just wrong. There is no excuse for bullying. But, also, it's part of growing up. Not a soul can say they have'nt been a bully, or been bullied. There is no way, that ever, bullies will no longer exist, it's the dark side of humanity. Therefore, we can't blame the people who bullied Amanda. They feel enough guilt as it is ( I would think..) But it doesnt make them a bad person. Most of them are young girls going though the same thing we all went through, highschool. Which is why I hate seeing so many posts by my facebook friends saying they dont understand how kids can be so cruel and blah blah blah. Hah. I call bull shit. Lets all just stop, and not pretend we are all saints here. For the people who just want their newsfeeds back to normal and random notes (hehe) and posts about a person they didn't know to be gone.. its not often someone kills themself, this has a big impact on the community like it or not!
look at everyone, so angry with one another, about the bullies, about the blame, about the annoyance. Why continue to go on and on about it. Stop trying to pull a Mother Teresa, stop picking on the dead girl, and stop complaining about the posts. Because while we all chit chat about whats right and whats wrong some mother and father are out there mourning the loss of their daughter.
the only thing that makes any sort of sense to me, is simple..
RIP Amanda Todd
done.
I can't help how angry this made me. Saying that bullying is just a part of life, or making it seem even remotely "normal"?! I may not know the full story but as she said in her video, there were girls saying that they wished she were dead, that they wished she would die, that she should get it right next time. In my opinion that goes so far beyond bullying to just pure hatred. Because for a teenager to say that to anyone? How much hate do you have to feel towards somebody to tell them you want them to die? That is extreme.
There is no excuse for that. People can say "oh people bully because there is pressure to fit in". No. You don't tell somebody that you wish they would kill themselves because of pressure to fit in. I am so angry about this. "I believe that bullying needs to end, and that it's ridiculous." Ridiculous???? Are you shitting me? It's more than ridiculous. What's ridiculous is this note! I can't get over this note! Then at the end she makes it sound so simple. Like all we should do is mourn her loss, but it's not that simple. It is so not that simple. Suicide is not that simple.
To say that there is no way that bullies will cease to exist. That takes nerve. What if everybody took that attitude. What if no one got the message out there, and those who are bullied continued to do so and those who are victims continued to be victimized in silence. I am so angry about this. And I'm angry and sad that I am a part of a society that would allow this to happen and all this to go unnoticed. I feel guilty because somehow I feel like I could have helped prevent this from happening.
Though I never knew her I am so deeply moved by her story. As Georgie said, this really hits close to home. Everyone is shaken up. Her story is getting out there. But it makes me feel sick to my stomach to think, what if her story had gotten out there before she took her life. Why is it that before she died no one took any notice of her video, or if they did they didn't reach out to help her? It's too late now. She's gone. I have lost all faith in humanity. This really breaks my heart into a million pieces. This should not have happened.
