For All The World To See...
You may have caught the story involving a Facebook flame war between Willow and Bristol Palin and their "friends" in regards to one friend's post about Sarah Palin's Alaska, the new highly rated TLC cable program, being a "fail".
The gist of it boils down to this: A "friend" of 16 year-old Willow posted an opinion on his Facebook status. Willow reacted harshly and as the thread continued called this kid "so gay", "a faggot", told him to "stfu", etc. Older sister and Dancing With The Stars finalist Bristol Palin joined in the fun and dozens upon dozens of comments later there was all kinds of slings and arrows, bad language, and other accusations regarding weight, sexual orientation, and family exploitation.
Today, big sister Bristol issued a veiled apology for the ranting. Willow, apparently, has deleted her Facebook account.
Normally I would say the social media rants of teenagers are far, far from newsworthy, even if it is by the teenage children of a very public figure. In fact, I'd leave it alone if Bristol Palin -- who is an adult -- hadn't been part of that thread and if she hadn't thrust herself into the spotlight by her participation in a popular TV program and by filming what I find to be wholly hypocritical PSA's about abstinence.
The focus of the initial articles on this subject focused on Willow's use of the words and terms "faggot" and "gay". And, yes, I do think her choice of words are relevant because there has been much recent attention on a broader scale to try and teach kids to remove these words from their lexicon, just as we've tried to get people to stop using the term "retarded". Given that Bristol and Willow's little brother has Downs Syndrome, I would have expected them to be a bit more sensitive to the power of words, no matter their age. Indeed, their own mother has attacked the use the term "retard".
I've read that we're supposed to give Willow a pass because of her age (16) and that her choice of words is no different from the average teenager. We're supposed to give her a break because it wasn't her choice to be thrust into the national spotlight, but instead the choice of her never-ending publicity-seeking mother, Sarah Palin. And yet the comment about the reality TV show -- again, a product of the mother -- was made by someone who is not part of the Palin family. It was some classmate who, while not being terribly nice, didn't initially cuss or say anything disparaging except that he thought the TV show sucked. He stated an opinion on his own Facebook page. Once the comments thread got going this kid certainly gave as good as he got and, ultimately, all parties should have turned the other cheek and known better. But, again, his initial comment was his to make. Willow Palin chose to let it get to her and responded defensively and went on the attack. Bristol, showing an incredible lack of maturity, also cast insults at minors on the thread.
I should add here that Willow Palin's repeated incorrect use of "you're" "your" "their" "there" and "they're" was, to me, just as offensive as any use of the words or variations on "fag" or "gay". It begs the question:Is grammar education in Alaska failing as hard as abstinence only education did with Bristol Palin?
Social media, like other forms of media ranging from books to TV to video games to music, is one more thing that parents need to monitor. If it is used in a positive or fun manner then teenagers can get something useful out of it. I've seen my teenage son use it mostly for keeping in touch with friends both near and far, and on occasion he's connected on Facebook chat to -- I kid you not -- find out from a friend what the math homework is. His mother and I are his "friends" on FB and we check his wall and account periodically, knowing full well he can hide content from us with a few settings changes. But, even in knowing that, we haven't seen anything that has raised an eyebrow. We haven't seen anything close to the comments thread like the one at the center of this Palin story.
I bring up my son because I think he presents an interesting contrast for those who are defending Willow Palin's choice of words. Again, the terms "faggot" or being "so gay" are widespread among teenagers and the efforts to combat that will take time. But efforts like that do work and it doesn't take much to get a kid to realize that what he or she says in real life or online has consequences and an impact. At a recent soccer practice my teenage son's teammates were making fun of another player's last name: Gaylord. You can imagine the terms and expressions that followed from a field of teenage boys. According to a parent who witnessed this, it was my son who grabbed the soccer ball they were all using and demanded to know who was yelling "That's so gay" and other less-than-kind comments. He repeatedly told his teammates and friends to knock it off, to change the subject, and to cease what they were saying, pointing out that "Gaylord" was someone's last name and shouldn't be a target of ridicule and that "gay" should not be used as insult. When I was told about this I proud of him but I wasn't terribly surprised. That's the kind of kid we're trying to raise and he's picked up on what is acceptable and what isn't from his mother and me. Our son, Bailey, is 14 and he knows better. Willow Palin is 16; two years older than my son and, supposedly, girls mature faster than boys. So what's her excuse?
She doesn't have one, and neither do her parents. I applaud them if they were the ones who insisted she delete her Facebook after this recent incident and I would hope the parents of the other kids involved -- including those who were saying unflattering things about the Palins -- will consider doing the same until their kids can demonstrate more responsibility with their words and actions. Then again, I imagine focusing on parenting is difficult in the midst of a book tour, an exploratory committee, and encouraging your daughter to be a celebrity instead of furthering her education and/or getting a job to support her child. Oh, and lest we forget filming a reality show, where exploiting your children for financial and political gain is more important than teaching them civility or the right and wrong way to defend yourself.
When something goes wrong with kids it is often too easy to say, "I blame the parents".
But sometimes it is the most accurate assessment.
J
The gist of it boils down to this: A "friend" of 16 year-old Willow posted an opinion on his Facebook status. Willow reacted harshly and as the thread continued called this kid "so gay", "a faggot", told him to "stfu", etc. Older sister and Dancing With The Stars finalist Bristol Palin joined in the fun and dozens upon dozens of comments later there was all kinds of slings and arrows, bad language, and other accusations regarding weight, sexual orientation, and family exploitation.
Today, big sister Bristol issued a veiled apology for the ranting. Willow, apparently, has deleted her Facebook account.
Normally I would say the social media rants of teenagers are far, far from newsworthy, even if it is by the teenage children of a very public figure. In fact, I'd leave it alone if Bristol Palin -- who is an adult -- hadn't been part of that thread and if she hadn't thrust herself into the spotlight by her participation in a popular TV program and by filming what I find to be wholly hypocritical PSA's about abstinence.
The focus of the initial articles on this subject focused on Willow's use of the words and terms "faggot" and "gay". And, yes, I do think her choice of words are relevant because there has been much recent attention on a broader scale to try and teach kids to remove these words from their lexicon, just as we've tried to get people to stop using the term "retarded". Given that Bristol and Willow's little brother has Downs Syndrome, I would have expected them to be a bit more sensitive to the power of words, no matter their age. Indeed, their own mother has attacked the use the term "retard".
I've read that we're supposed to give Willow a pass because of her age (16) and that her choice of words is no different from the average teenager. We're supposed to give her a break because it wasn't her choice to be thrust into the national spotlight, but instead the choice of her never-ending publicity-seeking mother, Sarah Palin. And yet the comment about the reality TV show -- again, a product of the mother -- was made by someone who is not part of the Palin family. It was some classmate who, while not being terribly nice, didn't initially cuss or say anything disparaging except that he thought the TV show sucked. He stated an opinion on his own Facebook page. Once the comments thread got going this kid certainly gave as good as he got and, ultimately, all parties should have turned the other cheek and known better. But, again, his initial comment was his to make. Willow Palin chose to let it get to her and responded defensively and went on the attack. Bristol, showing an incredible lack of maturity, also cast insults at minors on the thread.
I should add here that Willow Palin's repeated incorrect use of "you're" "your" "their" "there" and "they're" was, to me, just as offensive as any use of the words or variations on "fag" or "gay". It begs the question:Is grammar education in Alaska failing as hard as abstinence only education did with Bristol Palin?
Social media, like other forms of media ranging from books to TV to video games to music, is one more thing that parents need to monitor. If it is used in a positive or fun manner then teenagers can get something useful out of it. I've seen my teenage son use it mostly for keeping in touch with friends both near and far, and on occasion he's connected on Facebook chat to -- I kid you not -- find out from a friend what the math homework is. His mother and I are his "friends" on FB and we check his wall and account periodically, knowing full well he can hide content from us with a few settings changes. But, even in knowing that, we haven't seen anything that has raised an eyebrow. We haven't seen anything close to the comments thread like the one at the center of this Palin story.
I bring up my son because I think he presents an interesting contrast for those who are defending Willow Palin's choice of words. Again, the terms "faggot" or being "so gay" are widespread among teenagers and the efforts to combat that will take time. But efforts like that do work and it doesn't take much to get a kid to realize that what he or she says in real life or online has consequences and an impact. At a recent soccer practice my teenage son's teammates were making fun of another player's last name: Gaylord. You can imagine the terms and expressions that followed from a field of teenage boys. According to a parent who witnessed this, it was my son who grabbed the soccer ball they were all using and demanded to know who was yelling "That's so gay" and other less-than-kind comments. He repeatedly told his teammates and friends to knock it off, to change the subject, and to cease what they were saying, pointing out that "Gaylord" was someone's last name and shouldn't be a target of ridicule and that "gay" should not be used as insult. When I was told about this I proud of him but I wasn't terribly surprised. That's the kind of kid we're trying to raise and he's picked up on what is acceptable and what isn't from his mother and me. Our son, Bailey, is 14 and he knows better. Willow Palin is 16; two years older than my son and, supposedly, girls mature faster than boys. So what's her excuse?
She doesn't have one, and neither do her parents. I applaud them if they were the ones who insisted she delete her Facebook after this recent incident and I would hope the parents of the other kids involved -- including those who were saying unflattering things about the Palins -- will consider doing the same until their kids can demonstrate more responsibility with their words and actions. Then again, I imagine focusing on parenting is difficult in the midst of a book tour, an exploratory committee, and encouraging your daughter to be a celebrity instead of furthering her education and/or getting a job to support her child. Oh, and lest we forget filming a reality show, where exploiting your children for financial and political gain is more important than teaching them civility or the right and wrong way to defend yourself.
When something goes wrong with kids it is often too easy to say, "I blame the parents".
But sometimes it is the most accurate assessment.
J