Lessons never learned
The awful excuses for human beings who saw nothing wrong with spying on their roommate and posting the video to the internet need to be punished severely. (They've already been added to People You'll See in Hell, and as much as I don't believe in hell, I can't exactly disagree, either.)
I know the maximum sentence for the invasion of privacy charges they face is only 5 years in prison, and I hope they serve it, but I think Tyler Clementi's parents would be well within their rights to file a wrongful death suit and ensure that every penny those horrible wastes of oxygen earn for the rest of their worthless lives goes to his family.
They destroyed a life. It is only fair that they not be allowed to live theirs the way they would otherwise choose.
We need to have a serious conversation in this country about bullying, because it seems that for the most part, people are only interested in blaming the victims when they act out.
Bullies are the worst kind of people apart from murderers and rapists. But most people already know that murderers and rapists are awful, evil people. For some reason, though, people are willing to make excuses for bullies.
That has to stop.
Tyler Clementi was probably not completely mentally stable, but he might not have been suicidally depressed, either. But he was close enough to the line between them that the video pushed him over the edge.
And the same goes for any of an unfortunately growing number of school shooters, who often are lashing out against bullies. I won't defend their actions, because shooting people is worse than bullying (see above re: murderers), and yes, they needed psychiatric help regardless of the bullying, but again, the actions of a few people who thought it was OK to be mean to someone who 'didn't fit in' pushed them from living and coping with mental illness to sociopathic behaviour.
But all we heard after Columbine was about trench coats and how 'weird' the kids were. So naturally they were bullied, right? Wait, that's not right. What gave them less of a right to a safe, healthy environment than the football players and cheerleaders?
Would Tyler Clementi's roommate have posted video of him fooling around with a female student? Or of a different student who was straight? Or did he choose to post the video because he knew this particular roommate was gay? If it's the former, I guess he's just a voyeuristic creep, but I'm guessing that's not the answer, and that makes him a bully.
When you single someone out for humiliation and ridicule (with the exception of most satire regarding public figures), you are a bully.
And don't think it ends after school. People who are bullies in school turn into bullies as adults. Some I've worked with. Some I've worked for. Some coach youth sports. Some are politicians. Some host talk shows on Fox News.
They never stop, because they never learn that what they're doing is wrong.
It's time to put an end to that, and maybe save some lives in the process.
I know the maximum sentence for the invasion of privacy charges they face is only 5 years in prison, and I hope they serve it, but I think Tyler Clementi's parents would be well within their rights to file a wrongful death suit and ensure that every penny those horrible wastes of oxygen earn for the rest of their worthless lives goes to his family.
They destroyed a life. It is only fair that they not be allowed to live theirs the way they would otherwise choose.
We need to have a serious conversation in this country about bullying, because it seems that for the most part, people are only interested in blaming the victims when they act out.
Bullies are the worst kind of people apart from murderers and rapists. But most people already know that murderers and rapists are awful, evil people. For some reason, though, people are willing to make excuses for bullies.
That has to stop.
Tyler Clementi was probably not completely mentally stable, but he might not have been suicidally depressed, either. But he was close enough to the line between them that the video pushed him over the edge.
And the same goes for any of an unfortunately growing number of school shooters, who often are lashing out against bullies. I won't defend their actions, because shooting people is worse than bullying (see above re: murderers), and yes, they needed psychiatric help regardless of the bullying, but again, the actions of a few people who thought it was OK to be mean to someone who 'didn't fit in' pushed them from living and coping with mental illness to sociopathic behaviour.
But all we heard after Columbine was about trench coats and how 'weird' the kids were. So naturally they were bullied, right? Wait, that's not right. What gave them less of a right to a safe, healthy environment than the football players and cheerleaders?
Would Tyler Clementi's roommate have posted video of him fooling around with a female student? Or of a different student who was straight? Or did he choose to post the video because he knew this particular roommate was gay? If it's the former, I guess he's just a voyeuristic creep, but I'm guessing that's not the answer, and that makes him a bully.
When you single someone out for humiliation and ridicule (with the exception of most satire regarding public figures), you are a bully.
And don't think it ends after school. People who are bullies in school turn into bullies as adults. Some I've worked with. Some I've worked for. Some coach youth sports. Some are politicians. Some host talk shows on Fox News.
They never stop, because they never learn that what they're doing is wrong.
It's time to put an end to that, and maybe save some lives in the process.