Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Enough, Already!

OK. I get it. Kids, by which I mean teens, are known for doing dumb things. Taking ridiculous chances. Not worrying too much about the future. But, really?
Teen girls and boys are sending naked photos of themselves to friends over the internet or texting them on their cellphones. And then they're surprised when the photos are seen by people other than the ones they were sent to. HELLO!?!?!?
Now, I'm not unsympathetic. It's a brave new world, technologically. What you think may be private usually isn't. And I certainly feel for any kid who finds themselves on the receiving end of teasing, or worse, from a naked photo that got spread around. But WHERE ARE THE PARENTS? Granted, most kids are more technologically advanced that their parents, but most adults know that sending a naked photo of yourself, in any manner, is likely to come back and bite you on your (naked) ass.
And the consequences can be dangerous. You put a photo on the internet and it's basically accessible to ANYONE ON THE PLANET. And there are some scary people out there! But the truth is, it's usually the person to whom that photo was sent who decides to share it with his/her friends. Or, y'know, post it on FaceBook.
And I have to rant about something else: why are we NOT teaching our girls about self-defense? About being smart, about how to handle being out in a crowd , how to keep themselves safe? And why are we not teaching our boys about treating people well, not taking advantage, and being respectful? I realize peer pressure is huge, but these are lessons that NEED to be taught.
A young woman has gone missing from a Manhattan night club, last seen leaving with a young man WHO IS A REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER.
First of all, how does a guy like that get to leave his home in Orange County, N.Y., to troll nightclubs in Manhattan?!?!?! Ever since this woman was reported missing, 10 other women have come forward saying that they were assaulted by this guy. He was arrested yesterday on a parole violation. WTF?!?!?!
Authorities KNEW this guy was a criminal. He was REGISTERED as a sex offender, for cryin' out loud!!!!! I KNOW we have problems with our judicial system, but this is ridiculous! We have GOT to stop treating assault victims as criminals, and START treating the rapists as criminals!

As parents, we need to teach our girls to be smart, strong, and to stop treating themselves like Playboy model wannabees. To, sad to say, be more distrustful of strangers. To take care of themselves.

Of course there are situations where an attack becomes unavoidable. So we place the blame where it belongs: ON THE ATTACKER. No one ever ever "deserves" to be assaulted!!! For God's sake!

Sorry for the rant, but I'm just SO ANGRY!!!!!!!

7 comments:

Crabby McSlacker said...

Oh my goodness, I so glad I'm not the parent of a teen.

Yikes!

azusmom said...

Yeah, it makes me wonder what they'll be up to by the time my kids are in their teens. Kinda freaks me out!

Charlotte said...

I agree completely about needing to ingrain responsibility in our children before they are launched in a world that seems primed to take advantage of irresponsibility. I used to work at an all-girls school and I have to say that the naked-texting thing is quite common.

Conny said...

I have a teenaged step-daughter and her father and I have always told her to be careful and aware of her surroundings. She says, "I know, and I will." But somehow I can't help but think her answer is just lip service. I just hope she really means it. Kids always think they're invincible, and bad things happen to "other" people. That's the nature of being a teen. Hopefully they safely live through their teen years and then mature.

azusmom said...

Conny,you are SO RIGHT, and I certainly didn't mean to imply that all parents of teens are bad parents. Kids do believe they're invincible, and I remember rolling my eyes and saying "Yeah, yeah" to my parents when they told me to be careful. (If it makes you feel better, I always heeded their advice once I was out of the house, and I'll bet your step-daughter does, as well.)

Charlotte, that's kind of scary!

Anonymous said...

your anger is totally justified. It's a totally different world out there. I also heard today on the Today Show about a young girl who accidentally texted her FATHER about her first time having sex! yikes!

azusmom said...

Yikes!!!! Scary! For both of them, lol!

(Did you happen to see the story of the girls who took a bath in the sink at the KFC they worked at, then posted them online? Um, DUH! As well as EW! I REALLY hope that's not the secret recipe!)