the media mandala

This is a difficult subject to write about but I thought it was important to discuss it from a media angle.  Being a parent, and having been bullied as a kid, my heart goes out to the parents who had their daughter savagely beaten by a group of peers.  Aside from the obvious social issues that are at so prevalent in schools today, there is a media issue.  During the interview with the parents, the father vents his frustration with “these internet companies” stating that “MySpace is the anti-christ for children.”  There are alot of obvious issues in sites such as MySpace that are of great concern for parents.  The social issues ranging from child neglect to teen pressure have placed impressionable character traits on some disturbed teens clearly evident in this video.  Most of this behavior gets overlooked by parents today whether by sheer ignorance or perhaps neglect in having to work two jobs in today’s economy.  The burden of neglect is also on the institutions of today - our educational system.  As I mentioned earlier, I was bullied in Jr. High by a group of kids that came from broken homes.  It was a hard time for me to balance the embarrassment let alone the school’s frustrating, passive approach to the problem.  I remember the social councilor seemed to be concerned, yet without proof of these incidents, could do very little and the school continued remain confident that they did not need to get the school’s parents involved.  Looking back, I wish technology would have been there to shed some light on this subject and force the schools and parents to start talking.  The video captured is very troubling for any parent, or morally upright person to watch. The anger and disturbing behavior of these girls were not fueled by this current access to internet technology we have now.  I don’t remember picking up my parents Super 8mm camera when I was younger and suddenly thinking - man, if I could just beat a person senseless and film it.  The father of the young woman, to his credit, has a right to be angry and horrifically disturbed.  Yes, it is true that teens do have easier access to media that contains violence and aggression.  We have to be better parents in this increasingly confusing world, and it’s not easy at all.  There is no manual that comes with child birth.  My son, who just turned four, is crazy infatuated with Star Wars and Transformers.  I worry about where his threshold needs to be at his age.  I try to make an effort to watch Star Wars I, IV and V and explain that this is all make believe.  I steer him away from the darker sequels of II, III and VI that have too much fighting.  I even watched a behind the scenes Star Wars DVD with him to illustrate that there is only fantasy in this.  I was four and a half when Star Wars first came to the screen in the 70’s.  I remember it fondly and don’t consider myself a violent person today, or growing up.  Parents have to open up and talk with their kids daily.  The girls who created this horrific event, were not born dangerous.  Somewhere, along the way, they developed issues that they couldn’t deal with as a youth.  For some unknown reason, the parents didn’t keep a daily, open dialog for their kids to talk about what they are dealing with.  It’s a hard thing to swallow as a parent.  You want to believe that all of your hard work at the end of the day is enough.  My wife and I remind ourselves during the frustrating moments that parenting is total zen work.  Being a good parent yesterday cannot justify neglectful behavior today.  It’s how you cope and properly address their issues that they have at that moment.  Technology doesn’t fuel aggressive behavior, it only records it.  We as parents, as a society, we need to monitor these mediums daily to keep our community and our families in check.