A Boy dies participating in the fire challenge, are we now ready to admit it’s not a game?
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Are we really at a point in society where we have to air public service announcements for young people that blare: don’t set yourself on fire; don’t cause yourself to pass out?
I knew the generation coming up behind me was troubled and needed guidance, but damn… setting yourself on fire? That’s not normal… that’s not something a sane person would do.
Sure, like everyone else, I want to know where the parents are, because that’s a great question. But I also want to know what is wrong with these children. These self-destructive actions break the barrier of “just being bored,” and extend into severe mental illness and a warped perception of the world.
In these young people’s under-developed mind, getting a ton of likes on Facebook and Instagram is the key to unlocking celebrity, which to them really means being noticed, being made to feel real, and being accepted into popular culture.
What these misguided, unsupervised, unengaged young people don’t understand about popular culture is that it’s fickle, and what’s popular today won’t be popular tomorrow. What is long-lasting is the damages you can cause to your body by intentionally engulfing yourself in flames or having a “friend” stop you from breathing.
You want a public service announcement, here it is: friends don’t tape friends attempting suicide. Call it what you will young people and mainstream media, but these games are no game at all, and it’s not funny. It’s mass, public suicide attempts performed by children who have waaaaay to much time on their hands and waaaaaaay to much autonomy as minors.
These children, in my opinion, should be removed from their parents care and placed in a mental hospital under suicide watch. Not only is it necessary, but it will send a message to any other knuckleheads that may want to try it.
And now I ask: where the hell are the parents in all of this? They may be working two jobs trying to make ends meet, I get it, but good parenting teaches leadership, which stresses not to give into peer pressure. Someone in this group should have said “hey guys let’s stop this or I’m calling the police,” and the fact that these videos are making it to the web means everyone in these videos are losers, and not a leader exist among them.
A leader stands alone so others know who to follow. A leader does what’s right, even if it means being unpopular … especially if it means being unpopular. Parents teach your kids it’s quite okay to not fit in, especially if this is what the “popular kids” do.
This article appears as part of a series by Techbook Online entitled “Are You Raising Losers or Leaders?”
Thanks for reading. Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® & I’m Drumming for JUSTICE!™
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Photo: Mr.Thomas/Flickr