Amanda Todd is dead. The 15 year-old apparently killed herself
following a series of events which started when she was 12 and she
decided to indecently expose herself to a voyeur online. After that a
combination of having her bare-breasted image sent around to several
individuals, an illicit sexual encounter with a teenage boy, and a
couple of beatings by some girls (one of which came at the hands of a
jealous girlfriend of the boy), all led to her posting a nearly nine-minute video
and her eventual self-demise. It all sounds like a clear-cut case of
bullying. But, there are so many missing pieces to this story that it
makes one wonder just
what really happened.
First of all is the idea that a 12 year-old would go unsupervised on
the Internet to expose herself to some man, especially when her mother
is a teacher, and a technology teacher
at that in a public school! Where was mom when little Amanda was
eight, nine, ten, or eleven years-old? In other words, why did not mom,
or even dad, teach Amanda that not only is exposing yourself in public
immoral and indecent, but that there are all kinds of evil, rotten,
dangerous people in the world who are looking for little girls and boys
to exploit them for their evil, rotten, and dangerous deeds? Surely
with mom being a techno-whiz, as one news source characterized her, she
should have known that something like this could have happened. So,
where was she?
Second, when the threats of possibly personal harm first surfaced,
why was not the police contacted? With all the bullying, ostracizing,
and distancing of Amanda’s friends at school, surely that must have been
noticeable in her change of attitude and demeanor. After all, when she
committed her act of indecency online, she was not by herself. Several
of her girlfriends were right there with her when it happened. So,
when they abandoned her, that had to have had a devastating effect upon
her as well, especially when the voyeur threatened to expose her further
to her classmates, family, and teachers. Again, where were mom and dad
in all of this? Why did they not have a talk with her to find out what
was wrong, get the straight scoop, and then contact the police? Did
not they find it a bit odd that they had to keep moving their daughter
around from school to school, especially since mom was a teacher?
Third, the video that Amanda produced was done five weeks prior to
her suicide. It was then posted on YouTube October 12, 2012. She died
on October 10. Did not mom or dad know about this video several weeks
ago? Apparently someone did. Otherwise, how did it manage to get
posted on YouTube two days after she died? Moreover, just who posted
the video? And if they knew about the video, then why did not someone
intervene in her behalf or at least contact her parents to find out what
was going on? Her mother says that Amanda did the video “to help young
people who are being bullied.” Really? And just how would mom know
about that unless she knew something about its production long before
anyone posted it or before Amanda passed away? There is something
tragically creepy about all of this and it has nothing to do with
bullying.
Fourth, commensurate with the previous point is the one surrounding
mom’s all-too-willingness to want to “tell my story to help parents.”
What? It’s been five days since Amanda’s apparent suicide, and the
mother now wants to instruct other parents about bullying and what to
look out for? She could not, or would not, prevent her own daughter’s
death, but she wants to help other parents try and stop the bullying of
their children? Does that make any sense? Most sensible parents after
losing of their children are not eager beavers when it comes to talking
about it. There is a period of mourning and grief that it absolutely
gut-wrenching; but not with this mother. She wants to play hero, as if
she is some kind of expert on the subject; an expert that failed to
preserve her own daughter’s life. Could it be that what she really sees
is a financial opportunity and she’s merely seizing the moment?
Fifth, the police are now hot on the trial of the suspected voyeur.
What they’re going to charge him with is anybody’s guess. Several have
expressed the desire that he be arrested and then die a slow, tortuous
death. But, does any of that make any sense given what was discussed
above? Mom and dad were both obviously negligent. Amanda’s “friends”
and their parents were a bunch of idiots as well. Then, there’s Amanda,
who exposed herself. Then there are all the teachers and school
administrators who knew about not only her stupid behavior, but of the
voyeur who was sending around the emails, and did nothing about any of
it. Yet, the police are “on z-case.” Someone is going to pay for this,
even if it means trumping up charges and holding a kangaroo court. It
would seem that the only ones who are going to win in this case are
skanky lawyers.
Sixth, the mother has reported that Amanda sent her a final video to
explain why all of the sudden Amanda completely fell off the wagon of
life. Mom, though, has not viewed the video, even though the coroner
has stated will bring closure. Mom claims “I’m not ready to look at it
yet.” What? Her daughter has just died a tragic death due to dubious
circumstances, and she’s not ready to look it yet? Most parents who
have lost children because they have either run away from home or
someone has kidnapped them would almost die themselves for such a
video. Also, remember, mom wants to inform other parents on how to stop
bullying. But this mother doesn’t want took at the video, even though
it might provide key information to help make sense of an otherwise
senseless saga, as well as inform her message? Besides, how would this
coroner know it would bring closure? What exactly is that supposed to
mean?
Seventh, no one has reported on just exactly how Amanda committed
suicide. A previous attempt, as reported in the video she produced,
stated that she tried swallowing bleach. That failed when her father
found her and had rushed her to the hospital to have her system
flushed. Although it is not totally uncommon that obituaries or news
reports fail to state the exact cause of decease in those who pass, it
seems inconsistent that at this point in Amanda’s story that that detail
was left out. Perhaps amid all the voyeuristic reporting someone had
to draw the line somewhere, but why now? Is it possible that Amanda
never died at all?
This whole story about Amanda Todd makes absolutely no sense to me.
It is almost as if it is contrived to make some specious point about the
politically incorrect activity known as “bullying.” A prepubescent
minor exposing herself to some online pervert, missing in action moms
and dads, kids beating each other up because they have no legitimate
reason not to, school teachers and administrators standing around with
their hands in the pockets while the kids beat each other up, law
enforcement officials going after the boogeyman to have someone to
blame, and a mother who now wants to instruct other parents how to
safeguard their children, even though she couldn’t (or wouldn’t)
safeguard her now deceased daughter. Maybe someday we’ll have the rest
of the pieces to this story, because right now it is incoherent.
