One day a young girl made one mistake that sent her life spiraling out of control. As she lost control in her life she turned to drugs and alcohol to ease the pain. In the end she decided to end her life.
Today we are going to talk about Amanda Todd. Not the media sensation but the girl behind the story, taken from her own words. The only way to stop a repeat of this tragedy is to understand what actually happened in this girl’s life.
Amanda went looking for attention in an Internet chat room, just like many people do. She suffered low self-esteem and wanted to feel better about herself. However, what she found was a cold-hearted sexual predator.
He built up her confidence to the point she was willing to do whatever he wanted. In a moment of weakness she made a mistake and exposed herself on webcam. She thought she was in an anonymous situation and no one would ever find out.
A year later the predator was back to exploit Amanda again. As she refused to show him more he posted a picture of her everywhere including Facebook. One simple moment in her life changed everything.
The media has done an incredible job of dehumanizing Amanda. Through this process Amanda is seen less and less as a person and more of a fictional character. The more we hear this story the more we become desensitized to it.
By turning this story into an anti-bullying campaign, they have been able to win over public opinion and keep this story constantly in the news. All the interviews from her closest friends are an example of how her story has been manipulated.
If you watch her video they would see she had no friends, and this was one of the many causes of her depression. All the work by the media has been to keep the story alive and to sell their product. The message Amanda died to get out has been lost.
The online attacks have continued even after her death. The comments you can read online about Amanda are disturbing. Most of these individuals are making the exact same mistake Amanda made; they assume that online gives them anonymity.
These comments seem to be more of a contest to see who can post the worst possible comments.
These individuals have to learn the simple lesson Amanda learned; once it’s online you can’t take it back.
Clearly, in order to stop a repeat of this tragedy, we have to understand what actually took place. A troubled young girl trying to escape her emotional abyss lost everything. She called out for help for three years to no avail. In a final attempt to take back control of her life she wrote her story on cue cards and made another webcam video.
Amanda committed suicide shortly after posting her story online. To bring an end to her pain she went back to where it all started, on her webcam. Imprisoned by loneliness and silenced by her peers, Amanda hopes the world will understand her final message.
WAYNE MERNICKLE
Kamloops
