It's Funny when Children Die

I read a lot and I also like to keep up with the news. With the internet, I am able to do both very easily. I also like to read the comments and see what others have to say about a news piece. In a lot of cases, even if I disagree, I can usually see and understand the point of others. In recent times however, I'm hesitant to read the comments of other readers.

One story on Yahoo! News was about the horrific death of an African American child. This infant was abused throughout her short life and murdered by those who should have been protecting her. I thought that I was horrified by the story itself, instead my horror and disgust actually started when I glanced at the comments.

I was shocked to see that 95% of the comments thought it would be funny to launch a racial attack against this infant, 4% thought it would be absolutely hilarious to use racial slurs and say that its good she's dead, and the remaining 1% like myself who has a soul, were stunned that anyone would think that its ok to leave such messages about the death of a child.

Whether you are age 1 or 100 years old, we should all know better. I would like to think that we would be able to use common sense to know that its wrong to both this deceased child and her family. Did any of them stop to think that the people close to the case may have seen the story and read these hurtful comments? It's almost as if they think that the internet is a secret, but its not like whispering something that you shouldn't to the person next to you. It's available for everyone to see and if they stopped to think before they let their fingers speak for them, they would realize that they are hurting others but that would be too much to hope for.

When those with common sense mentioned how wrong it was to write such things in Yahoo! News, the commentators were happy to let us know that even if we report them, they will be able to create a new Yahoo! identity because let's face it, its Yahoo! Others actually had the nerve to tell us to grow up. After all, they were simply having fun. Sure that fun came at the expense of an abused child but its ok because their doing it online.

If you will not walk up to this child's family and laugh in their face about their dead child, why do you think its ok to do it online? I don't understand why anyone thinks its ok to write horrible things simply because they cannot see the person they are hurting.

The name Amanda Brisendine probably means nothing to most, but millions of others have spent a lot of time ripping her apart online. Her crime? She gave birth to a son. Here's some of her story:

Amanda Brisendine went to a health center because she was experiencing severe cramps and didn't know what was wrong. After an exam she found out that she was pregnant. Nine months pregnant to be exact. Doctors delivered her new son via a C-section. Amanda and her 7 pound newborn were both doing fine. At least until the story ran in the local news and the not so local internet.

This story should have been a feel good piece but a search of the name Amanda Brisendine will bring you into contact with thousands of messages that hurt the new mother and her family. While many people were quick to express their joy and wish the family good look, so many others simply ripped this woman apart.

Amanda says that she did not know that she was pregnant because after quitting smoking, like many others she turned to food and gained roughly 30 pounds. She also did not miss her period, did not experience nausea and other pregnancy symptoms and simply had no clue until an ultrasound at the health center.

On the internet many people calling her a moron or simply insulting her weight. They say that if she was not a fat pig, she would have known that she was pregnant. These people are calling her names but are not able to realize that this case while rare, is not unique. Many women have no idea that they are pregnant until they go into labor at times. There have been many stories about this, so I just can't understand why so many feel that its ok to label her a bad person and parent because she did not know that she was pregnant.

Websites such as Pantagraph are filled with people who have nothing nice to say, so they type it instead. On Digg the story ran with the title:

Woman So Fat .... She never knew She Was Pregnant

Of course lets not forget some of the delightful comments

SHE IS A FAT!!!

maybe if she didn't eat sticks of butter rolled in sugar like they were popsicles, she wouldn't be so fat...

Man, I always thought Jabba the Hutt was male...

Like the story about the horrible death of a child had nothing to do with her race, why does the fact that this woman did not know she was pregnant has to do with calling her a pig, among other things?

Like I said before, the internet is not a secret and like many others, Amanda Brisendine and her family came online to see the story that was written and were horrified to see what people had to say to this new mother. So yes, when you write these horrible things, the people they are aimed at, will most likely read them.

I love the internet and the great things that it can provide, but these two stories and others like them, makes me want to pack up my computer and shut off the internet to get away from the people who thinks that hurting others is a humorous game of life.