Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Not Another Facebook Arrest!....A Conversation Starter

 I keep bringing these stories to you, because I need you to "get" that your teens need education and training about what will and will not get them in trouble, and what is respectful and disrespectful with regard to what they post on Facebook. This story concerns a high school boy who decided it would be fun to post a rank ordering of 50 girls in his high school. This boy "reportedly ranked the girls on a 10-point scale based on facial features, a 5-point ranking for various body parts and a ranking of whether their "stock" is up or down, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Girls were also given nicknames like "The Designated Drunk" and "The Amazing Bisexual." The list was circulated on Facebook, and in the halls on photocopied flyers."  For those girls who were the chosen, they had to walk into school everyday facing the taunts generated by these so-called "ratings". Some girls were furious, but amazingly some girls thought it was "boys being boys." If this is boys being boys, then lock up your daughters. I'm guessing that the girls who were unperturbed about the rating system, liked the attention it generated for them, especially if their ratings were favorable. Who doesn't want to get a 10 for boobs! "The list was full of misogynistic language and racial slurs." The outcome for this boy was his expulsion from High School and his arrest for misdemeanor and disorderly conduct. I'm guessing that this boy thought he was being one clever dude, as did the hundreds of kids who read, responded, and participated in this incident.

Talk to your boys about respect for women, and talk to your girls about respect for themselves. 

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/10/student-arrested-for-rank_n_860115.html?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl3|sec3_lnk1|62184

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