It was 7:00 a.
m. , and Skylar rose out of his bed just like any other day. He got dressed, combed his hair, brushed his teeth, grabbed a pop tart and was out the door. Skylar is in the eighth grade and he has been bullied since fourth. Chris Jacobson has picked on him with his “gang” for the past four years. They tease him about his braces, the way he wears his clothes, being too skinny, and anything they can think of.
On top of that, Skylar has suffered depression since his father’s sudden death when he was 10.One day, Skylar decided to get MSN messenger so he could contact his cousins, that live out of state, anytime he pleased. His mother gave him permission and he was very happy. Skylar got a friend request the day after he made it from someone named LizGirl6. He accepted and she immediately wrote “Hi, you look familiar.
” He replied by asking if she went to his school and how she found him. “Elizabeth” did not go to his school, but was supposedly a friend of his older sisters. They continued to talk day, after day, after day.Skylar was feeling more confident at school, his grades were rising, and Chris was not messing with him as much as usual.
Elizabeth was giving Skylar the respect he finally deserved. One night he decided he wanted to tell Elizabeth how he felt about her. He logged on MSN, saw that she was on and wrote her a message saying, “Elizabeth, I really like you and I want to meet you and hangout so that maybe we can become more than friends. ”She replied, “Skylar I don’t like you, your fat and ugly. ” Skylar took this hard and replied with questions like “Why were you leading me on? and “Are you really serious? ” Elizabeth wrote that he was a no good loser, he had no friends, he would never be able to get a girl, and that he was a useless piece of crap that no one cared about. The last thing Elizabeth said was, “You should go die, just like your father did.
” Then she signed off. Skylar got up, ran to his mom in tears and when she asked what was wrong he asked if he could go for a walk. She immediately gave him permission and told him she expected him to explain to her what was wrong when he got back. After an hour his mother got worried because Skylar wasn’t home.She went outside, walked around the block, and screamed louder than she had ever screamed.
Skylar, her one and only son, was lying on the ground in a pool of blood, with a bullet in his head and a gun in his limp hand. After calling 911, and seeing the messages on the computer, it was determined that he had committed suicide. The breaking point for him was the message Elizabeth sent him. Another thing determined was that there was no “Elizabeth”.
She was a fictional character made up by Chris Jacobson to play a prank on Skylar.Is Chris the primary reason for Skylar’s death? This documentary and scenario both demonstrate the lack of human value some people see in others. In the Catholic faith, each and every individual person has a sense of dignity that should not be torn down by others. There are many ways in which human respect can be taken advantage of, one being cyber bullying. Bullying is defined as a form of abuse.
By definition, “It involves repeated acts over time attempting to create or enforce one person's (or group's) power over another person (or group), thus an "imbalance of power. As defined here, bullying is a form of abuse created to show a sense of power or authority. Cyber bullying is a type of bullying done on the internet rather than directly to the victims face. From cyber bullying, the bully’s are able to harass the victim without having to face them.
Some may argue it is a sign of cowardice. However, the Catholic beliefs present us with reasons why we ought not to participate in the act of bullying, whether it is a “joke”, or not. Cyber bullying is diminishing the self esteem of others and performing a human action without well thought out means and ends.Many people seem to think that the Catholic Church is hypocritical when saying that we should treat each other with equality, when as followers of the Catholic faith we feel our beliefs are the only right ones. Although we may think that these are two similar ideas, they are very different. There are many in depth reasons why as Catholics we feel what we believe is right.
When it comes to the dignity and the self respect of a person, we are now more generally speaking about something that could relate with all religions.An article by the name of “The Dignity of the Person Must be Recognized” states the basic understanding of one’s distinction. “It is for this reason that each rational being exists. The cosmos itself exists so a finite life that is not God might be possible. There is an inner worldly purpose that does not run against the ultimate purpose. Each person exists that he might receive eternal life with God.
” When participating in cyber bullying one forgets the purpose or reason behind whomever they are targeting. Why would someone try to hurt another who was placed in this world for a specific purpose?Many people ask themselves this question, but can’t seem to find an answer. It is apparent that cyber bullying can be a product of a not well thought out action. A human action is conscience, deliberate, and free. An action can be deemed sinful if the object, intention, or circumstances are evil. As seen in the beginning video, the woman’s intentions were not bad, but the way she followed through with her plan deemed it a sin.
The means and the end all contribute to the action as a whole. If judgment is also considered in this scenario the treatment of others should be bound in the bully’s conscience, but he is failing to listen.He may not accept the victim’s lifestyle, but it is within the Catholic teaching to respect one another. The saying “sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but words will never hurt me”, is indeed a false statement. Words can hurt more than most people think.
Many think that one wrong won’t have but the slightest affect on an individual, but it does. Ignatiusinsight. com again states, “We will understand the great Socratic principle that "It is never right to do wrong. " As humans we understand that doing something “wrong” means doing something against our faith, hurting another, or basically any type of sin.We are taught growing up as Catholics to, “Treat others the way you would have them treat you”, as the article “Black and Catholic in America” states when targeting racism. No one wants to be bullied, and by bullying another it is more likely for the victim to become severely depressed, or even turn into a bully themselves.
As children of God we are all called to love one another. Although this task may be difficult for people who dislike others or have desire to hurt them, God still calls us to love. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that doing pleasant things for others is living the way God has called us to live.A bully is not only disobeying the Catholic Church’s teaching and failing to show respect to others, but also not living up to the demand of Catholic brotherhood. “The principle of solidarity, also articulated in terms of "friendship" or "social charity," is a direct demand of human and Christian brotherhood. ” We may not feel Eros, Storge, or even Agape love to another, but Philia love is always permitted.
Philia love is the type of love a cyber bully should be reaching out for, rather than taking the dignity of another. Bullying in general is in no way permissible to the Catholic Church.Therefore, participating in the eternal hurt of another person is not allowed. Words can stab like knives.
Skylar’s death was caused from the sudden outburst of the awful messages on the computer, but in order for him to have committed suicide there had to have been much more on his plate as well. As Father James V. Schall states, “Put in other terms, human beings responsible for the killing or maltreatment of other human beings thrust acts into the world that disorder their own souls and terminate or derange the lives of others. ”
