4-8-11 Suicide solution
A Spicer teen took her own life this week, sending shockwaves through the community. As a journalist, I have always tried to avoid doing stories on suicides for a couple reasons...it's already bad enough for family and friends without splashing the dead person's name on the airwaves. Plus it gives the person attention, which sometimes troubled young people are craving. They may see all the attention this person is getting, the tearful professions of love from friends and even people they hardly knew, accolades from teachers, coaches and neighbors, the teddy bears, flowers and cards left at school, church and even the person's home, and they may think this is a way they too, can get this adulation. There's a song on the radio our country station plays called "If I die young" by the band Perry, singing about what a beautiful send off this young woman could get. "If I die young, bury me in satin Lay me down on a, bed of roses Sink me in the river, at dawn, Send me away with the words of a love song" Of course, if you ask the band, they'll deny that it's glorifying death or suicide, but you know what, some people will just hear the chorus and the imagery and not even care about the deeper meaning.
One thing that troubles me about our local suicide...I'm hearing that she was bullied prior to her death. And that does warrant some attention. Parents need to tell their kids, especially if they have kids who are popular (who made the most viscious bullies) that this is what can happen. I know virtually no details on the local incident...if she was bullied, if it was cyber bullying, whatever, and the odds of anyone who truly knows actually telling one of the pesky media about it are slim, but I am considering doing a series of stories on suicide and want to include the topic of bullying, and localizing a general topic makes it more effective. It can, and has, happened here.
The Twins so far this year have shown things haven't changed...they can't beat the big boys from the east. So they'll maul the Clevelands, Kansas Cities and Oaklands and make everyone think they can compete, when in reality, the first 7 games of the year really showed it all. At the time of this writing, the Twins trail Oakland in their home opener at Target Field.
