Ohhhh. What a terrible story about Tyler Clementi. Tyler is the poor kid who couldn’t see his way out of being outed all over the internet and committed suicide.
I don’t know if the guys who perpetrated this really understood how cruel actions can result in irreversible violence loss. I prefer to think they didn’t. (Research indicates homophobes are often gay but I digress.)
Three things popped out immediately after hearing the story:
1. A young gay kid is not necessarily better off now when coming to terms with his/her sexuality than in the past. Yes, there are lots of kids who have no problems at all but it is NOT mainstream.
2. Adulthood does not occur at 18. While a happy recipient of the law that changed my status then rather than at 21 all those years ago I see now how foolish that change really was.
3. Most importantly there is no longer a reasonable expectation of privacy – anywhere. Tyler Clementi’s death was ignited by his college roommate. It’s not Big Brother we need to worry about. It’s Big Neighbor, Big Stranger, Big Classmate.
Should our homes – even if it’s a college dorm – be camera free? What kind of rules do we set and would they even be followed?
No privacy. It’s here. How do we help our children, and ourselves, cope?
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