I want to start by writing:
To anyone who would begin to judge me based on the headline or graphic,
You are part of a big problem.
I pray that you will open your mind to learning and being tolerant of an opinion that is not your own instead of passing judgment because I know to Whom the job of judging me belongs and I’ll be quick to remind you that it’s not your responsibility. If you are already offended by this blog and keep reading you are likely to become more offended; choose not to continue reading, I bid you farewell.

A post on Facebook caught my attention which absolutely has to be addressed before it gets out of control and makes our community look like a bunch of hateful racist bigots. My hope is that this post will prompt our city to come together to teach our children to do better instead of furthering the divide between our neighbors, families, and friends.

Shocking, right?

I don't believe that anyone would find the things that are said in the video pleasant. There are many who have expressed anger over the behavior of the juveniles and sadly there will be many who agree with the ideals that were expressed. Make no mistake, what is said by the girls is wrong. Let me repeat that for those who may still be reading but are offended by my earlier statement, the things said in the video are WRONG! The words should never have been spoken, but it happened.

In the current time of instant data and social media it didn't take long for someone to identify the people in the video and put them on public display.

Clearly, there is more to the situation than simply a couple of dumbass teenagers spouting racial garbage on Snapchat.

The response from the person who was identified is not something that is unexpected by most objective individuals. I have two children attending high school and understand that "tit for tat" quarreling is not uncommon, especially online. It would be an utter embarrassing tragedy for any family if one of their own were to be caught behaving in such an abhorrent manner and then become the target of all sorts of backlash.

Of course, any backlash would be met with an appropriate apology by the person or persons who were caught. What is almost as bad as the behavior itself is the long-lasting impact that it will likely have on the individual because of people who lack empathy or compassion.

I'm not going to pretend that I am innocent of ever having been harsh on someone who displays hateful behavior but I do make an effort to be more conscientious of doing something to another person that I wouldn't want to have done to me. If my kids were caught doing or saying something idiotically offensive I would be mortified, they damn well know better. But kids say the dumbest things and don't always best represent the family in which they were raised with their choices. Why? Because they are human.

Humans don't always learn by example. People more often than not will learn from experience, from mistakes, and from how others respond to their mistakes. It would be a fine and perfect world if humans would simply learn by what they are told, trusting that parents know best. Unfortunately, human growth and development doesn't work that way.

I would like to believe that ours is a community that can step back from the immediate reaction to each other and instead attempt to visualize being on the other side of a situation. Unfortunately, it appears that the reaction to what was said will be a stain on the girls and potentially their families, the backlash will continue.

Rather than be quick to attack each other we should all be using this situation as an opportunity to learn. Learn to do better, not just in the obvious way of avoiding the behavior to begin with but also in how we respond to the behavior as a community.

I'm certain that nobody wins when threats are cast about and the only thing learned by making threats or bullying the girls is that people are inherently mean to one another. The "kick 'em while they are down" culture has to stop if we truly expect for things like teen suicide rates to decline. Instead, the rates of teen suicide continue to increase.

Online bullying is the norm and not the exception, often perpetrated by adults who also have children. I simply cannot understand another parent who is quick to attack a child for making a mistake, it's heartbreaking to witness.

Let's do better Lubbock. Let's focus on learning to love each other for our differences instead of perpetuating the divide. Forgiveness is what is warranted in this situation by the community, compassion from adults and discussion in every home about treating others in the way we would like to be treated ourselves. I’m sure the parents of these girls will handle the situation  the best that they can, just like you or I if our children got caught acting childish.

Ours is a Christian community that appears to get really ugly when something like this occurs and it's embarrassing to be part of a town who chews up and spits out its own children for the sake of looking righteous online. These children did not consider the consequences of their actions and will now have to live in a community that knows all about their mistakes. How would you like the community to react if your child was caught being a dumbass? Do you believe that by being hateful the girls will learn more tolerance for others??

Do better Lubbock because we are better.

It's time to start showing the rest of the nation what being a good human looks like by having tolerance for each other and the mistakes we as humans make.

We can rally to do good or rally to keep the status quo, but whatever you decide, consider the consequences.

The RockShow discussed the situation during the show on Friday:

 

 

 

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