newYou can now listen to Fox News articles.
Instead of intervening or calling the police, bystanders film the victims’ deaths and the brutal beatings. There are many reports of young people falling victim to fights and stabbings, and their peers casually standing by and filming their plight.
In the age of social media, this is a cruel reality for too many parents across the country. Police often identify the deceased and track down their parents long after the crime scene clip has already been uploaded and circulated online for everyone to see. .
On February 25th, Birmingham mother Gail Maddox received the email that most parents dread. Her 20-year-old daughter, Mahogany Jackson, said she was being held hostage and begged her mother to call the police.
Parents, please raise your children to never film others being injured or killed for sports. (St. Petersburg)
That was just the beginning of Gail’s suffering. Less than 24 hours later, police found Mahogany’s body.
FBI offers 4 important steps to talk to kids about trauma and crisis
But something terrible made this tragedy even worse. A video of Mahogany’s rape, torture and death surfaced online and went viral. Her sadistic kidnappers and murderers recorded their atrocities for the world to see.
Gail had already experienced the death of a child, a fate no parent should ever endure. But now that the brutal act has been exposed online, she is forced to relive the indescribable pain every time she shares the video.
In fact, people sent the horrifying footage to Mr. Mahogany’s family, as if they needed to see it. “That’s my child. Please stop. I can’t take it,” Gail begged.
I experienced an indescribable moment of shock and sadness when my daughter, just 19 years old, was shot and killed by a stray bullet as she sat with friends in a gas-filled car. Ta. I know how much Gail suffered losing her daughter, and I regularly advise and comfort her other parents who are on the same path of grief.
Grieving mother of shooting victim protests against George Gascón over slow-on-crime policies: ‘My heart goes out to criminals’
We are also working to strengthen community relationships with police. And I understand that in some ways, the release of the Mahogany torture video has enabled the police to identify the defendant and legally arrest him quickly.
So I speak for Gail and all parents of murdered children.
If you watch a video of a murder or torture online posted by the perpetrator, an accomplice, or a bystander who thought it was a sport, and you casually share the video, know that you are an accomplice in this crime. please. Know that you are giving the perpetrator the notoriety they desire.
And if you see this content and do nothing about it – share it with law enforcement or demand that it be removed from the platform – know that you are part of the problem. .
Columbine shooting victims remembered at 25th anniversary vigil in Denver
Distributing and selling videos online was another level of evil. The defendants have the nerve to call themselves the “Jesus Road” gang. Filming their atrocities is the spineless sadism of people walking around pretending to be humans.
I call on local governments to prosecute the individuals who send such videos. States such as Alabama prohibit the distribution of revenge porn, and Alabama defines revenge porn as “.[d]Distributing private images with the intent to harass, threaten, intimidate, or intimidate the person depicted.” It certainly seems like this is the case with Mahogany.
And parents, please raise your children to be leaders and, if possible, to stop violence on their own or report it to the police. Develop the basic etiquette of never photographing someone else’s injury or death for the sake of sport.
Social media platforms must actively regulate and stop the circulation of recorded violence. Community moderation is common and in cases like this it is a matter of life and death.
Mother of Austin crime victim slams city council’s ‘scumbags’ for defunding police and turning citizens into ‘targets’
But so far, all these recommendations are negative. There is also a positive vision for the use of social media in our country. We can use these platforms to heal ourselves and each other, and to spread messages of upliftment and mutual respect.
Social media can rally around the families of victims of violence and provide them with the emotional and material resources they need to cope with the grief and anger of a sudden loss.
I personally shared survivor tips on LinkedIn and Facebook. At every opportunity, I have spoken out about the suffering faced by mothers like me and the urgent need for solutions to the violence that is tearing our neighborhoods apart.
For more FOX News opinions, click here
And now I’m asking you to join me. Use your voice for good. Do your part to support your community’s recovery, especially during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.
We all have a role to play. And together, we can stop this ongoing cycle of trauma and violence.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
