WTF!: RIP Amanda Todd

I am feeling like I am in kind of a serious mood today and there is an opinion of mine that I need to get off my chest. A certain name has been making the rounds on the internet and in the news this past couple weeks, AMANDA TODD.

Before I get into this I am going to start by outright saying that I am violently opposed to bulling in any aspect. My junior high school and elementary school days had a lot of times where I was picked on by kids bigger than me. Let me also say that I am also extremely against suicide, I myself went through a dark time and considered it but as I look back now I realize that if I had gone through with it I would not have met my beautiful Wifey.

So if you are not up to date on the whole story behind this girl let me say it is fairly sad tale and has a sad ending. I did not know this girl and the reason that I am talking about it is that the topic hits very close to home for me. Before she committed suicide Amanda made a video depicting her story and posted it on Youtube.

Check it out:

Time for me to toss my two cents in on this topic, first of all let me say suicide should never be an option. Her first action should have been when the first guy contacted her saying he wanted a show I would have contacted the police saying that he was harassing her to make child pornography or at least told her parents about it. I know people will say that she felt like she was trapped and forced to but she wasn’t, she had options.

Secondly when she moved the first time change your name and drop all contact with your previous life. She maintained contact with people from her life before and that is how the harassers and bullies found her again. This may sound like a strange concept to the younger generation but you can opt to not have or use Facebook. Also if you choose to maintain a Facebook account when this happens you can report abuse and have people kicked off of Facebook. Time for a fun Facebook fact, every picture you put on to the site becomes legal property of the company so therefore Facebook owns the picture of her boobs and can claim all the rights to it across the internet.

So far for those who are not keeping track the people in possession of this photo of this girls breasts can and should be charged with, Harassment, Sexual Harassment, owning and distributing Child Pornography and copyright infringement. Sorry about that but my inner Lawyer just reared his ugly head.

Next up after the girl assaulted her about a stupid asshole guy who slept with her she chose not to press charges. Guess what you are underage and therefore not your choice whether or not you want to, it is your parents choice and they should of. Also the girl in the beating did so while trespassing on private government property.

To all those idiot kids who chose to harass a girl who had just tried to commit suicide by making fun of her failed attempt… WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!!!!! Think it is funny now, she did what you told her to do and now there is one less person in the world. Another family is in shambles because of you thought someone’s mistakes and inner turmoil is funny.

There are a lot of people in my mind who deserve to have the legal system rain down hell fire upon them right now.

The Saddest part about all of this to me is this, No one tried to help her. 75 people filmed a girl being beat instead of stepping forward and trying to help her, it only takes one person to make a change. I hope that all of those people sit there now and realize that they could have helped and that would have saved the life of a girl. I know I am thinking that if I was there I would have kicked that other girl right off of her and stopped the violence.

Everyone is acting now people in the government across the country are trying to bring in more extreme laws against bullies. Communities are coming together to support a cause and others who have suffered and survived are coming forward. It is too late to save one girl but maybe her pain will help to change the world… it only takes one person to make change happen.

I am sorry for the rant, bullies really get me mad, if I could give them a taste of their own medicine I would. An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind let us all work together to make this world a better place and stomp out bullies. Amanda Todd is not the first to take her life because of bullies but let us try to save those who are suffering the same. Let all of those voices that have for so long gone unheard finally get a chance to be on the public stage.

Sincerely Urban Yeti

What if Wednesdays: Tattoos

I find it challenging to come up with these what if questions every week, and more or less I use them as a creative exercise to flex my mental muscles. To come up with these I downloaded an app to make things a little easier so that I can focus more on my answers then on what questions I should ask. That being said some times I get questions that for me are a little ridiculous for example the question was "if you had to get a tattoo, what would it be and where would you get it?" for me this is ridiculous because I already have four and am planning a whole bunch. Truth be told I have a sitting scheduled for later next month to colour one of my current pieces. I decided that I would tailor this question to fit my personality, so instead the new question is more of a list and less of a what if

What are my next five tattoos going to be

1. The weekend following my wedding this August my Wifey and I are getting puzzle pieces tattooed on our ring fingers. The puzzle pieces will be set so if we interlock our fingers the pieces will look like they fit together. I think this really represents us as a couple because with her I feel like I found my missing piece. Trust me I am very aware of how cheesy it sounds but it is the truth about how I feel.

2. On November 15th the day after my birthday I plan on getting a pair of wings tattooed on my right ankle because it will be the two year anniversary of the suicide of my best friend growing up. I am trying to think of something to say on a banner stretched between the wings but right now I am drawing a blank, something hopefully to remind me of him and express my remorse for not being a good friend in the last couple years, Perhaps a Marley quote.

3. On my right forearm I plan on getting an tattoo depicting Aries the Greek god of war to battle against Poseidon on my left fore arm.

4. A lot of tattoo parlors around the city have events where for a donation to charity you can get a small tattoo for a very cheap price. I plan on utilizing these to get a ring around my right bicep with the crests of the digidestened inside the ring one crest at a time.

5. A flaming bucking bronco on my right upper arm to represent the city of Calgary, where I have lived and grown in since I was four years old.