We just finished watching Cyberbully on ABC Family. Yes, go ahead and make fun that I watch kids shows and movies… Awesome. Done yet? :) Ok, so stay with me now…
Cyberbullying is real and it sucks… and it can wreak havoc on the spirit and soul - and the body too. Whatever anyone thinks of the acting or anything else about this movie, it was an important topic to take on (and personally I thought it was pretty well done, for the record). Glad ABC Family went there. I wish I had faith in it’s impact on Cyber-bullying overall… not sure it’s just that simple though (but great job going after it anyway).
The internet provides a great way to go after people, all while hiding behind a masked identity. In other words, no accountability for what we say or write. We can write and say whatever we want without any real repercussions on our part… just create an alternate identity and away we can go. But even on Facebook where it most likely is our own identity, we can Cyber bully cause we don’t have to look anyone in the eyes when saying what we say. Our words can be pretty dangerous, and the internet has given us a way to spew some venom, without much accountability. For me, even more as a parent, this movie was tough to watch sometimes. You can imagine how badly you want to jump in a protect your kids, or other kids from this happening. It’s just so wrong… It also got me thinking about other venues online where I see crap spewed all the time…
For example, take a quick look at the comments section on controversial articles on big news sites like CNN, FoxNews,Google, Yahoo, etc… or how about a politically charged post on someones Facebook wall? Or lately, a blog post about Casey Anthony? Or a debate about Homosexuality? Or posts on where Rob Bell and his followers are going? Who are true Christians and who are not? God’s love for Republicans and hate for Democrats… or quit honestly vice verse - both sides can get pretty hateful towards the other. I could go on and on. The internet gives us the ability to say our peace (or non-peace), without really realizing the impact of our words on others… or worse maybe… actually realizing the impact, and being proud of it in all the wrong ways… I’ve done it. It’s wrong. Truth, in Love. I believe we should be different… we are called to be. Doesn’t Love demand more. True Love… is more, right? [ref]
1 Corinthians 13
1 If I speak in human or angelic tongues,[a] but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
