{"id":3424,"date":"2010-10-01T13:44:38","date_gmt":"2010-10-01T17:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lifeasprayer.wordpress.com\/?p=3424"},"modified":"2010-10-01T13:44:38","modified_gmt":"2010-10-01T17:44:38","slug":"clementi-bullying-and-ethics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/clementi-bullying-and-ethics\/","title":{"rendered":"Clementi, bullying, and ethics"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-3424 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/41633_1065670171_1750_n.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/41633_1065670171_1750_n-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-3425\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/41633_1065670171_1750_n-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/41633_1065670171_1750_n-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/41633_1065670171_1750_n-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-3425'>\n\t\t\t\tNathan, age 10, bully victim and survivor\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/image6915728g.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/image6915728g-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-3426\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/image6915728g-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/image6915728g-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-3426'>\n\t\t\t\tTyler Clementi killed himself after his privacy was evaded\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>It would be easy to say the case of Tyler Clementi\u2013<span style=\"color:#333300;\">the talented violinist, who recently killed himself after an intimate encounter, and streamed online by his roommate<\/span>\u2013was about Tyler&#8217;s homosexuality, or just technology run amuck. It would be easy to focus on a bullying issue, or a sexually based hate crime.<\/p>\n<p>Even though those factors surround the incident, a root problem is overlooked if these aspects get the most attention.<\/p>\n<p>Why did it happen? Because people didn&#8217;t act according to proper ethics. They had no understanding or appreciation to act ethically. It was an easy laugh to embarrass a roommate, and technology made it so simple. The choice to record and stream this video was possible, and that\u2013to the perpetrators\u2013made it acceptable to do. But there is more:<\/p>\n<p>The obvious question is &#8220;why&#8221;? The simple answer is &#8220;a blatant lack of respect for another.&#8221; Selfishness.<\/p>\n<p>Ethics teach to do right by another, <em>not<\/em> because we like it, or because we benefit from it, but <em><strong>instead<\/strong><\/em> because every human being has this unalienable right. Because we are human, we are endowed these quality, and must act accordingly.<\/p>\n<p>Some people think sensitivity training will stop bullying. It&#8217;s just not enough. It calls attention to those who are different, but it does not provide a satisfying reason to treat them well. Treating a special education student, an immigrant, or a homosexual young adult in a &#8220;tolerant&#8221; way, or with unique deference, alone, misses the most important point:<\/p>\n<p>We don&#8217;t respect others, be kind, because this makes us nice people. We don&#8217;t do it, simply because we wish to be treated that way. We don&#8217;t do it because people will like us more. <strong>We engage as we <span style=\"text-decoration:underline;\">ought<\/span><\/strong><strong> because it is right in itself. And that&#8217;s enough.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"color:#333300;\">Ought<\/span><\/em><span style=\"color:#333300;\"> is the word one cannot skip. The fact that we all comprehend an <em>ought<\/em>, points to a source outside ourselves as the barometer of ethical standards.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color:#333300;\">Who determines this? Who are the rule makers? <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sometimes it&#8217;s special interest groups; sometimes religious groups, sometimes it&#8217;s educated experts; sometimes it&#8217;s the presidence\u00a0of laws. All arbitrary starting points, in and of themselves, that can be expected to fold, like a house of cards. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The bullies continue. The &#8220;good citizen&#8221; character building taught often in schools falls flat, or is soon overshadowed by self-interest.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Rather, it is a birthright to be treated properly, even before one is born. It&#8217;s a non negotiable imperative to which we must all abide. As a basic feature of our makeup and purpose, it is a meta-edict for humankind. A dialectic of grace.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Nathan is a child who attracts peer ridicule. My son speaks and moves in odd ways. He&#8217;s sensitive, and obsessed with trains. Recently, he was punched repeatedly in the crotch and taunted by 3 boys who were screaming a train song in his ear. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I could envision a similar fate for Nathan which happened to Tyler. Both were exploited for sport.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color:#003300;\">Share you comments about this case, or bullying.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color:#003300;\">Have you ever been bullied<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tyler Clementi: An ethics issue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5626],"tags":[203,372,518,520,872,893,1150,1416,1591,1681,1724,2931,2979,2980,3022,3041,3045,3264,3265,3288,3539,3596,3605],"class_list":["post-3424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spark-my-muse","tag-anal-sex","tag-behavior","tag-bullied","tag-bullying","tag-crime","tag-cyber-bullying","tag-ethics","tag-gay","tag-hate-crime","tag-homosexual","tag-human-rights","tag-rutgers","tag-school","tag-school-bullying","tag-selfishness","tag-sex","tag-sexual-assault","tag-streaming","tag-streaming-video","tag-suicide","tag-tyler-clementi","tag-victims-of-bullying","tag-violin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3424\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}