This past Tuesday a fight broke out between two students at a Lancaster, CA high school. The two students involved, a 15-year-old male and a 17-year-old female, were standing in the lunch line in the school cafeteria. According to the press release the events unfolded like this:
A girl cut in front of a 15-year-old boy in the cafeteria lunch line.
The boy complained to the girl about her cutting in front of him.
A second female, a 17-year-old who was nearby, shoved the boy into a metal handrail.
The boy punched her in the face.
The two exchanged punches until school security broke up the fight.
The boy had no visible injuries.
The female had a small laceration to her lip.
Both students refused medical attention, both were arrested, both were suspended.
Most people would look at this situation as described and conclude that the 15-year-old boy was egregiously wrong to punch the girl. Some might call for him to be expelled from school or for him to be arrested. Some might start petitions or Facebook campaigns asking for friends to condemn the boy’s behavior and then pass the story along so more people can be made aware of the violence this girl suffered at the hands of this 15-year-old boy. That all happened. The fight, the outrage, and the viral campaign against the boy all happened.
When news that the girl was gay came out the hysteria escalated. Was this a hate crime? Feeling outraged and hoping to get help for the girl, someone posted the story on Ellen DeGeneres’ Facebook and received over 50,000 likes. The story was shared on her wall several times. I can only imagine those that did this did so based on Ellen’s own sexuality. Perhaps they assumed she would feel some connection to the girl based on their shared sexual preference. Ellen DeGeneres is very open about her sexuality, but she usually stays out of controversial issues. Rosie O’Donnell would have been a better choice of celebrity to appeal to for help in gaining exposure for this incident. I guess when you’re on the front lines in the battle against hate and intolerance who has time to assess the effectiveness of a strategy?
The first 48 hours of any news story are usually a circus. The media would do us a service in waiting until all of the facts were in and confirmed before presenting the story to us, but that would require a restraint and commitment to the truth that our news media simply doesn’t possess and, to be fair, neither do we. The public’s appetite for scandal is voracious. Like hyenas, we rip and tear at the character of those whose personal lives somehow make it into the public arena. We quickly determine which side we will take in the situation and we pick and choose the facts we need to champion that side. The court of public opinion is more frightening and less forgiving than our actual justice system. The advent of social media carried with it a new medium for dispersing our personal beliefs, causes, and agendas. Now we have the ability to share our thoughts and opinions with a wide audience with only a few clicks. Want to show your support for a particular cause or charity? Click to like their Facebook page and the action will show up on your Facebook timeline for all your friends to see. Want to add your voice to a cause? Articulate your position in 140 characters or less and add a hashtag on Twitter. If you need to feel even more involved head over to change.org and start a petition to garner support for your cause. Social media have made it possible to reach thousands of people in a short period of time with very little effort. This is why the story about a violent act in a southern California high school cafeteria twisted into allegations of a hate crime.
Here’s what you don’t know about the story: The boy believed the female he punched was actually a male when she pushed him and so he retaliated. According to other students, she had short hair and was wearing boys’ clothes. She is also bigger than he is. These are facts that help create a more accurate picture of what transpired in that lunch line last Tuesday.
You may still think the young man was wrong for retaliating, or you may believe that he was justified in his reaction to being pushed, but you are making your decision based on more information than what was being disseminated on social media immediately following the incident. The girl’s Aunt used her Facebook account to try to drum up sympathy for her niece. Seems like something an aunt would do except that she claimed that her niece had suffered a broken jaw and multiple concussions in the altercation. It’s doubtful anyone who has injuries that severe is likely to refuse medical treatment at the scene. It’s also doubtful the police would not list those injuries on their report. The girl’s Aunt didn’t explain how the girl received multiple concussions in the one fight. The girl’s brother used his Facebook to attempt to get news media attention. Both want the boy charged with a hate crime, both want him expelled from school. The boy has received death threats and other similar opprobrium because of his involvement in this incident.
What happened to the days when a school fight was a minor incident not worthy of national attention? Sadly, in an age where facts and information are so easy to come by, the rumor mill still reigns in the first 48 hours.
conservative nutmegger 