Shut Down the Internet

[borlandia]

Forgive me - this is not a thought-out post. More stream-of-consciousness than anything...

I ended my last post by lamenting the loss of freedom on the internet that seems to be coming any day now.

I am starting to think maybe we don't deserve it.

Yesterday, I became aware of the Brandi and Jason Worley incident that occurred in Indiana last month. Long story short, husband and wife were going through marital issues, including infidelity from the wife. The husband finally said 'enough is enough', served her with divorce papers and started moving out.

The next day, the wife killed their two children and made a half-assed attempt to kill herself before calling 911.

The 911 call was made public recently. I listened to it.

Backstory: I didn't listen to it...knowingly. I was listening to a podcast and was zoning out and they played the whole thing almost out of nowhere.

It's terrifying. It starts with the wife very calmly and flatly explaining what she had done to the 911 operator. Her mother then comes in, somewhat hysterical after seeing her daughter had stabbed herself, before the 911 operator asks if it's true about what she did to her children. The mother states she doesn't know, and about 30 seconds later, you can pinpoint the exact second she discovers the dead bodies. What follows is about 10 minutes of the mother sobbing hysterically, wheezing, having a panic attack, babbling, generally losing her shit. It's literally the worst thing I've ever heard. It makes the Jonestown "death tape" sound like a Kidz Bop album.

I did a little more research, and found out the husband had been actively posting on Reddit (using a throwaway account) seeking relationship advice and explaining the circumstances of his failing marriage and his intent to just make sure the children were OK.

The responses to his attempts to get help are horrific. Comment after comment after comment of people calling him vulgar names, saying he's not a man, telling him how his wife owns him, on and on and on. There is about one sane response for every 10 giving him really poor advice on how to handle someone who is clearly mentally unhinged. The man ultimately followed through with a few pieces of advice from the imbeciles commenting, and the rest of the story plays out on that 911 call from hell.

This isn't an attempt to throw blame on the internet or people who comment on the internet, I suppose. Two children got killed and the only one to blame is the one that held the knife. However, I can't help but think this could've had a better outcome had the internet just not gotten involved.

It pains me to no end how there is never any accountability for how terrible people are to others online. It's incredibly rampant. Forget cyber-bullying, just the incredible amount of terrible things people spew online. Is it really OK that this goes 100% unchecked? We have a lot of freedoms in this country, and on this planet, and I'm honestly not so sure we've done anything to earn them.

Comments

[undeadpeach.livejournal.com]

Canada isn't so sensational as the US. But still what a tragedy :-( There should be a law that forbids stupid ppl not to have kids. I've raised my nephew so I know how it is.