When I go to work and am informed that our school is safe because we haven't received a clown threat, I'm pissed. Instantly.
When my son is fearful to go to the store at night because he thinks a creepy clown will chase us in the parking lot, I'm beyond irritated.
When my kids' friends are nervous discussing Halloween because clowns might be out, I'm downright stupefied. And angry.
How the heck did we get to a place where idiots have so much control over our kids' hearts? Over our hearts? Why in the world would we let a few crazies in this world immobilize us and ransom our peace?
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| photo: pixabay |
I definitely have opinions on the posed questions but I don't have solid solutions for individual situations. I can blanket this issue with some observations though:
Children are terrified at everything nowadays.
We can blame their fear and anxiety on social media. We can blame it on violence in our entertainment. We can blame it on a number of things. All that blame does is remove any ownership from ourselves.
We (society) spread pictures of freaky clowns (or other acts of horror and stupidity) all over the news and give the crazies the celebrity status they crave.
And then we normalize fear!
We don't discuss and address solutions to scary situations because we're simply trying to shield ourselves and our children. But the fact is that we fear what we don't understand. And honestly we don't know the solutions to scary situations and we struggle to understand the depravity that would find humor in striking horror into the hearts of children and adults.
We don't tell our kids to be courageous because we don't want them to be. We want them to run and hide. Granted, I want my kids to be safe as well and I want them to make smart choices. I want them to use their intellect and not their emotions when faced with a crisis. I want them to act and not freeze. Every parents' goal is to not raise idiots - the world has enough of those. I'm totally not judging idiots here. Okay, I am. Just a bit.
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| photo: fancycrave |
But seriously, we don't teach our kids what to do! What we do tell them to do is run. Hide. Avoid confrontation. Close their eyes. Is this really enough? Are we okay with this?
I get it - very few of us are able to comprehend the depravity smeared across our newspaper and social media headlines. We feel the evil pushing in. But when are we going to push back and not allow ourselves to be so easily victimized mentally, emotionally and physically?
Let's remember that we are the majority. There's more of us...
We are braver and stronger than we think. We are valuable. Free. Smart. Strong. We are not weak ninnies so why are we living like it?
We are designed to create, empower, and protect. It's easiest to hide behind the cultural norm but it's not what we, intelligent and beautiful humans, were made for.
We need to realize that knowledge is power but we must look at where we get knowledge. I giggle (inwardly) when I hear teenagers relay political news, national news, etc that they received from their peers or social media. The not-so-funny fact is that too many adults do the same. Let's think smarter and better. Let's raise the standard for our children and where they get their information. Let's show them how to find and sort reliable information. Let's teach them how to dig for answers.
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| photo: pixabay |
Let's teach our children, and ourselves, how to respond in scary situations. No one plans on being a victim and yet victimization happens every day. Make a plan to fight, but fight smart. We can and should fight to defend ourselves, defend good, and defend innocence.
I'm certainly not saying that we need to hunt for creepsters and I'm certainly NOT saying that we shouldn't run and hide. This IS a smart thing to do. I'm simply trying to address that we have options and can lower our fear level by increasing our knowledge quotient. The best offense is a good defense. ...or something like that. (Don't correct me if I'm wrong - I'm on a tangent, people!)
We need to proactively and aggressively broadcast goodness, courage, and strength as often as possible! We need to refuse to perpetuate and broadcast fear and evil. Power is what the twisted heart desires. It wants to feel the power of affecting and controlling people, communities, and culture. Don't give away such power.
Be bold. Be brave. And be the goodness you want to see.
Enough of this clowning around! Seriously!
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| photo: pixabay |
Recommended resources:
***Disclaimer - I'm not an expert. I've simply dug up a few helpful resources. Please research your own and post them here. Resources do NOT have to directly pertain to creepy clowns!
*Article - Men's Health - How to Stay Safe on a Run - Especially When a Killer Clown is Chasing You
*Article - CNN News - A Parent's Guide to the Creepy Clown Scare
*Article (w/pics!) - WikiHow - How to Defend Yourself if Attacked
*YouTube video - Self defense against common attacks
*YouTube Videos - Modern Combat and Survival Magazine by moderncombatandsurvival.com
*Awesome Everyday Self Defense Gear (Damsel In Defense)
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