I don’t watch television, but when I see repeats of television shows on youtube I am more and more convinced that our nation is becoming completely desensitized to the pain of others. “Stealing candy from a baby” used to be a term for despicable villainy, but for the last three Halloweens, Jimmy Kimmel has asked parents to lie to their children saying that they ate their children’s candy during the night. The “punchline” of the joke is then to watch the children cry. In addition to whatever issues might come up for children hearing that their parents betrayed their trust, they will also have to deal with a viral video where their parents made them the butt of a joke in front of the whole nation.
If you haven’t seen it, watch the video and see what you think:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK-oQfFToVg
Yes. The most heartbreaking were the children near the end that said it was ok. Stifling so much pain to protect their parents’ feelings. When you read the comments on the viral video, most people think those are the kids that were well parented. Just the opposite is true! I saw a great quote on fb: “before diagnosing yourself with depression or low self esteem, check to see if you’re hanging out with assholes!”
Andrea, that was a heartbreaking part for me too. It’s possible some of the kids were acting, but tears are hard for even professional actors to muster.