Back in May of this year, a 12 year old girl almost lost her life so that her best friend and another girl could please a fictional character. It’s very difficult for me to wrap my head around the previous sentence. A 12 year old innocent girl almost died at the hands of, NOT JUST two other 12 year old girls, but at the hands of her best friend no less.
When I was 12 years old, me and my best friends’ sleepovers typically included: playing video games and bored games, watching movies, making pancakes, and making us stories. No matter how angry my friends and I got at each other back then (let’s face it girls at 12….okay girls at ANY age can be extremely catty with one another), we were never mad enough to kill. Then again this tragedy has nothing to do with anger and rage; it has to do with obsession.
While a majority of the articles about this case initially delved into the question of who is Slenderman (the object of the pre-teen girls obsession), I’m not going to do so. The most I will say is he is a fictional horror character, that needs not be glorified.
This case has hit my heart in a big way. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that I’m a youth pastor; maybe it’s because of the horrifying nature of the whole ordeal itself. However, I think the main reason for my horror is the lack of reporting on this case. The first time I heard about it was an online article that was shared on my friend Rabecca’s facebook. After that one share, I never heard anything on the news, read anything in the paper, or heard anyone talk about it.
A 12 year old girl almost died at the hands of two other 12 year old girls and no one is talking about it?! Then again, I shouldn’t come off as if no one cares. I have been looking up articles online for those that are still reporting on the case. The victim survivor, whose name is Payton, had received thousands of homemade purple hearts with prayers and words of encouragement while she was in the hospital.
You can even donate here: http://www.gofundme.com/HeartsForHealingWI to help pay for her hospital bills. The fundraiser has raised $78,182 thus far.
Her parents were on 20/20 a couple of nights ago, and the love in their hearts astounded me. They talked about how they think of the other girls’ parents and how they can’t imagine what they are going through. If I was in their shoes, I think that I would be angry. I would ask myself: Why didn’t these parents monitor the things they were looking at online? How could they not see that their child was blurring the lines of fiction and reality?
In truth, I am humbled by Payton’s parents and their outlook. I really can’t imagine how they feel or what they are going through right now. Her father in particular said something really profound. He said that his daughter was meant for something great, and that she is an inspiration; and perhaps through her ordeal it will cause parents to become more involved with their children and to dig a little deeper.
Maybe digging a little deeper is a good idea. I’m not just talking about parents to children, but person to person. We live in a day and age where it’s the norm to be a curmudgeonly voyeur. We blog and we tweet and we creep on Facebook, but if someone makes the “wrong” comment or gets too close and we tell them to mind their own business. Perhaps if we dropped walls and judgements and instead made a conscious decision to unabashedly care for one another, there would be less problems and more solutions in the world.
Until the next page…
Phoenix Living 