Posted by
BrianW on Friday, November 21, 2008 11:48:59 AM
Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As reported by the A.P., Authorities say a South Florida teen committed suicide before a live, online webcam audience after blogging about his plan. Abraham Biggs, 19, apparently died wednesday after taking a toxic dose of
sleeping pills and
opiates.
Wendy Crane, an investigator from the Boward County Medical Examiner's office, said that some viewers were encouraging him, while others tried to talk him out of it, and a few were debating whether the dose he took was lethal.
The website's moderator was notified, who then traced the teen's location and called police, but by the time they arrived Biggs was already dead.
"He's just seen laying on the bed at that point", Crane said.
I wonder, what is it that made the viewers believe it was okay to watch without taking any action? I'm afraid our society has been drastically reduced when onlookers would watch such a tragedy and only take action after it was too late to help. If just one of the viewers would have reported the blog before the event, or probably even as it began, certainly this tragedy could have been prevented. While Crane said some tried to talk him out of it, did it never cross their minds that a call to the authorities might have saved his life? To those who encouraged him, what sort of life might they lead going forward? For those who watched and did nothing... well, I fear for all of them, and for all of us as this reflects deeply on just what type of society we truly have become.
I'm afraid tragedy and crime have finally been reduced to nothing more that entertainment, and an entire generation may believe they need not accept personal responsibility as witnesses in such matters.
You can read more at
Fox News.