Scandal and Suicide

Political and media scandals happen much too often in our society. Fair or not, scandals can create many victims that lie in the path of destruction.

Mark Madoff may not have left a suicide note when he took his life December of 2010, but many speculated that he committed the act due to his father's criminal behavior.

Because of this particular scandal, many people were left penniless. There were so many victims in this case. Some people that were swindled out of their money committed suicide. Mark's children became victims as well because they lost their father.

When a scandal begins to brew, no matter what the cause, opinion is king and facts are no longer important. Media figures come out the woodwork and use the opportunity to push whatever agenda they may have. Calm heads and voices are shouted down by those demanding revenge and/or justice.

The atmosphere takes on a mob mentality leaving many potential victims searching high and low for refuge. Sometimes events deemed to be tragic creates more senseless tragedies.

The vast majority of us do not know what it feels like to have members of the press camping out on our front lawn. We don't know what it is like to make a statement and have your words to be twisted. We don't know how it feels to have our picture, address, telephone numbers, place of employment, and other private information to be made public. We don't know what it feels like for someone to put a price upon our heads, wanted dead or alive. What about the people we associate with? To lose friendships and relationships because it is simply to dangerous to even associate with you.

Sooner or later, things will die down as the world moves on to the next big scandal. But the toll that it took on all the parties involved will take time to heal. During that time, the damage is done. We don't think about the other 'casualties of war'. The children, the family members, the innocent party that had no choice in the matter of who they are related to or have associated with.

In a highly charged atmosphere, it is sad to say that some could resort to suicide because they feel as if they have nowhere to turn or can't deal with the situation.

During times of scandal and tragedy, cooler heads must prevail in order to prevent further tragedies to occur. If I were to commit or be accused of a horrible crime, is it fair for my daughter to have to answer for my actions? What about my friends? Should my mother lose her job because of something I did?

During difficult times, we must come together and work towards a solution. We must be honest about our own prejudices and shortcomings before they can be exposed in others. In a scandal, there are already victims on both sides. Let's work to prevent further tragedies and loss before it's too late. Mr. Madoff's children know this all too well.

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