Thursday, 4 March 2021

13 Reasons Why; Tape 2, Side B


We finished watching this yesterday.  We had started to watch this before but had to stop to get sleep.  This episode raised quite a few issues which my son and I disagreed on.  I felt that one person in the school was being unfairly penalised for what they did when their peers were in essence getting away with the actions that they took.  But it is easier for all of us to deflect the blame on others than to accept our own failings.

It did bring up an issue of how some people are punished less than others based on who they are or the background that they are from, an example that I discussed with my son was the case of Brock Turner and how he 'got away' with a lighter sentence after a horrific sexual assault on an unconscious women, and how this was perceived to be based on his privilege. My son does not know how this issue will be revisited in later episodes.

In essence we disagree.  I feel that the subject of this tape, while wrong in what he did, does not deserve to be singled out for retribution.  My son felt he did.  His view on this may change tomorrow, or may change after watching other episodes.  But I did remember that discussing the episodes is not about me forcing my view on him, but to learn about his view on the issues raised as well.