In Exodus 32, God sends Moses down from the mountain because the Children of Israel have been “running wild” in Moses’ absence. Moses finds that Aaron has not exactly maintained order while he has been away and pulls Aaron aside for a little chat, particularly regarding the golden calf, which the Israelites have taken to worshipping. Aaron’s response?
“Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”
Sharp-eyed readers or anyone who ever cracked a Bible or went Sunday School will recall that it was Aaron himself who fashioned the golden calf. But when the boss came back and break time was over, Aaron was the first to say, “Who? Me?” and try to hide behind the walls of his cubicle.
Clearly, people have been dodging or de-emphasizing their roles in their troubles and avoiding taking responsibility for their lives since the framework for Western Civilization was erected. But in the 21st century, the number of such people seems to have increased exponentially. Often, the results are embarrassing. Sometimes, the results are tragic.
According to the New York Post, Manhattan resident Norma Nazario has filed lawsuits against Instagram, TikTok, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Nazario holds these entities responsible for the death of her 15-year-old son, Zackery. Last year, Zackery was “subway surfing” on the roof of a train and struck his head before falling between cars on Williamsburg Bridge.
Nazario blames the social media platforms and their recommended videos and challenges for “goading” her son into the stunt. She faults the MTA for not creating barriers to keep kids from climbing on top of the trains. TikTok and Instagram did not reply to press inquiries, but NYC Transit President Richard Davey commented that the city has said multiple times that subway surfing is dangerous and “will not end well.”
Nazario is suing for unspecified damages.
The teen’s death is horrific. It is well-known and well-documented that Instagram and TikTok are, along with the rest of the internet, veritable sewer lagoons of toxic content. But if we are aware that such things have the ability to mutate the body, mind, and soul, at what point do we acknowledge that and take responsibility for what we consume and do?
We should not minimize Norma Nazario’s grief. The loss of a child is unbearable. But at some point, there has to be a reckoning in society. If we know that social media is so awful, why do we continue to use it? Younger readers may be amazed at this, but I did not even have a cellphone until I was in my 30s. My employer issued me one despite my protests. Believe it or not, there was a time when people could leave home and live their lives without having a phone in their pockets.
In another story from the Post, the mother of one of the men accused in the Kansas City shootings set up a GoFundMe account to help defray his medical expenses. Teneal Burnside, the mother of 23-year-old Lyndell Mays, established the account for Mays as he recovers in the ICU from gunshot wounds that he received in a shooting that he has reportedly confessed to instigating.
The appeal read in part, “He is in the ICU fighting for a recovery from several surgeries from going to the Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration with his older sister.” The fundraiser, which has since been deleted, raised $100 until Mays was charged with second-degree murder, two counts of criminal action, and the unlawful use of a weapon.
His mother would have us show compassion for the man and help him with his medical bills. Mays is in the ICU through no one’s fault but his own. The victims of the shooting are recovering, and one has died through no fault of their own. Mays is like Aaron. There he was at the parade, and suddenly, “Out came these bullets from the barrel of a gun.”
The fates of Zackery Nazario and Lyndell Mays are both symptomatic of a country in which it is a commonly held belief that one can do what one wants without taking potential consequences into account. And while we should feel pity for Zackery, we should have nothing but contempt for Mays.