During the summer, I became part of the growing number of people that enjoy watching YouTube videos in their free time. Let’s admit it, there is something magical about being able to search on a platform for all of the tutorials, movie clips and news that you could ever want. It’s also an excellent way to promote your talents or even say what you think about a subject. And who can forget those amazing cat videos?
But, in the same way that the site can be helpful, informative and fun, it can also harm.
I was shocked when I saw a “prank” video that a 20-something man did with his girlfriend. The point of the video was that he pretended to kill his lover (yes, kill) to prank his mother.
The YouTuber, with more than 800,000 followers, thought it was “funny” to pour some red paint on the body of the girl and lay her down on their bedroom floor. Then he called his mother, telling the poor woman that he needed help because he “fought with his girlfriend and wasn’t sure if he had just killed her.”
When the mom arrived and found the scene, her despair and confusion were evident. She put her hands on her head, shocked at the idea that her son committed a crime and killed a person. The desperate cries of the woman calling the name of the girl were excruciating.
During almost eight agonizing minutes, the woman tried to help the girl, and at the same time, wrestled with the maternal instinct of protecting her son. When the lady was about to collapse under her nerves and panic, her son told her “it’s a joke, mom” and the girl gets up laughing.
The video, published in August, has reached more than three million views. It also has more than 80,000 likes versus 17,000 dislikes, and about 11,000 comments.
I also found videos by other YouTubers such as “Killing My Child Prank;” “Dead Boyfriend Prank;” “Pretending to be a Pedophile;” “Bad Joke Went Wrong (I Acted like I Slept with my Cousin’s Girlfriend);” “Dead Student Prank on Teacher;” “Funny Arab Public Bomb Scare;” etc.
A lot of people laugh at the video. I didn’t.
At the end of the clip, the men posted a “message” saying that “this is a simple joke and we should avoid femicide.” I didn’t find the video helpful in stopping the death of the increasing number of women as a result of domestic violence.
It also appears that killing women has become a hobby. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, in the US, “one woman is fatally shot by a spouse, ex-spouse or dating partner every 14 hours.” In Latin America and the Caribbean, countries like Uruguay lead “global index of domestic violence deaths.” The Nordic countries also have high rates of battered women.
Maybe I’m wrong, and I should laugh at this video.
Perhaps I’m old-fashioned, and my sense of humor is as significant as an ant. It’s just that I identify with the pain of the mothers, daughters, aunts and grandmothers that live under fear.
A horror that, apparently, some people affirm is funny.
© Graphic by Ryan Callihan/TCN
