I can’t stop thinking about the Twitter mom who got tweeted on for threatening to smother her young daughter… and I know I am not the only parent who is struggling to comes to terms with the incident.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Twitter mom controversy, read on:
A few weeks ago a “mommy blogger” on Twitter (an online website, which allows posters to discuss what they are thinking or doing at any given time in 140 characters or less), who goes by the name of Thordora, tweeted something that alarmed others in the Twitter community.
In a moment of utter frustration and fatigue Thordora tweeted the following:
“If I smother my 3 year old, who will NOT GO TO F****** SLEEP, is it REALLY a crime?”
That tweet set off several Twitter followers. Some wondered whether Thordora was contemplating killing her child. After all, readers of Thordora’s blog know that she is bipolar and that she often blogs about feeling burdened and overwhelmed at times. On the flip side, Thordora is also known for being quite sarcastic in her blog entries and this wasn’t the first time she used the f-word in her tweet.
That said, the reason Thordora’s tweet made headlines was because it prompted one Twitter follower to notify Twitter bigwigs, who then called the police to check on the child‘s safety. The cops ended up paying Thordora and her sleeping daughter a visit a few hours later… much to Thordora’s chagrin. She later shared her resentment with fellow Twitterers. Her post-police visit entry was titled: “Watch what you twitter, big sister is watching.”
In her post Thordora explained her side of the story on her blog. She alleges that she was extremely tired and that she “yelled, threatened and cajoled” her 3-year-old daughter to get into bed. At 11 p.m. the cops came knocking. Thordora reveals that she was forced to open the door to her daughter’s bedroom and show the sleeping child to the police to prove her child was just fine.
“So lesson learned ladies,” Thordora wrote in her tweet. “Don’t do any venting in public. Don’t network. Don’t show anything LESS than perfect bliss…”
That tweet then ushered in a new flood of responses. Some sympathized with the stressed out mother, while others were appalled that she said what she said. One reader wrote: “I would rather see someone err on the side of caution than to turn a deaf ear on what could be a cry for help. …The little bit of inconvenience you were subjected to tonight was nothing in comparison to the level of discomfort we were all feeling.”
I don’t Twitter or tweet or let the f-word fly when I can’t get my kid to sleep. However, Thordora’s incident still resonated with me because I do blog. Fortunately, I employ a semblance of social responsibility when I discuss personal matters in the echo chamber that is the Internet (at least I think I do).
Did you hear about Thordora before reading this blog? If so, what did you make of her ordeal? Did she get what she deserved or did the Twitter community overreact to her public ranting?
Image by: dailygenius.com
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