Nine Year Old Boy Hangs Himself and Idiots Cover the Story

Remember when you were a kid and dealing with problems usually meant a tantrum thrown or dump taken in your pants and all you really needed to cope was a hug or a small order of fries from McDonald’s?

There was no inclination of self destruction, despite perhaps now being soiled, only the inability to process rationally why the world didn’t owe you shit, especially not a Super Nintendo that was beyond the budget of your parents.

But in light of every wanton outburst there is the rare case where emotions run deeper, and sadness soon manifests itself in what does look like depression and where a child resorts to self inflicted violence

Lance Montana, a 9-year-old boy from The Colony, Texas, was found hanged in his elementary school bathroom. It is reported that shortly before the grisly event, the boy visited the school nurse for unknown reasons. He would then ask permission to relieve himself and was excused to use the bathroom. The nurse soon suspected foul play after noticing his prolonged absence. After checking in on the boy and receiving no response, staff entered the bathroom to find the boy hanging by his neck.

Reasons for the boy’s suicide remain unknown. But what remains clear is the idiocy with which a story like this is covered. Enter clinical psychologist Dr. Brenda Wade and her insightful commentary on CNN that spans the topics of childhood depression, parenting, and society at large.

She begins the interview by adding nothing of value. Looking like a confused fish she opens by framing childhood depression in the most sparse of terms as mood swings discerned by happiness when in the presence of friends and unhappiness when without them. I almost expected her to prescribe blood-letting as a solution

Dr. Wade then goes on a completely insensitive rant and places a moral valuation on the nurse that last saw Lance commenting on the "guilt" she must feel and basically chastises her professionalism in asking why she didn’t stop him from locking the bathroom door and not inquiring more deeply on his psychological state.

To answer your concerns doc: locking the door seems to be common practice when whipping out the Johnson, and diagnosing depression in a 9 year old within a span of mere minutes is simply impossible to do. According to Dr. Wade the nurse should have stopped that child and looked him in the face to glean his emotional condition, incredibly insightful stuff.

By the way, how insane would that nurse have looked if she refused the boy’s request to use the bathroom on the grounds that she had the unnerving suspicion based on "looking closely at that child’s face" that he was going to hang himself?

Dr. Wade then goes on to make unfounded claims that perhaps the child may have been abused by someone in his neighbourhood or even by his parents, with the obvious caveat that she does not want to pass judgment because there are no facts. Well, if there are no facts then maybe you should keep your idiot hole shut.

She finally cements her Ph. D status (as a pretty huge dick) when she diagnoses the problem of childhood depression as the result of violent videogames. Really, Halo 3 made this 9 year old kid noose himself up in a public bathroom?

Dr. Wade cites some unnamed study that apparently sheds light on changed behavioural patterns in children aged 8-18 who are overexposed to television and videogames, finally noting that at 9 years of age Lance falls into this category. But it is still uncertain as to whether he actually played videogames. Furthermore, a study that groups together 8 year olds and 18 year olds seems somewhat flawed from the get go.

Dr. Wade feels it is necessary to raise awareness in order to prevent similar cases of childhood suicide from happening again. She would also do well to be respectful of those going through this ordeal by offering valuable thoughts instead of pandering emotionally to further her own agendas.