13 Reflections on ’13 Reasons Why’
1- We are living an ethical and moral crisis that is just getting worse. We are deluded into thinking that if we cure the symptoms it will cure the disease. The vices defined by our faith are vices due to their inherent evil and the evil that is a consequence of them. Imagine how different this story would be if no alcohol was consumed.
2- Sometimes all people want to know is that you care. They will push you away and tell you to leave them alone but if this series taught you anything is that if you see someone distressed put your own feelings aside and let them know you care.
3- Even though we are more connected that ever we are also lonelier than ever. Just because you see people being social it doesn’t mean they don’t have an emptiness inside.
4- There is a serious crisis in the way men perceive and treat women. As there is a serious crisis in the way women perceive themselves. The parts where I cringed the most, after the suicide scene, were the scenes where the women were being abused. I dread the days that my daughters grow up in a society where men treat women like mere objects and worse. We need to further educate on how men and women interact without being to0 strict and without being too liberal at the same time.
5- There are certain people so evil in the world that their hearts have been completely sealed and they are no longer able to distinguish between reality and the perversion of their hearts and minds. (Specifically Bryce in the last episode)
6- Even good people will do bad things. What makes these people good is their willingness to rectify their mistakes. When you see someone trying to rectify a mistake embrace it and make it easy not more difficult. Never let your ego get in the way of doing the right thing
7- Not every harm in this life can or will be forgiven, and that is okay. Just make sure you never intentionally inflict that kind of wound as the guilt may hurt you more than the infliction did to the person harmed.
8- Never underestimate the value of kindness to another human being. Never miss an opportunity to be kind. Never miss an opportunity to ask if people are okay. Never miss an opportunity to ask people if there is anything you can do to help.
9- It is very easy to be come desensitized to vice. You have to always pay very close attention to your heart in the presence of vice and make sure it doesn’t become normalized.
10- People need to believe in more than just this life. In order to survive people need faith in something beyond themselves. I can only imagine how Hannah could have reacted differently if she did believe in a day where all injustices are fixed, a day where she will be questioned about her decisions.
11- There are serious issues that need to be addressed in schools, especially Muslim schools, like bullying, body shaming, suicide prevention, substance abuse, and much more. These are just as much an epidemic in our schools as they are in others.
12- Suicide should never be an option. We need people in every community that are trained in spotting suicidal behavior and are willing to help people out.
13- Innocence is lost. Gone are the days where childhood was simple. Family dynamics were simple. Life was simple. And it will never be again.
Concluding remarks: This series definitely does a good job in creating conversation on some very important topics. However, due to the gory nature of the show I would not advise youngsters to watch this without parental consent, nor would I advise anyone who has suicidal thoughts to watch this. There are also very graphic scenes which we as Muslims should not intentionally expose ourselves to, and in an ideal world should be creating our own media outlets where important conversation is created without the profanity and vulgarity. Lastly, as Muslims we can’t shy away from dialogue and discussion on important issues like suicide, mental health, bullying, domestic violence and more. We need to gauge the pulse of our community and seriously start discussing how we can attempt to fix the problems in our community and society.
To see the original post and join in on the Facebook discussion.