Do NOT Take This Challenge, Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        "A matchmaking site for suicides.  It was bound to
                                          happen."--Kathryn Erbe, as Alexandra Eames in
                                          "No Exit" on "Law And Order, Criminal Intent,"
                                            2005.

                                          Recently, girls, I wrote about that episode.  In it, a Mr. Smythe, played by Jason Antoon, runs a website called "Terminal Decision," for those looking for ways to end their lives. It is how the victims in the opening, as well as Edie Elverson, found their way to their respective deaths.  I had heard of The Hemlock Society for years, but, naturally curious, after viewing this disturbing episode, I hunted around to see if a real life version of "Terminal Decision" existed.
In a way, like Eames, I really should not have been surprised.  Because, in a sense, it does.

                                           When I first heard the phrase "The Blue Whale Challenge," I thought it was some kind of cyber shaming of obese people.  This would have been bad enough, but things sometimes go from bad to worse, which is the case here.

                                              The challenge turns out to be some kind of online game, where the participant is encouraged to perform a series of injurious acts on themselves--fifty, to be exact.  Each act accelerates in severity as the numbers increase, culminating in suicide.

                                              Parents of teens should beware; this sounds like something directed at their state of impressionability and vulnerability.  However, in Wichita Falls, Texas, on July 4th of this year, a 32-year-old woman, Natasha Cadena, hanged herself in her home--and her mother Sandy cites this medium as being responsible.

                                               On July 13, in San Antonio, 15-year-old Isiah Gonzalez, took the challenge--and his life!

                                               What is going on?  There are more questions than answers

                                                Why would some sick thing create such a thing?  This is pressing Freedom Of The Press way too far,  just like the site in "No Exit."

                                                  The instructors operate under anonymity, but they are real people.  How to track them down, and shut this down?

                                                   The points of origin are said to international.  Why?

                                                   Now, some of you may ask, what about simply resisting the challenge?  Well, for those of us who ask that question, it is a no brainer; I , for one, would simply not tune in to such a thing.  But those affected are vulnerable to such influence, and are highly at risk.  This site finds them as much as they find it.

                                                   If any out there think this is a joke, watch the "No Exit" episode online, and then reread this.  Think of all the recent suicidal tragedies, dating back to Tyler Clementi.
And then ask yourself how such sickness can be perpetrated.

                                                   But, more important, how it can be stopped.