Imitation from Gaming Media: Jumpin' Off The Roof Like Jeff Hardy

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2009/04/15/2009-04-15_a_9yearold_wrestling_fan_jumped_off_his_brooklyn_apartment_roof_wearing_a_homema.html

I decided to do my blog on an article that I found online since I was unable to attend the homecoming game or parties. The article I found was about a 9 year-old boy named Damori Miles that died after an attempt to “possibly” imitate his favorite video game “PlayStation 2 WWE SmackDown vs. RAW.” Shakar, Damori's best friend, stated that his pal was imitating his favorite Playstation 2 game, which most likely led people to believe this was the boy’s motive. The reason why I choose this article was because it related to the reading “Media Influence,” where a 17 year old imitated a popular wrestling move on 3 year old. When it came to Damori Miles, he died when attempting to imitate Jeff Hardy’s swan dive from the top of his Brooklyn apartment. He attempted so by wrapping string around his body and using a plastic bag as a parachute. Epic fail! His broken body was found outside the apartment complex at 7pm and he died at the Interfaith Medical Center an hour later. One witness said they heard a thump and then happened to see a boy on the ground with his clothes ripped off. Oh yeah!..The article also mentioned that the Damori received special education instruction and the door to the roof where he jumped was unlocked (and the alarm didn’t sound).

Obviously his attempt was not well thought about beforehand, and he probably didn’t know better. Kids follow models in our society, and they should not be allowed to view anything of violent nature. Even though Damori was “possibly” imitating Jeff Hardy, the parents should have never allowed their son to even have the game.  The game is for those 13 years and up, and Damori was only 9. Also, why wasn’t he with his parents? They have to take some fault because they could have prevented the situation from happening if they had kept a close eye on him. Also, he was in a special education class, which kind of makes me believe that the boy’s mind was not in the right place during the time of the incident. He obviously thought the wrestler was awesome, and if the model could do it, so could he. He possibly could have missed the scene in the game where it states to not attempt anything seen at home. It didn't help that the roof door was unlock and the alarm didn't go off. The apartment complex should be at fault for that because it's a violation of safety. Hopefully people will realize that children are copycatting their models through observation. Only thing a child needs to commit a stupid act is: (1) the opportunity to observe an act a child shouldn’t see, (2) reinforcement from someone, and (3) the source from which the act would draw from. Parents can/should help prevent these things from happening, and maybe they won’t run the risk of losing a child due to the imitation of “bad” models in the media.