BY SYDNEE WALCOTT

While some people can handle rejection well and will move on to someone who will reciprocate their feelings, others resort to being disrespectful, because they do not know how to handle rejection well.

Occasionally, there seems to be a news story on someone — usually a girl or woman — getting attacked or killed because they did not reciprocate someone else’s feelings towards them.

The most recent case happened on January 15^th, 2023, when Jamea Jonae Harris, a 23-year-old mother, was shot and killed for rejecting the romantic advances of 21-year-old Darius Miles, a University of Alabama student and basketball player.

Harris, her boyfriend, and a cousin, who is a student at the University of Alabama, stopped to get some food as they were on their way home from a night with friends when another car pulled up beside them, and Miles began to flirt with Harris.

Harris turned down Miles and let him know she had a boyfriend. Miles did not take too kindly to the rejection and handed a gun to his friend Michael Lynn Davis, 20, who walked up and fired shots into the other car killing Harris.

Harris’ boyfriend (the driver), shot back in self-defence. One of the suspects was struck and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Miles and Davis were arrested shortly after the shooting and charged with capital murder.

Upon learning of Miles’ involvement in the shooting, both the school and its athletic department released a statement saying he is no longer a student and athlete with them.

Harris’s story is one we have seen far too often. Some boys and men have issues with taking “no” for an answer, and think their needs and desires are more valuable than those of girls and women due to their patriarchal mindset.

This mindset can make boys and men think they can: insult, assault, or kill a girl or woman for turning down their advances.

In response, some girls and women may lie about their relationship status to avoid

getting victimized for rejecting an advance. It may not be kind to lie to others, but it’s a step many have resorted to for safety reasons.

Boys and men need to understand that no one is obligated to be with them just because they show interest, and if rejected by someone, they need to move on instead of resorting to verbally or physically attacking a girl or woman.

There are a lot of fish in the sea. If one person doesn’t show interest, someone else will.

Everyone deserves love. However, people must accept that rejection can happen as you search for love.

BY SYDNEE WALCOTT

As an adult, you should never disrespect a child in any way, shape, or form, but some adults need to be given that reminder.

On May 19^th, 2022, Rihanna gave birth to her first child with her boyfriend, ASAP Rocky. Since the birth of their son, fans have been curious to see how their firstborn looks. The wait was over on December 17^th, 2022 when Rihanna posted a TikTok of their seven-month-old son.

When a celebrity shares a picture or video of their infant child, many will show excitement and share positive messages when they finally see the first glimpse of a celebrity couple’s infant child, but there will always be people who will take their negative opinions to the internet to speak about innocent children instead of just keeping their hurtful comments to themselves.

History repeated itself once again when Twitter users appeared to show no remorse as they made tweets — that have since been made private, about the couple’s infant son’s appearance and even called the child ugly.

These comments have reminded many of what people have said about Beyonce and Jay-Z’s oldest daughter, Blue Ivy Carter.

Since Blue Ivy’s birth, we have seen memes and posts about her hair and features. We have seen: a petition urging Beyonce and Jay-Z to comb their daughter’s hair, Karruehe Tran making a joke about her hair on BET’s 106 & Park, two journalists mocking her appearance, and Saucy Santana’s old tweets on her hair have resurfaced.

It’s already bad enough that one innocent child has endured so much negativity at a young age. We don’t need to see the same happen to any more children.

It is sickening to see adults speak negatively about a child who cannot defend itself. When these children grow up, they may come across negative comments and posts that were made about them when they were small.

Just imagine how hurt those children will feel when they come across those tasteless posts.

What I find to be mind-boggling is that some of these people who have made negative comments about a celebrity’s child also happen to be parents.

For parents who have said something negative about someone else’s child; imagine how you would feel if that was your child came across a nasty post another person made about them.

No one should ever be subjected to mistreatment in that fashion or any other, especially when they are children.

BY SYDNEE WALCOTT

While most people were happy for Keke Palmer when she announced she was expecting her first child, others did not express happiness.

On December 3^rd, 2022, Palmer announced her pregnancy during her opening monologue when she hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live for the first time.

The actress-addressed rumours about her expecting in a joking manner and confirmed she was pregnant when she opened up her trench coat to reveal her baby bump.

Palmer said the pregnancy is a very big blessing and shared how excited she is about being a mother.

Many were happy for Palmer and wished nothing but the best for her and her boyfriend, Darius Jackson, on their exciting news, but some did not seem to be happy about Palmer’s pregnancy due to her relationship status.

There were a lot of people who took to the internet to criticize Palmer and rain on her parade because she is not having a baby through marriage, and I don’t feel as if that is right.

Marriage is not something that should be looked down on, as it is a big step in a relationship, but we also have to remember that having a baby after marriage does not guarantee perfection and a healthy environment for any child as some broken homes do involve parents who are now divorced.

Having children out of wedlock is not something that should always be looked down upon, because not every child who is born out of wedlock has parents who are a baby mama and baby daddy.

There are children in those types of situations who are being raised in a healthy two-parent environment compared to some children who were born after their parents tied the knot.

Not everyone wants to get married, and that’s okay. Just avoid getting yourself involved with someone who wants to get married if you don’t want to get married.

As long as Palmer and Jackson are happy about their new bundle of joy, none of us have the right to enforce our beliefs and standards on the two of them or anyone else for that matter, because at the end of the day, what goes on in their relationship is none of our business.

All that matters is that the child is being raised in a healthy two-parent household with parents who love them, take care of them, and teach them the right values to help them get by in life.

Marriage is and always will be valuable, but making sure children are raised in a healthy two-parent household is way more valuable regardless of whether both parents are married or are a common-law couple.