Audrie & Daisy

Recently, I was sad to hear of the suicide death of Daisy Coleman, who was featured in the Netflix documentary Audrie & Daisy (2016). Audrie Pott killed herself in 2012, so both the girls are now dead. I recall watching the film and some themes stuck with me, which I will discuss. These girls were sexually assaulted, then victim-blamed and further traumatized by their communities after the fact. If you want to know the whole story, you can watch the documentary or read more online. The death of Daisy effectively ends this story, but it also brings up a lot of questions. 

Audrie Pott

Sexual assault is as old as the world. It's the image of a caveman bonking a girl on the head and dragging her back to his cave. We see it in King David's family (actually, his family was rife with sexual sins of all sorts), where Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar. The characteristic rapist progression is obsession followed by consummation, followed by disgust. We saw the same thing play out with these young girls, where they were bullied by their rapists, their classmates, and townsfolk afterward. The bullying intensified their post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), leading both to commit suicide. 

How powerful is PTSD? It can change someone from having a sunny disposition to a depressed, suicidal recluse. My personal PTSD took hold so long ago, I don't even recall being any other way. Here are some additional words about PTSD, of which I have all the symptoms mentioned. In fact, I have all the precursor symptoms for suicide and have had for a long time. Those who embrace death and commit suicide follow a documented pattern of thought and action. I should be dead. But more on that later. 

An article here mentions Daisy began an organization to combat the very thing she experienced. A spokesperson for that organization had a very telling observation: "She had many coping demons and had been facing and overcoming them all, but as many of you know, healing is not a straight path or any easy one. She fought longer and harder than we will ever know." This quote is what I want to focus on because it tells us a little bit about Daisy's struggles. No one except Daisy really knows what Daisy went through, so this is the closest we have to knowing anything. 

Daisy Coleman

 
The above photo of Daisy tells me some things. She punished herself thoroughly. Spiritually, tattoos and piercings equate to bondage and self-flagellation. The tattoo on her neck (which is a sign of bravado, as that skin is particularly sensitive, as well as a symbol of a damaged individual) is telling. It appears to be a baphomet, which is really just a depiction of satan. This is what I want to focus on. There are only two sources of inspiration, hope, or strength in this world: God and the devil. Where we go when we are hurt or in trouble makes a difference. Both offer solutions to varying degrees of effectiveness. I believe seeking God when one is hurt or in trouble is the better solution than anything else, especially "coping demons"

The word antichrist needs to enter the discussion. We suppose it means "against Christ," but it does not. The original word for "anti" in the Bible means "instead." So, anything — any path, person, situation — that we go to for help, sustenance, peace, etc., can be an antichrist. Jesus Christ provides the way to everything we need. As Christians, we often search for hope or meaning in so many things besides Christ. We choose the blessings over the Blesser. Imagine you are God and you created the world, and your creation turns to itself and says, "I will worship the creation instead of the Creator." How would you feel about what you created? Pretty disappointed. The same applies to when we seek out help from other sources when we are in trouble. God created us. He alone knows how to heal us or get us back on the right path. Anything else is an instead-Christ, an antichrist. Satan, when he fell from heaven, said, "I will be like the Most High," equating himself with God. But he is a snake-oil salesman, peddling something of lesser quality.

I'm going to make a strange statement: I am a walking miracle. Not just because God created me. I mean, we are all miracles of God's creation. But I really should have killed myself by now. I have more than enough reasons to do so. I have all the markers for people who do so. Why I haven't is embedded in Psalm 102:19-20: "For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth; To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death." My friends, that is me. I am the one appointed to death. In reality, we all are, but I was appointed to early death. I have no reason to be alive other than God looked down and loosed me from that early appointment and set me free from that awful bondage. Suicide is a fantasy, an instead-Christ. It is a way out, yes, but it is not THE WAY, which is Jesus Christ and Him alone. 

The story of Audrie and Daisy is sobering. A nation and culture are judged by how they treat their most powerless citizens — their women and children. These young women who killed themselves were just children when they were victimized. We live in an increasingly sick and perverted society. God judges nations that do not treat their women and children well especially hard. Human trafficking and sex trafficking have increased exponentially. It seems everyone is complicit. Where are the men who are supposed to protect them? They are the victimizers. This has to change. I believe if God changes the men in our society, we can take back what has been lost. We can move in the right direction. Pray for the men of our nations. If we get back even a few — and they catch fire for God — the whole world can change. 

Thank you for reading, and God bless.