I’m constantly talking about the slippery slope and how easy it is to go for a ride down that slide.  I’m also constantly talking about things that seem like “innocent” TV shows that can result in problems.

Well, here ya go:

A 12-year-old boy was kicked and beaten by as many as 14 classmates, allegedly because a group on Facebook encouraged students to beat up  redheads, authorities said.

The boy was kicked and hit in two separate incidents around 8:30 a.m. Friday morning at A.E. Wright Middle School in Calabasas, said Lt. Richard Erickson of the Los Angeles County sheriff’s department.

“He was accosted by seventh and then eighth-graders,” Erickson said. “He was kicked and hit with fists in various areas of the body.”

Detectives believe the beatings were spurred by Facebook messages telling students that Nov. 20 was “Kick a Ginger Day.”

The messages were allegedly inspired by a 2005 episode of the animated TV show “South Park” which focused on prejudice against “gingers,” a label given to people with red hair, fair skin, and freckles…

The boy sought help from the school nurse immediately after the attacks. His injuries were not severe enough to require hospitalization, though detectives are pursuing the investigation as a possible assault with a deadly weapon.

It appears that on that South Park episode, Cartman said something:

An (South Park) episode in 2005 focused on prejudice against “gingers” after one of the characters said people with red hair, light skin and freckles have no souls and suffer from a disease called “Gingervitus.”

Of course no one is talking about the children who did this, they are all talking about how facebook was irresponsible for not taking the group off of the website and that they are to blame.

However, why blame facebook when it was Comedy Central who originally thought this was funny.  This is why adults need to be more responsible in what is seen on TV.  We have all become so addicted to instant gratification we don’t think of any long term ramifications that one little comedy show can have.

Now, I am not saying that we need to be even more politically correct than what we already are, because we have gone to far in that realm.  I’m just saying that blatantly racially motivated episodes that incite violence towards a minority group should not be on a cable channel that is now considered part of the “basic package” for many cable companies.  Such a show should be on a pay channel like HBO or Showtime.

Some may be saying that this is just one incident.  Well, maybe not:

(Canada May 8, 2009):  Two Calgary teenagers have been handed absolute discharges in an assault on a classmate on so-called ‘Kick a Ginger Day.’

The news reported that only 4% of the population are red headed fair skinned  people (the definition of a “ginger”).  We are dealing with a very small group which would make it difficult to find out how many school beatings this particular subject has encouraged.  It also relies on the victim coming forward and saying that it was because of their physical appearance that they were targeted.  It’s hard enough being a teen without having to tell the adults that you were beat because you are a ‘ginger’.

So, who do we hold responsible for this?  The parents for not paying attention to what their kids were doing on the computer?  Facebook for allowing that group to remain on their site?  Comedy Central for allowing South Park to always go one step further?  or the creators of South Park for putting the idea ‘out there’?

Or should we actually hold the kids responsible for not being able to control their behavior?  Of course, then we would have to blame a society that refuses to teach our kids right from wrong for fear telling kids something is wrong would lead to “religion in schools”.  So, the kids can’t be responsible because then we would have to look at our own behavior and understand right from wrong.  Everyone knows morality is too difficult to follow and no fun to live by.