View source for Comm-Link:AremisPost - Stop Blading

Op-Ed

IT HAS BEEN a little over a year since my son, [[Tarek Kiang|Tarek]], was killed. I chose to write this letter to the [[Aremis Post]] because it was this very [[NewsOrg]] that first reported on his senseless death, and yet in that time, the popularity of “[[Blading |blading]]” continues to grow unabated amongst the youth of our planet. As a mother who has seen this pointless trend rip her world apart, I implore you, let us put an end to this practice once and for all.

For those of you who are still unaware of this plight that is affecting the younger generation of our planet, [[Blading|blading]] is what many teens call the idiotic act of actively seeking out an encounter with the [[Vanduul]]. The threat of constant attack not enough for our children, they have begun to purposely fly into [[Vanduul]] hunting grounds and goad those ruthless creatures into attacking. To “earn your blade” or to be “bladed,” a pilot’s sensors have to detect target-lock from a [[Vanduul]] ship. Then it’s up to the blade-hopeful to evade and escape back home, where presumably they are congratulated by their peers and told how “blast” they are. One weekend, my son and two of his friends, [[Kyle Allens]] and [[Li Con]], left the system to attempt just that. None of them survived.