Grieving family faces vitriol from community
Jun. 5—LENOIR — A local family is currently grieving the loss of a beloved 3-year-old child who drowned Sunday, May 28. Instead of being shown love, support, and comfort during this difficult time, the family has received a number of hurtful comments online.
The same anonymous family member who spoke last week to the News-Topic has spoken out about this vitriolic response from the community.
"It's all a little overwhelming, to be honest," they said.
One person on Facebook made the comment that the pool where the boy drowned has been in the homeowner's backyard for two years now with no fence. However, the family member argues that the child, Dawson, was not living at the house until a few months ago.
"Once he was there, child safety measures were put in place," they said. "As you look in that neighborhood, you don't see any other small children. There's no signs of small children, toys, anything like that. It's not like a neighborhood full of small children."
The family member pointed out one sarcastic comment that really bothered them, which basically said, "Well, at least we don't have to be concerned about any more drownings, except for the pets belonging to our neighbors."
"It's absolutely ridiculous. You can't make neighbors put up things they don't want to or can't put up. If you don't want your dog in your neighbor's yard or pool, you have to take care of it," the family member said. "You can do what you want to your own property. That's what I explained to the person, I was trying to tell them, 'Why don't you go ahead and put up a fence in your yard, just in case?' "
Another commenter said that this tragedy could have been prevented if the parents had paid attention to the child.
The anonymous family member said that they "don't understand where humanity and compassion went."
"I remember when my grandfather died, the community and churches pulled together and brought food to my grandmother, sent their condolences," they said. "But with this incident, I don't know of anybody who's reached out.
"In someone's time of grieving, we need to remember to be kind to one another," they continued. "We're still human at the end of the day ... This was someone's life. They're being bullies, the worst kind of bully. What they're saying, it's not fact. When you're talking about someone who somebody loved and cared about deeply, and who was so innocent and so sweet, it's not right."
Of the nearly 1,000 comments on one post about the incident, not all of them are hateful. Other individuals offered comforting words and prayers to the family during this difficult time. Many others outright defended the family against the antagonizing comments.
One commenter said that this incident is a horrible, tragic accident and no one is to blame. A number of commenters shared their own painful stories of losing a young child and the guilt and suffering that comes along with it.
According to Caldwell County sheriff's Capt. Aaron Barlowe, the child's autopsy has been completed but the report has not yet been finalized. However, all evidence supports the cause of death to be an accidental drowning.
A memorial service for Dawson will be 2 p.m. Saturday, June 10 at Evans Funeral Service Chapel, located at 1070 Taylorsville Rd. SE, Lenoir.
