When A Prank Turns Into Suicide
I know this is April Fool's Day and so though I would share a story that has been around the internet for awhile, but takes front and center today. I love pranks and practical jokes as much as the next person, but I also think there is a line you don't cross when you are doing so. The joke or prank should not actually make someone invest emotionally, and if something goes wrong, you need to just give up on the prank or lie and not see it through to the end. Whenever I think of a prank gone bad, I always think back to that Jenny Jones situation, and the guy murdering the other guy. You need to know when to back off.
Here is a little background to this current situation. What you have are some nosy ass neighbors almost in their 20's who decided to screw around with a 13 year old girl by inventing a MySpace boyfriend for her. When things started getting weird, instead of letting the girl in on the joke, the hoaxsters instead drove the girl into a frenzy and she ended up killing herself.
One of the hoaxsters was on Good Morning America this morning. Try to ignore that woman named Diane Sawyer who used to be a journalist and is now just vying for Queen Of The Kneepads.
I remember reading about this and seeing some press coverage about it a while back. Maybe I'm showing my age, and I'm certainly not blaming the victim, but how can you get so emotionally invested in someone you meet on MySpace that you want to kill yourself when they break up with you? I mean, the girl was disturbed, and what happened to her was sad. I do think that people who play such cruel jokes should be responsible for the consequences. I guess mine is just more of a general question and not one specifically about this girl. Is it a normal thing for kids these days to fall madly in love with someone from MySpace whom they've never met?
ReplyDeletethis is a sad case, but honestly i think the girl who committed suicide had serious problems. i dont know, i just dont think that its that bad what they did, i know people who create fake accounts to mess with people all the time. maybe i am just heartless.
ReplyDelete"I'm certainly not blaming the victim"
ReplyDeleteyou sure about that?
these 'parents' are effin dispicable and i wish there was a law to fully punish them under the law. kids are vulnerable and when you pretend everyhting about thema dn their friends of course they are going to become emotionally involved. the girl was being bullied at school prior, not disturbed.
Well, the girl may/may not have had problems, but that's not really the point.
ReplyDeleteThe girl who set up the MySpace account is an adult - 19 y/o. There were other adults involved. These people were parents. If they had a problem with the 13 y/o then they should have either 1) gone to the girl's parents or 2) ignored it. To emotionally manipulate a 13 y/o girl like that is reprehensible. I hope there is jail time in their future.
Keep in mind that even the most well adjust 13 y/o girls are dealing with hormones and boys and jealousies and such. To have adults screw with her like that is sick. The mentally unstable ones in this situation are the adults.
cho- i really hope that's your april fool or else you are pretty damn heartless.
ReplyDeletethose people who 'you don't think did anyhting that bad' knew full well the girl was sensitve and has previous problems with bullies. These ADULTS KNEW THIS and did it ANYWAY. and that is ok by you?
wow...i really hope some people with a heart and a conscience weigh in on this soon.
"Joke" my butt. This whole case is sickening.
ReplyDeleteI remember the first time I heard about this and thought to myself, how could someone who called themself a parent, get involved in a scheme that only a 7th grader would think of .. no thoughts, no conscience over the effect that this would have on the victim .. and the victim's family who is left behind to deal with this tragedy .. these people lived only doors ways from each other .. hatred and jealousy is one thing, but when it goes to this level, it is pathological .. these people should not be on TV or anywhere else .. they should be in jail!
ReplyDeleteAnyone with teenage daughters knows how emotions run high at that age. My girl is 13 and amazingly she's well adjust and cool. However, I have to keep a constant check on her drama level. THIS is when girls struggle with self-esteem issues. And to think that it was PARENTS who were involved in this deadly farce...the very people who should have immediately halted such behavior...makes this the worst case scenario.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me ill that this woman being interviewed says she wants people to know she's not a heartless person. SURE YOU ARE!!! Nobody with any kind of conscience or heart would ever do anything so cruel to a person...especially a young teen because they're vulnerable to begin with. I hope she and those parents involved in the cover up spend time behind bars. They killed that young girl.
ReplyDeleteCho - you don't think that what they did is that bad????? It sounds like you have serious problems.
Jax, I really wasn't blaming the victim. I saw the parents of this girl on Dr. Phil and can't recall if it was live or via "statement" but the parents that were involved on the other end basically had the attitude of "ah, no big deal, it was a joke, get over it" in a nutshell. I really was just curious in general about the whole MySpace/Internet thing and if this was a common occurrence. It really wasn't a comment about this girl in particular. I volunteered for over 3 years at suicide hotlines and eventually became a trainer for other volunteers. It's not something I take lightly. And yes, I think any person who thinks life is so hopeless that their best option is to kill themselves is disturbed. This event alone did not push this poor girl to kill herself, it was a culmination of things. It's not her fault, I am not and was not placing blame with her, it is a terribly unfortunate situation.
ReplyDeleteIndigo, how can you say the girl was disturbed if you didn't know her? She was a vulnerable young teen with raging hormones. Please! Compassion is in order, let's not point fingers.
ReplyDeleteDo teenagers fall in love with Myspace strangers whom they've never met?
ReplyDeleteEVERY DAY!! Teenagers are emotionally, hormonal volatile creatures who are usually just starting to learn about love and relationships, and are testing the waters.
Hell, you barely even need to be "disturbed" or have "issues". Young girls want to fall in, and be in, love. When the family created that Myspace page, it was with the intent of rooting out what the girl had said about other people, so I imagine she might not have had many friends, or perhaps there was some sort of conflict. She probably really found comfort in having someone else to talk to, someone else to care about her, probably brightened up her day when everyone around her was angry and confrontational (because of her mouthing off).
What those "parents" did is one of the most irresponsible and immature things I have ever heard of. The first time I read this story, I was in shock. The second time, enraged.
I guess the family that provoked the suicide, had also been storing some stuff in the other family's home....and the mom of the deceased girl described breaking a pool table of theirs and leaving it at the end of the driveway as kind of a "fuck you".
Is that other family responsible? Completely. They exploited a girl's emotional vulnerability and pushed her to the point where she killed herself. I blame them completely because they went out of their way to toy with her emotions, and they were ADULTS. They should have had better sense and definately more class. They handled it worse than children.
That fat bitch is the type that sits around and watches soaps all day, thats probably where she got such a twisted idea. God I fucking hate her....supposed to be an adult/parent, and taking the route of a 13 year old drama queen. I wish that she'd be prosecuted.
Inidgoblue and Cho,
ReplyDeleteMaybe this girl was more sensitive than most, but honestly, life is EXTREMELY difficult at that age. I remember feeling extremely ugly and unattractive at that age. I wasn't really teased, but the one or two mean comments hurt a lot. It's just a though time beause you don't really know who you are and your body is going through crazy changes and to feel hated at school and then have the one 'person' you though you could trust betray you...I could see that sending a young girl over the edge. These partents should be hung. What they did is disgusting.
Twisted, I agree whole-heartedly. I have NO clue as to the history of the victim, and YES she was a victim, but I do know that teenage girls take EVERYTHING to heart and that what we, as calloused experienced adults, see as "trivial" is of utmost importance to teenage girls. They adults in this situation acted with malice and a complete disregard for the feelings of the victim. I'm sure they didn't intend for her to commit suicide, but they DID intend to provoke her, to string her along, to manipulate her emotions. That in itself is a very dangerous game, and in this case led irreversable consequences.
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell is WRONG with these people? Creating a person to torment a thirteen-year-old girl? They should go to prison, and if not, have their own daughter removed from their home and placed with responsible relatives.
ReplyDeleteWe've all been thirteen once, and it is the most delicate time for a person, particularly females, emotionally and mentally. This likely felt like the end of the world to this young girl, who lacked the experience and maturity to see beyond the situation. I have no doubts that she would have had regrets over how she responded to this if she'd been afforded the chance to survive it.
The parents in this scenario are absolutely at fault for this, as well as the other woman involved, because they should have had the decency and maturity to see what sort of damage their actions would incur. There needs to be some sort of retribution for this crime. They should hang their heads in shame.
Maybe thats part of the problem: people underestimating the volatile nature of a young person's emotions. Its not something they can always help, its such a confusing and emotional time. Obviously she was already in a state of distress--her former friend was unhappy with things she'd said or done, so there was already a conflict.
ReplyDeletein the end it really doesnt matter what condition her metal state was prior..the fact remains that these adult parents took a heinous joke and ran with it and then claim innocence when the worst possible scenario actually happened.
ReplyDelete"oh we didn't know she'd react like that"
BULLSHIT! the girl's mother had spoken to the asswipes prev when their daughter was having issues at school. they knew damn well they were completely terorizing her metally when she was already fragile. they prayed on the weak and it worked. now pay bitches!
The Internet is a dangerous place to let your kids run amok. Myspace, in my opinion, is about the dumbest thing in the world for kids to be on. They are too ignorant to use it properly - this case being the most blatant exmaple. But other examples would involve young kids posting pictures of themselves almost naked and/or using alcohol and drugs.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that TWO adults participated in this speaks volumes as to their sheer stupidity and self centered attitudes. Mommy should go to prision - as in federal "up the butt prison". She'll get probation and a book deal.
oh Trix you missed the best part...the assholes tried to sue the mom for wrecking their pool table! the fricken nerve!!!!
ReplyDeleteOMG the way Trix writes about fucked up people. Pot meet kettle. You're the most unstable person on cdan. Enough with your rants.
ReplyDeleteAnd speaking of rants for those who missed it Trix posted just last week how awful this place is with bossy diva's Jax and Twisted who "act like they own the place".
Who's fucked up Trix? Jax is the only one who talks to you and thats what you have to say about her?
Or didn't you see the post Jax and Twisted?
Lyz and Kat- amen. Teens are fragile. The fact that the parents told the woman in the clip to shut up about it means they know they're responsible for her death.
ReplyDeleteMolly you're coming across as much of a shit stirrer as she is. NO, I don't read her posts so I didn't have the pleasure. Now please, stop pulling me into YOUR rants.
ReplyDeleteSorry. I just wanted you all to know what a hypocrite she is.
ReplyDeleteoh please...we're all bitches tell someone who cares. lol.
ReplyDeletei am no diva- i just voice myself and encourage others to as well. we all don't agree,big deal that's what makes it interesting. if people can't speak up that's their own problem.
trix is back on her meds she should be ok...but thanks Molly hall monitor!!!!
I have the utmost compassion for anyone who considers, attempts or completes suicide. If I didn't I wouldn't have spent years volunteering and trying to help. I used the word "disturbed" simply to mean that she had other issues going on other than just this MySpace thing. The parents behind the hoax should be punished to the nth degree of the law, but my understanding is there is nothing to charge them with. It is unfortunate when there are criminal acts that lack a crime to be charged with and punished for.
ReplyDeletehttp://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/04/teen-fingers-lo.html
ReplyDeleteThat mother needs to burn in hell.
I'm sorry and I'm certainly not normally this judgemental, but she manipulated a little girl who used to go on vacation with her family. She knew her issues. She started the myspace to see what Megan was saying about her daughter??
So she pretends to be a teenage boy???
She can burn
Molly - we are aware. Jax doesn't care, I can't take mood swing Mary's so I don't read her posts. Now you know, so you don't have to mention it again,'k?
ReplyDeleteBack to the blind - this is so disturbing that I can't think of anything else. I can't believe adults were involved. I really do hope they all end up serving time.
Indigo, you don't know that she had other issues - you don't know her. This is not unheard of for a teen because they're fragile....not disturbed, but fragile and vulnerable. They pushed a fragile, vulnerable teen over the edge.
indigo,you kinda got jumped on that..mainly because i think people are so passionate about this story. i'm sure you meant no harm.
ReplyDeletelet's all just agree to disagree becasue let me tell you the irony of this conversation under this post is not lost on me!
Hey jax, I'm here, and agree wholeheartedly.
ReplyDeleteWhen this all went down, the police tried every which way they could to charge these people, but they couldn't even find a loophole.
I believe the neighbors got involved, and people started protesting in front of their home—I guess what you would call a modern-day version of "shaming."
I'm disappointed that anyone, let alone a major network, would give these people an outlet to make light of and excuse their reprehensible behavior.
I really wish people would stop saying the deceased had issues - I think we all know it was the so called adults who had the issues.
ReplyDeletePoor Indigo - Jax is right, we're just very passionate here. I'm not 'yelling' at you, I'm just really pissed off that this happened and I don't think this little girl should be cast in a poor light.
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for this girl, but seriously though, you MUST have some sort of issues if a fake boyfriend makes you kill youtself. I would be looking at the victims parents for what they did to make her like this
ReplyDeleteSurfer, what do you mean "people started protesting"? Like picketing in front of their house??? Go neighborhood! Man, I'd be all over that.
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree with everyone who finds the "Adults" at fault. I fact, I think they should be held criminally responsible. Their behavior was reprehensible.
ReplyDeleteNow, I didn't watch this clip, I am familiar with the case. Does anyone know WHY she was on GMA?
Yes, there were conflicts beforehand between these families/kids, so much so that the dead girl had switched schools to avoid any continuing problems although the families were still neighbors.
ReplyDelete...Or so I remember from all of the news reports when it first came out.
Twist, she actually did have a history of a suicide attempt and issues with bullies at school. Its not nice to say about the victim but in this case it is very important becasue all the parents involved knew about it....and still thought a hoax was appropriate. it makes it even worse! But yes i hear you about colouring the dead in a "mentally unstable light" its not fair or just.
ReplyDeletedog pile on Sue Ellen!
ReplyDeletehow can you get so emotionally invested in someone you meet on MySpace
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how this is different from people falling in love with penpal's, or (gross) people they've met in a bar.
Online you can get to know someone without having to waste time meeting them and figuring you wouldn't get along.
That's really not the issue, however. What I think most are overlooking is this. The character 'Josh Evans' was VREATED to snare this girl. Created by the mother of her once best friend, to find out if she was badmouthing her.
Seriously, I don't know and can't even think of the language of a law that would stop this, but there absolutely should be one.
Think about it. If this almost 40 yr old woman had been a man contacting this little girl under false pretenses...don't you think more action would have already been taken?
I don't think there's anything wrong with saying she had issues. It's not a condemnation. Hell, I have issues! I saw her parents on tv right after this happened and they went over quite a bit of what was going on in her life. Not everyone who contemplates or attempts suicide has a diagnosable mental illness, and that was not what I was insinuating in any way, shape or form. Most times it's just a matter of a person's threshold for stress gets surpassed and they can't see a way out of their troubles, which usually encompass a myriad of things, some mundane some not.
ReplyDeleteThe truth is that the people who thought of, created and maintained the page knew or should have known, based on the former close relationship with the victim and her family, that this could have disastrous consequences. They also should have known that based on common freaking knowledge. They are scum.
Jax, that's a different story. Nobody has posted previous history which would have been helpful. I thought they were saying that based on what she did and I was calling bullshit.
ReplyDeleteSo she had other kids picking on her at school, which I'm sure the adults were aware of, and they did this anyway. What sick fuckers.
chatty:
ReplyDeletefrom the GMA website::
Now, in a strange twist, the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles has begun its own investigation to charge Drew with fraud. In this case, the alleged victim is not Megan Meier but MySpace, which is based in Beverly Hills, Calif. Grills has been granted immunity in exchange for her testimony against Drew...."
at last. FINALLY.
Sweater - I totally agree with you. (as usual...lol)
ReplyDeleteWhile vreated seems like a cool word, I meant created:(
ReplyDeleteSorry guys, read about this last November, I'll look for the long assed article I read, where the mother who created the website had asked Megan's family to store some gaming table they had. Once they found out she had a hand in driving Megan nuts they took it to the person's lawn and smashed it. Said mom called the police and pressed charges.
It's simply amazing how some people can walk this earth without a soul
I meant common sense, not common knowledge. Sorry
ReplyDelete<3 twisted :D
ReplyDeleteGonna go look for that article
ya it didn't help that the so called 'mother' who had the site wrote her and told her that no one likes you,you're ugly you should just go kill yourself, no one would miss you. not even your parents.
ReplyDeletethat shit would make me cry and i'm a 34 year old women.
Rebecca- thank you!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, FINALLY.
Exactly, Jax...and that's what I thought happened, which on it's own wouldn't mean someone had issues. Given the information you and others have now added about other incidents, it sounds like a lot of her 'issues' involved cruel kids who were just mean to her. Again, I have to ask - who has the real issues?
ReplyDeleteI don't mind a little thoughtful discussion, that's what we're here for, right? ;)
ReplyDeleteI can't view the clip here and assumed they had gone over some of the history behind what the girl had gone through prior to the hoax. I only knew b/c I followed the story when it happened because I was so flabbergasted adults would engage in such heinous activity.
lyz, that's exactly what I meant.
ReplyDeleteThe neighbors, as well as most people, were appalled when no charges were brought against this family, and they acted like it was no big deal. Yay for the neighbors. I also remember hearing something about the husband's business being affected, because people were so turned off by what his wife did. I also heard something about what Rebecca mentioned.
Here it is
ReplyDeletehttp://suburbanjournals.stltoday.com/articles/2007/11/11/news/sj2tn20071110-1111stc_pokin_1.ii1.txt
"Mom! Mom! Mom! Look at him!" Tina Meier recalls her daughter saying.
ReplyDeleteJosh had contacted Megan Meier through her MySpace page and wanted to be added as a friend.Yes, he's cute, Tina Meier told her daughter. "Do you know who he is?"
"No, but look at him! He's hot! Please, please, can I add him?"
Mom said yes.
RIP Megan
whew - i'm glad i just took my meds for my issues cause this is some powerful commenting. But in all seriousness - i can't see the video - damn slow pccard - but if they brought her on to rehash this because it's April Fools day 1st off shame on GMA! Second - 13 yr olds are scary and difficult and when my daughter was that age i monitored her moods like she was a baby w/ a fever for fear of this kind of stupid, cruel , psycho shit that happens everyday.
ReplyDeleteI too followed this and from a legal angle could not believe that they couldn't bring charges of some sort - it's such a horrible thing.
as for comments - everyone should be entitled to thier own opinion-and I for one love all the diverse ones on here and never feel like i am the red headed step child in a place owned by other posters. I do think that some people - (molly and sue ellen) can stir up crap just to stir it up and that is troll like and should be ignored. But really sueellen - now we should blame the victims parents? mental disorders are diseases - and i don't think blaming the victims parents on this is what anyone needs to do.
sorry all over the place on this one - but then when dealing with this type of situation how can anyone not be.
as always EL and posters thanks for the passion, opinions and the forum to air them.
molly has nothing to offer when it comes to the subject at hand, he/she would rather attack the posters. Pretty shitty troll if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteSue Ellen isn't even in the troll minor league.
If you can't ignore them, just don't acknowledge them
Trust me, I've been a troll on many message boards:) Certainly not here.
I grew up.
Those 2 are less than amateurs, however.
Sweater, thanks for posting the link. It was tough to read, but I'm glad I got through it.
ReplyDeleteThis from the nutcase mother:
(She) felt this incident contributed to Megan's suicide, but she did not feel 'as guilty' because at the funeral she found out 'Megan had tried to commit suicide before.'"
Megan's mother said this is a lie, she never attempted suicide before.
That woman is really sick in the head if she can justify not feeling 'as guilty'.
The whole case is just awful. I just hope that it sets a precedent for cases of internet identity fraud, because this is NOT the first time I have heard of these large-scale deceptions (in fact I've seen worse than these, in terms of scale, but NEVER perpetrated on such a poor, young person and not with such awful consequences), and, as has come up here, there is almost nothing you can charge someone with for doing this. If they pull off charging the parents with fraud, it could be a step in the right direction.
ReplyDeletemust have taken brass ones to go to the funeral of the girl she killed... Christ! and what kind of twisted bitch thinks to her self 0 "Oh ok i'm good this girl was already suicidal". UGGHH
ReplyDeleteand sweater - LOL very true
Hey now, Jax, I'm willing to concede that we're all bitches, but just because I bitch louder doesnt mean I am on, or needed, meds. Come on now. Just tryin' to be nicer to fellow posters doesn't necessitate Prozac.
ReplyDeleteMolly: get a life, seriously.
lol, oh and Molly, plenty of people on this site talk to me...including you, sweetheart! "And thats how you talk about her?" Um, I talk how I please, about whom I please, and I've never been one to ass kiss to make anyone else feel comfortable. We all have ways we vent or rant, and mine is to be obnoxious about celebrities...and occasionally I get carried away and vent on people who dont deserve it--that part I'm workin' on, as it never hurts to have some 'Net manners.
ReplyDeleteNot about back down because you think I'm a sociopathic bitch, when I know that everything you read from me, is me at my absolute worst. Deal with it!
What I find terrifing is that these 'adults' are raising children. She should be charged with child abuse and/or endangerment.
ReplyDeletethanks for posting the link. It was tough to read
ReplyDeleteThey are divorced now:(
No one should outlive their child, this is true.
Just such a shame to see the damage that happened all around the family as well.
Again, I think people should picket the Drew household until they move.
Won't happen, I know, but still...I am so not happy with her not facing any sort of justice for what she did.
Sue me
hey trix could you take it to a less serious topic?
ReplyDeleteplease?
Do you know what this made me think of? Immediately? All of those "Dateline: To Catch A Predator" episodes.
ReplyDeleteThese ADULTS created a MySpace profile specifically to induce a MINOR to fall in love with said profile?
Um, child abuse, much? Stalking children online--is that not illegal? Aren't adults prohibited from forming these kind of "in love" internet relationships with minors? Even though it was fake, doesn't it fall under the jurisdiction of those laws?
I mean, if this was a molester putting up a fake teenage-bot profile to bait this 13 year old girl, and if said molester had driven the child to suicide, wouldn't that molester be rotting in a prison cell by now? So why is this different? This is still a case of adults manipulating their identities for the specific purpose of baiting a minor, right? The motivation shouldn't matter---the facts at hand should.
THANK YOU
ReplyDeletesheesh ragdoll THANK YOU
That was exactly what I've thought from when I first heard about this. If it were a man the same age as that mom, he would be in prison.
Its cool, sweater.
ReplyDeleteto clarify
ReplyDeleteIf it were a man pretending to be someone younger than he is, Chris Hansen would ask him to take a seat over there.
I don't think just talking to some creepy older man would have caused her to commit suicide and her parents seemed to monitor her onlline activities. However this older woman who knew her and had been on vacation with her knew what insecure buttons to push. Not only that but she involved her 13 yr old and another 13 yr old in the scheme.
This was planned out. This was pure mean.
How is it that if a man her age was pretending to be a 14 yr old boy would go to jail for this, yet she escapes scot free?
I am honestly astounded
gotcha trix, sorry if I overstepped
ReplyDeleteNah, sweater, you know....I get annoyed sometimes when things go off topic or get personal...but bitchin' about it or contributing to it when its already started, is just as bad as having started it. Is it really all that hard to tone it down? Nah. And it cuts back on the stuff that annoys me in the first place. I can get in sync with that.
ReplyDelete(Are people allowed to "evolve" around here? I get the feeling its only "allowed" if its explained by medication, lol)
IF it counts, you get my vote sans meds ;)
ReplyDeletethumbs up from over here
This is horrible. What 13 year old girl doesn't have another 13 year old girl she has a love/hate relationship with? It is SO normal for 13 year olds to be BFFs one day and enemies the next. I often wonder what happenned to my BFF/Enemy from when I was 13.
ReplyDeleteI feel so bad for the victim's parents. It seems like they did everything they could for their daughter. I hope the mother behind this is punished to the full extent of the law!
i'm with all of you on the atrocity of all of this. i don't wonder why megan was so distraught over what she'd read online, in part because thirteen is such a desperately vulnerable age and also because she was already being bullied and ostracized by other kids.
ReplyDeletebut in answer to the question indigo originally asked (and i understand, indigo, that it was an honest question about life in the internet age), there's another factor at play here that i hadn't considered before: traditional bullying has always taken place outside the home, but with internet access at home (in a child's room or even in a common area like the kitchen), virtual bullying comes right in to a place that used to be safe. i think that's huge in terms of the kind of intimacy that can be created with people online, but also speaks to why megan might have reacted in the way that she did -- the interactions with 'josh evans' were taking place in her home. the bullying could happen even when her mom was present; it must have felt to her that this was her whole world.
it's horrifying that those people have anything to do with children; they are cruel and sick.
In my work with teens as a licensed clinical social worker, I can't tell y'all how pervasive the ridicule, contempt and sheer nastiness that takes place for this age group on myspace, facebook, etc. It can be absolutely devastating even for the most well-adjusted teen.
ReplyDeleteThe best analogy I can think of is what if someone was bombarding you with nasty notes at school everyday - in your locker, in class, in the cafeteria, etc. I don't know a teen who is able NOT to read the nasty stuff written about him or her - because they would rather know than not know.
And to quote Lyz: "Anyone with teenage daughters knows how emotions run high at that age. My girl is 13 and amazingly she's well adjusted and cool. However, I have to keep a constant check on her drama level. THIS is when girls struggle with self-esteem issues."
I couldn't have said it better.
In my opinion, someone should bring back the stockades for everyone involved in perpetuating the hoax on Megan Meier. Ugh.
Sorry, can't blame the victim like some of you. I remember being a teenager once, and it is rough. Adults screwing with a 13 year old's volatile emotions is just wrong. Whether she had problems or not, is not the issue. The issue is, "adults" (and adults who actually spawned offspring) were playing around with a teenager's emotions, and likely pushed her over the edge. I hope karma bites them right on their fat, ugly asses and they end up buried in the giant trash heap of shameful human history.
ReplyDeleteI do have to add that the "usual suspects" never disappoint me. I always expect a certain point of view from you (you know who you are, you are the bitches who have pretty much hi-jacked the comments on this blog), and you never disappoint. Figures. If it makes me cringe, you'll post it. And no, you're not "cool". I'm even going to bet that most lurkers detest you bitches. I know I do. Love the blog, hate the two bitches who post their idiotic, unenlightened comments CONSTANTLY.
ReplyDeleteWow bippy
ReplyDeleteThat's a really great point. I didn't even think of that, at all. I guess because I wasn't raised in the internet age.
However, something invading your 'safe zone' and really, as a teen that's home..
wow.
Thanks for pointing that out.
That poor little girl:(
The girl did indeed have medical issues that the people behind the fake myspace were fully aware of. So yes she was unstable - but they tormented her fully aware of that fact, and for the most part they have shown no remorse.There is a great artical about it in the New Yorker.
ReplyDeleteThe whole thing is sick and sad. I was a bit disturbed at the way they watered down on what happened when it was presented on GMA or whichever newswonk show that was. Didn't the family friend admit at one point that the messages she and others sent got "pretty intimate" for thirteen-year-olds. How is this not sexual predation? Someone upthread posted that if the people who did this had been male, they would be in prison by now. I agree.
ReplyDeleteBTW, welcome Indigoblue!
Thanks, Bippy for getting that it really did just start off with a general question coming from a chick who was 13 way before the internet and who does not have kids. :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I never considered the difference between being bullied in your safe haven versus being bullied at school or the mall or whatever. At least when I had a bad day at school (and there were plenty of them) I could go home, shut the door and be relatively sure that there would be no more ugliness until the next day. Coming into someone's home (even via the internet) and perpetrating damage on them would likely be much more psychologically affecting b/c you tend to have less of a guard up in your own home. You would really feel like there is no safe place in this world. Interesting take.
And Jas Faulkner -- thanks for the welcome!