Subscribe
Dr. Phil talked about cyber bullying yesterday and I was absolutely horrified as a human and as a mother by some of the things I saw, heard and learned.
The first people he spoke to were the parents of 13-year-old Megan Meier. You may recognize that name because she was the young woman who, after being the victim of cyber bullying at the hands of a boy she had befriended on MySpace (they later learned it was actually an adult neighbor posing as the boy), committed suicide by hanging herself in her closet. The woman, Lori Drew, is the mother of one of Megan’s former friends and, initially confessed to creating and maintaining the profile. She claimed that she created the profile to find out what Megan was saying about her daughter since they had stopped being friends. After Megan and the fictitious boy "Josh Evans" had become quite friendly, Lori (along with a co-worker and her daughter) began verbally attacking Megan as "Josh" and after she unsuccessfully tried to get support from her mother, Megan committed suicide.
Lori Drew had her lawyer send a statement to the Dr. Phil show in which she denied direct involvement. Despite the police report that she filed saying the contrary, her statement to Dr. Phil said that she "knew of the profile" but did not participate. Let’s say that’s true. It’s still negligence, isn’t it? She knew that her daughter created a fake profile to torture a former friend and did nothing to stop it. In my opinion, she’s a liar – she made that profile, wrote those messages and did all of the things that she originally told the police (see it at the Smoking Gun website).
It’s disgusting to me that there is no law against this sort of thing. There needs to be no tolerance for bullying and cyber bullying should be no different. It’s one thing to use your own free speech but hiding behind a made up identity with the express purpose of causing harm to someone else should be punishable. According to the police report, Lori (as "Josh") even told Megan that the world would be a better place without her. This is an adult, talking to a child. This is not right and it’s unfair that Lori Drew can walk the streets and face no consequences.
I need to know what you think! Fill out the poll and/or leave me a comment!
What a sad story. How can a mother do this to a child???
This was close to where i live and my friends and i were talking in morality class about this. Its horrible that mother should face the same death that she caused.
You’re all idiots.
“…unsuccessfully tried to get support from her mother.”
I don’t think there should be a better law. I think there should be better parents.
To think soemone could do this to a child after what, just breaking up friendship. This is really sick and I fell awful for the girl.
Are you people nuts? If I call you an idiot and you go ad step in front of a train is that my fault? No it’s YOURS! Just because some people have low self-esteem doesn’t mean that they are exempt from their own actions. I’m not saying what Lori Drew did was right nor am I saying what happened to the child is not a tragedy but this is no one’s fault. If the child’s parents had been monitoring the child’s internet activities more closely perhaps this tragedy might have been averted. By bringing vague bogus charges against Lori Drew officials are crossing a very dangerous line which once crossed cannot be undone.
Imagine if food critics could be sued because they don’t like a particular Chef’s recipe? What if a pop star off’ed himself after being told he blew royally by Simon Cowell? Now imagine if a 13 year old girl committed suicide after being told by a supposed older boy she was worthless? There is nothing wrong with any of these scenarios and the only reason anyone is making a huff is because the boy turned out not to be a boy at all! A crime should not be created just for the sake of purposely trying to convict the ones “supposedly” responsible. Remember the old motherly adage about jumping off a bridge if someone told you to do so or if everyone else was going to? Don’t piss on me and tell me it’s raining and don’t blame someone for another’s stupidity.
Anonymous
To Anonymous:
“If the child’s parents had been monitoring the child’s internet activities more closely perhaps this tragedy might have been averted.”
If I remember correctly (from when I watched this episode on Dr. Phil), the girl had been telling her mother what was happening all along. Just before she killed herself, she was complaining about how “Josh” and her other friends were saying horrible things about her. Her mother just said that she had told her before, if she doesn’t like what people are saying, then she shouldn’t be on the internet… something like that. So, the girl got even more upset, went upstairs, and… killed herself. So, I believe that her parents (or at least her mom) were pretty up to date on what their daughter was doing.
I’m in no way saying it was the moms fault… people make mistakes. I just wanted to say she knew what was going on, from what I remember.
i just want evryone 2 know that some sick human been is on bebo right now pretending 2 be that poor innersent child and i wont stand for it im going 2 do something 2 this school i go 2 and try and make a differnce i will not stand 4 the cruel nasty people owt there aspeshaly the one woman who was watching out 4 her daughter she drove a lil girl into making her own death bed
:(:(:(:(
CYBER BULLYING IS BAD
Interview with the Truth on Earth band, and their song “Shot with a Bulletless Gun” about cyber bullying
Drew should not be allowed to even own a computer let alone work for a company that requires her to use one. Hopefully someone will cyber harrass her enough to get her to hang herself. Perhaps people should use the internet for good and google her to find out where she has been offered the computer job so we can bring that company down. All I can say to those of you who “think” this woman didn’t do anything wrong, and those of you who blame the girl’s parents…Who will you blame when and if something such as this happens to your child. If it can happen to one it can happen to another and the idiot judge whose decision to drop this case has just given anyone out there the green light to do it again. Sure hope he doesn’t have a child or grandchild who is susceptible to the same thing.