Teen suicide after bullying

[Patrick]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/03/29/...uicide/?hpt=T1
I was a bit saddened to see the story of the girl in Massachusetts who killed herself after being bullied. Sure, everyone has gone through some sort of hazing when they were younger but what happened to this girl seems rather extreme. The prosecutor in the case seemed a bit shaken up by the whole ordeal as well. Imagine, being in a new and foreign country with no friends and being physically and verbally assaulted as well as assaulted in the virtual world of Facebook and Twitter.
If you were a parent, how would you have handled this? The school obviosuly didn't do much.

[Patrick]

But the nastiness didn't even end there. Her tormentors actually posted snide comments on the dead girl's Facebook memorial page.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...eenage_cy.html

[ejames01]

Why are so many people being so mean and hurtful?

[gazhekwe]

That story made me sick. What would I have done? Minor teasing and bullying I would try and work with the child to handle it. This, though, was extreme. I would start with the principal of the school, the counselor and any sympathetic teachers. If necessary, I would move on to include the police and any social help agency I could find that might help. If it continued even one day past meeting with school officials, I would take the child out of the school until they addressed the problem, taking care to work with the teachers and counselor to get the assignments for the time needed. Last resort, find a new school. Get counseling to address any issues that result from the treatment and any issues that could contribute to victimization.

[Sstashmoo]

Spare the rod spoil the child.

Many of these kids are so mean and disrespectful nowadays. I laugh every time I see a parent trying to reason with their out-of-control two year old. And then too, most kids are raised in day care and in front of a video game.

[Meddle]

And more locally:

Court awards bullied student $800,000

BY PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI
FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER

In what experts say could be a landmark decision, a Michigan school district has been ordered to pay $800,000 this week to a student who claimed the school did not do enough to protect him from years of bullying, some sexually tinged.

This week's jury verdict against Hudson Area Schools puts districts on notice that it's not enough to stop a student from bullying another. There needs to be a concerted effort to stop systemic bullying, too.

Essentially, the federal court ruling says schools can be held responsible for what students do, if there is a pattern of harassment or if they don't do enough to provide a safe environment.

"This is going to have implications across the nation," said Glenn Stutzky, a Michigan State University instructor and an expert on bullying.

The district's attorney, however, says the verdict puts schools in the tricky position of being held liable for student behavior.

The district plans to appeal.

http://www.freep.com/article/2010030...udent--800-000

[TKshreve]

That's why you need to be able to discipline your child. Not take their joystick away. This powder puff society isn't going to make it.

[firstandten]

That was very sad, I guess as a parent I would call the school administation along with the parents of the other children involved and have what we call a "come to jesus meeting" In this meeting assuming I was the parent of the bullied child I would need assurances from the other parents that this situation will not continue under threat of lawsuit or criminal charges. I would ask the school to draw up a plan that all parties could live with making sure the bully actions are addressed. Finally and unfortunately I would have my child get off the social networking sites until this blew over. I would then have major and ongoing conversations with my child concerning dealing with being bullied.

[Pam]

That's why you need to be able to discipline your child. Not take their joystick away. This powder puff society isn't going to make it.

What are you suggesting? Physical discipline? That's counter productive.

http://bullying.suite101.com/article...become_bullies

The environment in the home, including parenting style, supervision and attitudes about violence– Often, bullies are spanked or even physically abused at home. They might also witness domestic violence between other family members. Violence is modeled in the home as a way of solving problems or getting others to behave in a certain way. Additionally, there is typically a lack of supervision in the bully's home, as well as a lack of warmth and kindness.

[Blarf]

What a load of shit.

She made her own decision to kill herself. Other than generic assault/harassment charges, no other crimes were committed. The prosecutor should be fired for wasting the courts time with this one.

[Papasito]

The school system has taken away kids' rights to fight back.
If you dare to stand up for yourself, physically or verbally,
it's usually the victim who finally stood up that gets in trouble
while the bully goes completely off the hook.

Back in the old days, 2 kids went into a field out back, fought it out, and ended up being friends afterward. Society has killed this old way of handling these problems. Some of my best friends through school were kids I had fought it out with.

My son has been bullied at school, and when he dares to stand up for himself, it ends up being him who gets in trouble. Teachers and Faculty care not to hear the entire story. They are oblivious to the fact my son is the shortest kid in his grade, and that it's obvious if my son is driven to the point of being physical, it is only because it has gone to the point where there are no other alternatives.

Many kids go for help before fighting/suicide/ect. occurs, and are turned away/ignored.

[Detroitej72]

Other than generic assault/harassment charges, no other crimes were committed. The prosecutor should be fired for wasting the courts time with this one.

She was also sexually assaulted, which in my opinion should be a crime worthy of death, or are you one of those who believe rape victims asked for it?

[RaumVogel]

What a load of shit.

She made her own decision to kill herself. Other than generic assault/harassment charges, no other crimes were committed. The prosecutor should be fired for wasting the courts time with this one.

So when the prosecutor isn't harsh and the parents of the bullied child sue the school for not protecting her,all the children get to suffer from a bad education.Bullying has to stop somehow.

[Danny]

The female teen who killed herself was due to Flogging. It's a popular trend designed to hurt people by writing meanful words on-line if their lives were being destroyed by other people.

WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET

There are no sticks and stones, and word can hurt a person psychologically.

In Memoriam: Neda Soltani