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Proposed Legislation Would Outlaw "Cyberbullying" in US
physman_wiu writes "We all remember the recent incident of 13-year-old Megan Meier. Now legislation is set to be passed at least in Missouri (and possibly through Congress) that would make cyberbullying illegal. The new legislation (PDF) reads: 'Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.' Now, this seems like a great piece of legislation — until I get put in jail for some kid on WOW calling the Feds on me." Eugene Volokh is not impressed.
You're right, it doesn't. If this law was very, very specific about what constitutes online "harassment", then you might have a point, but even then it's probably going too far. Oh no, someone is mean to you on a forum! That is a far, FAR cry from someone following you around in the real world and harassing you. Now, if this person on the forum is someone you know in the real world, then things may well be a little hairier, but someone calling you names online from the other side of the country being made illegal? Sorry, but you don't have the right to not be offended or hear mean things. Grow a spine.
Actually it was the employee of a parent of the friend of the child who committed suicide.
But that is frankly beside the point anyways. After reviewing as much of what happened in this case as is available to the general public, while what this woman did was sick, I no longer think it was the proximate cause of the girl committing suicide. It is very evident when you dig a little deeper into the story, that it was her own mother's reaction when Meghan tried to talk about what had happened that pushed her over the edge. She didn't get a nasty message and decide to hang herself. She got some nasty messages, tried to talk to her mom about it, her mom blew her off because she didn't like the language Meghan had used in her chatting, she cried out to her mom that she was supposed to be on her side, THEN went up to her room and immediately killed herself.
I still think the woman who perpetrated the hoax was a horrible horrible person. However, I feel Meghan's mother has to be held somewhat accountable. She knew her daughter suffered from depression, she saw her daughter was very upset. But rather than comfort her, she grew angry because Meghan had been talking naughty online. A decision I think she will regret to her dying day.
I swear, kids these days just don't have any backbone. One "bad word" and they go running and crying to mommy, grow up and get over it already.
People with depression tend to have parental relationships like that. When the parents are the emotionally needy, withholding ones, the child becomes hyper-sensitive to others.
A good book to read on the topic is The Drama of the Gifted child by Alice Miller.
Buckle your ROFL belt, we're in for some LOLs.