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Facebook Comment Prompts Arrests In Cyberbullying Suicide Case

An anonymous reader writes "The NY Times reports on the arrests of two girls, ages 12 and 14, who allegedly harassed another 12-year-old girl who committed suicide. The girls are facing third-degree felony charges, and the police involvement was spurred by a comment on Facebook by the older of the two. 'In Internet shorthand it began "Yes, ik" — I know — "I bullied Rebecca nd she killed herself." The writer concluded that she didn't care, using an obscenity to make the point and a heart as a perverse flourish. Five weeks ago, Rebecca Ann Sedwick, a seventh grader in Lakeland in central Florida, jumped to her death from an abandoned cement factory silo after enduring a year, on and off, of face-to-face and online bullying. ... Brimming with outrage and incredulity, the sheriff said in a news conference on Tuesday that he was stunned by the older girl's Saturday Facebook posting. But he reserved his harshest words for the girl's parents for failing to monitor her behavior, after she had been questioned by the police, and for allowing her to keep her cellphone.'"

4 of 734 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Rebecca's parents. by BlacKSacrificE · · Score: 5, Informative

    Perhaps you should read the article.

    "In December, the bullying grew so intense that Rebecca began cutting herself and was sent to a hospital by her mother to receive psychiatric care. Ultimately, her mother pulled her out of Crystal Lake Middle School. She home schooled her for a while and then enrolled her in a new school in August."

    Religion has nothing to do with anything. You either act, or don't. Her parents did what they thought was best. Sadly it didn't pay off.

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  2. Re:Nothing is more evil than..... by halltk1983 · · Score: 5, Informative

    It doesn't end when they become adults. It's just as common in offices and social situations. They just try to hide it better from guys.

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  3. Re:This by dfenstrate · · Score: 4, Informative

    The truth is that kids have their own little privately-run societies in school (on a social plane) that the adults are quite powerless to have any real control over.

    You can find similar social structures in prisons, which calls into question the fundamental design of the public school system.

    The kid's presence there is largely wasted effort, so they invent oft-destructive social games to use up their intellect and energy. This suggests that making school more rigourous & purposeful.

    Specifically:

    1) more difficult academics for the kids that can take it

    2) meaningful job training in later grades for those whose interests lie elsewhere

    We also need to nuke 'no child left behind' and anything that looks like it, so we can acknowledge that different children have different interests & capabilities, and handle them accordingly.

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  4. Re:This by sumdumass · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://www.cracked.com/article_15658_the-ten-minute-suicide-guide.html

    People should read that article.

    You are likely correct. People i know of that has actually commited suicide hid their plans until they did it. I don't know a bunch of people who did it, but of the 4 or 5 over the last 45 years who have, we never really saw it comming. The one suicide that the person constantly claimed they would, was actually shot and killed buy a cop who responded to her threat of suicide. Of course no one thought she was serious about killing herself but the cop that saw the knife she was threatening to slit her wrists with.