HOPE
 

Talk to your kids. This %$%$%$%$ has got to stop.

Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com

Everytime I read stories like this it breaks my heart......such a waste of young life

SURE IS KEV!

I've been wondering if this is just the latest media darling, cyber bulling, etc. Please dont get me wrong, this is terrible news. But is it really new? Or is it just getting attention. I've seen all kinds of bullying growing up and Im sure you have too. I dont think its right, but the real world is no picnic either. For example - the Phoebe Prince case gained a lot of press, then come to find out the girl had prior psychological issues. The bullying may have put her over the edge, but if not that, wouldnt something else do it later in life? I dont want to sound cold, just thinking out loud.
On the other hand I cant imagine the 24hr attention cycle kids have today with texts, cell, facebook, twitter. People are commenting on you ALL the time. Its crazy. I was a popular kids but there where weeks where Id talk to a few friends, girlfriend, and maybe some coworkers. I didnt have contact ALL the time. You could go in your room and escape. No more. I dont think their brains can handle all the attention.

Before bullying was localaized...couple of kids constantlt kicking your ass...now they can "Recruit" bullies and and kick off kind of a Mob mentality through the web.

bullying isn't new...but cyber-bullying is. Just like terrorists and hate groups have embraced the internet...so has the bully

makes sense, its a scary world now.

Thats why I plan on giving Aidan 'roids and bringing him to the gym once he turns 5.

The instant/24/7 'forever' aspect is scary. when I was a kid if you did something stupid, a week later everyone forgot, but it wasn't saved online somewhere!

Yea Bryan no kidding. I think that's what drove her. Hey there's even cyber bullies in the fishing world who woulda thought. Few googles will bring up a whole bunch of stuff. Too bad it costs so much to sue these days. It's easier just to not read it or kill yourself take your pick. Unfortunately a girl that young has a hard time making proper decisions.

So true.

What a sad story.

yeah this chit is just horrible. I know the lawyers are having a field day with the one that happened in South Hadley. You'd think after the whole columbine thing, poeple would have got the idea to back off, but the group mentality to bully someone is just so strong with kids.

With the "supposed" anonymous approach to a lot of these social networks, people (kids AND adults) can and will say just about anything they want without regard as to who they affect.

Somehow their mental "filters" either get turned off, or burned out, and they start talking crap.

Also, with the shift from actually talking to each other, even a simple TYPED comment can be misread and start a cyber-war over nothing.

...and my brother wonders why I don't want to get on Facebook, Twitter or any other online waste-my-time site!

(at least here we can talk about IMPORTANT issues, like the spring and fall runs!!)

well take for example the plug swiper at the fest....

his pic coulda been broadcast over the NET instantaneously

and all the ramifications would have followed....

it could have been on thousands of peoples PC's in a matter of minutes....
getting re-posted and re-posted

thats why something has to be done. for the kids that is.

there is no more LOCAL :doh:

I hate hearing stuff like this, makes me angry to no extent. I dealt with bullying everyday from 1st grade till junior year of high school. I could go on, but it just flat out sucks that kids are so incredibly cruel.

I dont know about those roids. I think that may result in some serious teasing when he has to change in gym class with the other kids...........but then again, you are irish, right?

Holy Crap....this town is cursed......one poor mom....

1 Ohio school, 4 bullied teens dead at own hand - Yahoo! News

I was teased as a kid and as an adult for being "a geeky white kid/guy" (I liked science and nature more than sports).
Then I started sticking up for myself, and they got the message.
Unfortunately me solution was to basically threaten to beat them to a pulp.
It helps when you're a 6' 175-200 lb. 15 yr old, but that was just me.
I can still remember the looks on two particular "bullies", 1 from grammer school, 1 from high school. They realized that they just might have "poked the bear" once too often!

The problem with the "cyber-bully" generation is that the effect the have on their victims gets compounded dat after day, like the effect a suicide hotline operator experiences being on thejob for too long.

When you have an "instant reaction" medium, both the good and the bad are conveyed without delay. In otherwords, there is little time to filter all the crap you get exposed to, and you may react just as quickly without thinking. Thus the compounding effect.

That's why I LOVE being able to leave the computer and get outside whenever I feel like it.

Hopefully these bullying victims can find a viable solution in their lives to offset this crap!

I guess Im not sure what the line is between picking on someone, and bullying. In that article, one kid in high school carried a stuffed animal everyday, wore pink and sang in the choir. Common sense tells you he will get picked on. Is it right, no, but what can you do to stop it? How much intervention into our personal lifes do we need? We all say this is a big problem, but what about history - how many kids in the 40s, Germany, Russia, Japan, Poland, etc grew up with no Dads, poverty? They survived. I cannot beleive cyber bullying is worse than a lot of what kids have went through in the world. Is it we're raising our kids to be too soft? I was a fat kid, I got picked on all the time. I learned not to let what others say bother me and grew up confident in myself. I have to give my parents credit for that. They were always there for me. Im not so sure these kids parents were there for them. I'll support my kids in who ever they want to be, but if my son brings a stuffed animal to school everyday, I'll tell him the facts of life. he is going to be made fun of and its time to grow up.I wish I could have multiple earrings, tattoos and wear shorts and combat boots to work everyday. BlacK Sabbath posters in my office, but truth is, no one would hire me in my line of work. You need to be true to yourself, but society has some rules, good or bad.

"The family watched, she said, as the girls who had tormented Sladjana for months walked up to the casket -- and laughed."

:( absolutely disgusting.

I agree.....While I was reading about the kid with the stuffed animal I was thinking, My Lord, Why in gods name would you paint a target on you that big. If my son wanted to do something like that I'd have a Looonnnnggg Heart to heart w/ him about it.

I really felt bad for the mom who lost all 3....couldn't imagine losing one child let alone 3

I just cant believe that. 1- dont believe they would show at the funeral.

Jim I could see that happening.

This stuff is very disturbing.

I was bullied in 6-7th grade because I wouldn't fight back. One day I had enough and got off the bus right in front of one of the kids that was doing it...younger than me. His brother was in my class and was bigger than me. Anyways I got off, turned around and beat the ever lovin SNOT out of him. First shot was right to the face. I literally beat the %$%$%$%$ outta the kid. Course then the two older brothers were after me non stop. I ended up having to transfer schools. I kid you not. It cost my parents $5k a year to send me to a Catholic Private school after that. But you never EVER saw any of that bull%$%$%$%$ in either St Michaels or Hudson Catholic High. The nuns didn't stand for any crap back then.

Was it right ? no. I don't know how I'd handle it these days. Probably the same way. I don't regret it at this point either.

But I can tell you this. I sympathize with these kids. I've had discussions with my 15 year old about this stuff and I think he's a better person now for knowing about it and staying away from the crap.

The abuse kids dish out to one another these days is WAY worse than anything anyone older than 30 ever did back in the day.

Get in a fight with a kid. Someone won, someone lost, that usually was the end of it.

Now its %$%$%$%$ with each other until someone snaps.
Messed up %$%$%$%$.

You got that right Ted.