"Outing" cyberbullies - vigilante justice or well-deserved karma?

[Tiff]

Its disgusting.

Along the same line, might be a very slight glimmer of hope:

8 Ontario Girls Arrested in Bullying Case

I agree as well with Ozzi that if the parents are creating these accounts for their kids then they should be held responsible. Its hard though, as even if I forbade Claire to have a FB account, there isn't any way for me to prevent her from signing up at a friends house, you know?

And oooh, my age is showing. There wasn't any such thing as the Internet when I was a young teen. We had computers and such, but I didn't have my first experience of using the internet until I was around 16 or so. I remember being in Grade 10 and standing with a friend who was the first of anyone I knew to even GET home access to the Internet and she was explaining what "links" were when browsing.

Ahh, the good ol' days of Netscape. And AOL was the only way for us to get Internet access.

It wasn't until I was 21 or so that I got my own personal internet access at my apartment.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

I remember that! AOL and Netscape.

Sure, it's not impossible to prevent a child from getting an account at a friend's house, but I'm a firm believer that if we allow open and honest communication with our children and explain the dangers and rules of the internet without sugar coating it, our children will use common sense

 

[Tiff]

Yes, communication is definitely key. Agree with open and honest for sure! My parents were the "Do as I say, because I said so" type of people and I haaated it. Just level with me, you know? Okay, so they didn't want me to do something. I wanted to know why, and would ask. It would INFURIATE my mother because according to her, you didn't "sass" or backtalk.

I was such a little shit when I was a teen, mainly because if they couldn't provide me with a good enough reason to not do something, then I wouldn't listen.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

Yeah, I experienced some of that, but it was in a milder form. I could talk to my dad about anything, but my mom? Hell no. My dad and I had it out once because he told my mom something I had told him. It wasn't nice at the time.

 

[Tiff]

Similar here as well! Although I tried to confide in my Mom a few times, but each time she told my Dad and I was SO upset with her for doing so. And she wonders why I don't trust her to this day!

I do get needing to confide in your spouse, parenting is a two person gig. I just wish she didn't TELL me that she told him. Shattered my confidence in telling her stuff.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

Yeah, that was the issue that my mom said something I knew I hadn't told her. I know I would tell DH what our kids say to me or the other way around, but I would never let on to the kids that I knew, lol.

 

[lhancock90]

Honestly. Yes there needs to be justice, the bullies need to understand that they are accountable for everything they say on the internet however, i think Anonymous are on the road to being just as bad by revealing the kind of information that could lead to this bully being attacked. They are lighting a match and laying it to a haybale IMO. If they found who it was, excellent, but that information should have been passed to the proper people. The case is so high profile, the justice system would have wiped the floor with the *******.

 

[Sarahkka]

You know what else bugs me about Anonymous?
That they are anonymous.
Because isn't that a huge part of the cyber-bullying problem? That someone can hide behind an online identity and not have to be accountable for anything that they do?
Anonymous would impress me a hell of a lot more if they had the guts to do what they do and use their real identities.

I also wanted to share something I read on one of the CBC comments. (I'm paraphrasing):

"We need to stop calling this "bullying". Bullying is something that a 4-year old does when they don't want to share. The kind of thing we are reading about happening to teens right now is called criminal harassment and it needs to be labelled and treated as such."

I thought that was a really good point. Calling what happened to Amanda Todd "bullying" makes it sound very kids-on-a-playground and nowhere near as serious as what she endured. I do wonder if changing the name to reflect the seriousness of the crime might provoke some thought. I mean, would understanding that ganging up on someone could get you charged with harassment rather than just sent to the principal's office be a deterrant?

 

[JASMAK]

You know what else bugs me about Anonymous?
That they are anonymous.
Because isn't that a huge part of the cyber-bullying problem? That someone can hide behind an online identity and not have to be accountable for anything that they do?
Anonymous would impress me a hell of a lot more if they had the guts to do what they do and use their real identities.

I also wanted to share something I read on one of the CBC comments. (I'm paraphrasing):

"We need to stop calling this "bullying". Bullying is something that a 4-year old does when they don't want to share. The kind of thing we are reading about happening to teens right now is called criminal harassment and it needs to be labelled and treated as such."

I thought that was a really good point. Calling what happened to Amanda Todd "bullying" makes it sound very kids-on-a-playground and nowhere near as serious as what she endured. I do wonder if changing the name to reflect the seriousness of the crime might provoke some thought. I mean, would understanding that ganging up on someone could get you charged with harassment rather than just sent to the principal's office be a deterrant?

That is SO true, but no wants to deal with it.

 

[Tiff]

Too bad for them, then. IMHO of course. Its far too much of an problem for people to keep going as they were with the "kids will be kids" or turning a blind eye mentality.


Well said, Sarah. I agree with that sentiment for sure!

 

[Tasha]

Really interesting thread. I agree with the majority that they shouldnt of released his name. They could ruin lives.

Totally agree with Sarah about 'bullying'. It gives the impression that this wont be dealt with as harshly.

 

[Lubbird]

I agree they should be punished, but I don't believe in vigilante justice. Leave it to the police.