What Do You Think About Cyber Harrassment?

[Chef Dave]

Have you heard the story about Megan Meier?

Megan was a thirteen year old girl who hung herself after being rejected by a 16 year old boy she had met on MySpace.

The thing is ... the boy she met did not exist. The boy was actually a "persona" created by a woman named Lori Drew who lived just a few houses away. Mrs. Drew had obstinately created "Josh" to see if she could get Megan to say bad things about her daughter.

When "Josh" rejected Megan, writing that he didn't want to be friends with her because he had heard that she wasn't nice to other people, the girl became hysterical. One of the comments that was made included the following: "Everybody in O'Fallon knows how you are. You are a bad person and everybody hates you. Have a sh**y rest of your life. The world would be a better place without you"

When she went to her mother for comfort, her mother scolded her for having been on-line without supervision.

The girl hung herself in her closet. Her frantic parents called 911. She was rushed to the hospital where she died the following day.

One week after Megan committed suicide, the parents learned about the internet "prank." Megan's father was so angry that went to the neighbor's house. Friends had to restrain him from physically attacking the Drews. Frustrated in his efforts to reach them, he entered their garage and destroyed a foosball table. After smashing it to splinters, he spray painted "Merry Christmas" on the box and dumped the pieces in the driveway.

Mrs. Drew promptly swore out a complaint alleging property damage. The police charged Mr. Meier with misdemeanor vandalism. They will not be charging Mrs. Drew for her "prank." Surprisingly enough, as reprehensible as her behavior was, she broke no laws.

In a brief statement to the media, Lori Drew said that she did not feel guilty about the suicide because she "had just learned" that this girl had a previous history of attempted suicide. She also said that having found out about her involvement with Megan’s suicide, the entire neighborhood had become hostile toward her and her family. Gosh ... you think?

Ironically enough, ever since this story broke, Mrs. Drew has been on the receiving end of cyber hate mail.

The Meiers are now separated and in the process of getting a divorce.

A state senator is now lobbying on behalf of Megan Meier to introduce a law against cyber harassment. If signed by the governor, the law could be on the books by this time next year.

What happened to Megan Meier is apparently not an isolated event.

In Florida, Jeff Johnston, 15, hanged himself in 2005 after three years of cyberspace bullying. His mother and principal were unable to stop the bullying.

In Vermont, Ryan Halligan, 13, hanged himself in 2003 after receiving months of threatening instant messages.

Fox News Story:
http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=4926871&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

What Was Said to Megan:
http://bluemerle.blogspot.com/2007/11/what-you-said-to-megan-meier.html

St. Charles County prosecutor reviewing Meier case
http://ofallonjournal.stltoday.com/articles/2007/11/16/news/sj2tn20071116-1116stc_banas.ii1.txt

[Chef Dave]

I will also go on record as saying that I myself have been the victim of cyber harassment.

When I owned an operated a B&B inn, I belonged to a number of B&B websites.

On one website, I had a disagreement with another innkeeper who told other members that my inn was "not typical" and that my anecdotal experiences "probably weren't real."

I took exception to this statement and the fight was on.

The site administrator eventually stepped in and deleted the thread. This should have ended the problem but all of the sudden I began receiving unsolicited telephone calls from various college admission officers, bank loan officers, and credit card companies all of whom claimed that I had sent them an e-mail requesting information. I also began receiving subscriptions for magazines I had never ordered. All of these companies later billed me.

As if that wasn't bad enough, I received e-mail propositions from some gay men who had "read" my "profile" at some sort of gay website. (I am not gay and most certainly did not create a personal profile at a gay website).

I also began receiving a lot of X-rated pornography via e-mail.

The truly annoying thing about this was that I couldn't change my phone number or my e-mail address because they were both linked to my business.

When I finally decided to close my inn, one of the fringe benefits was that I was able to eliminate all of the e-mails and phone calls simply by canceling all of my accounts.

[mopar]

The attorney general's office actually came to my school and spoke with the middle schoolers about cyber bullying. I guess that there are laws against it and the violators can be arrested in some states. It might not be a country wide initiative but some states are banding against it. The perpetrators actually receive jail time.
It is absolutely crazy to think that a neighbor harassed a young woman to the breaking point. You would think that they could link her to Megan's death. Its crazy to think that some law hasn't been broken by this.

[Chef Dave]

Unfortunately there are no statutes in Missouri for charging someone with being mean and immature.

Although local papers reported the incident, they initially declined to identify who initiated "the prank."

In one of the first noted cases of virtual vigilantism, bloggers took on Megan's cause. They posted the identity of Lori Drew on the internet. Dozens of people then began calling businesses who work with the Drew family's company. The company is apparently one of those annoying sources of junk mail that clog our mailboxes with circulars and flyers.

Other bloggers posted the Drew's home address, phone numbers, email addresses and photographs on the internet. In addition to getting cyber hate mail, hate mail letters, and packages of dog poop, the Drews and their neighbors are now being woken in the early morning hours by passing motorists who honk their horns and yell "MURDERER!"

One anonymous person called in a fake 911 call alleging that someone in the Drew family household had been shot. Police allegedly responded to the scene with flashing lights, blaring sirens, and drawn guns.

The Drews now screen all their phone calls. They have installed security cameras on their roof. After Mrs. Drew's disastrous press conference, the family has declined to give any more interviews.

It is still possible that Federal charges could apply. There's a federal statute known as the telecommunications harassment law. Amended in 2005, it prohibits people from using the Internet anonymously with the intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person.

Terri Dougherty, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in St. Louis, has declined comment on whether prosecutors could apply the statute in the case.

[Chef Dave]

Hmmmmm ... I just found this on the internet.

Due to mounting tension, the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department, which rarely visited the suburb, now patrols regularly. County prosecutors are said to be re-examining the case.

Since Missouri has no statutes currently on the books to address this crime, the city's board of alderman unanimously passed a law that makes cyberharassment a misdemeanor with a maximum 90 days in jail and/or a $500 fine for each violation. This is currently the most stringent punishment available to the city.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004030463_suicide23.html

[Boxcar]

I think that it is horrible that things like this happen.

People on forums and all that can be mean. It is the whole anonomous (sp?( thing. Have you ever heard of why mobs happen? It is because hte people involved become seperate from themselves. By creating a persona or having a username, a person becomes seperate from themselves.

Seperating from oneself means seperating from ones morals and values.

Of course in thsi case, the woman didn't feel remorse even when she was revealed.

I think the best defense against things like this is educating the children about safety on the Internet. I also think adults need to be taught how to handle issues when the children bring them to them.

[mopar]

It is amazing that it takes a death to create laws to protect people. However, at the very worst, a law came out to protect others who find themselves being cyber bullied. It think that more and more standards will be set on cyber bullying. I know that the ncpd is working on getting the word out. The attorney general's office is also trying to educate students. Many school districts are adding this to their rule books.

[Chef Dave]

It is amazing that it takes a death to create laws to protect people. However, at the very worst, a law came out to protect others who find themselves being cyber bullied.

True enough.

http://www.midohioamberalert.org/IMAGES/H_AMBER.GIF

It took the death of this little girl in 1996 to spur the development of an emergency child recovery system. As some of you may remember, nine year old Amber Hagerman was kidnapped while riding her bike in Arlington, Texas. Four days later, her body was found in a ditch. Her throat had been cut and to this day, her murder has not been solved.

The Amber Alert plan began in Dallas in 1997 with a group of radio broadcasters who worked in cooperation with the Dallas police. The broadcasters created an early warning system to announce child abductions. The program has been successful. Since it inception, the Dallas Amber Plan has resulted in the safe recovery of 8 children.

In 2002, President George Bush Jr. called for a nationally coordinated Amber Alert Program. This program is now used in all 50 states and has saved the lives of 192 children.

Sadly ... it took the death of one child to spur our nation to action.

[mopar]

That is how our nation works. We are very reactive not proactive. And I must say our reaction times are not that great. But at least we do react and people are being helped. It is just terrible if you are one of the first to have something happen to you.

[teach1027]

I think that this is a horrible thing for someone to do to another person, especially an adult to a child. Of course the girls parents should have been more aware of what she was doing on the internet. As parents we owe it to our children to protect them, even in cyberspace.

[CapeMayRunner]

i think this is a very serious issue that we need to address in schools and at home! Unfortunately parents are not aware of everything that goes on while their children are on the computer!

[Chef Dave]

According to a story posted by CNN, there is no consensus as to how many students are being targeted by cyber-bullying. One estimate places this as high as 1 in 3. Other estimates say this is closer to 1 in 10.

To read the entire story, go to:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/11/27/cyber.bullies.ap/index.html