Posted on 10/15/2013 2:42:18 PM PDT by Morgana
WINTER HAVEN — For more than a year, Rebecca Ann Sedwick's bullies tormented the girl by calling her ugly and urging her drink bleach to die.
The harassment didn't stop — even after Rebecca's parents moved the 12-year-old Lakeland girl to a different middle school. The bullies reached her on her smartphone.
Rebecca brought it all to an end by jumping to her death from a silo at an abandoned concrete factory Sept. 10. But even after her suicide, the cruelty didn't cease, family members and investigators say.
15 girls identified after cyber-bullied girl jumps to her death in Lakeland 15 girls identified after cyber-bullied girl jumps to her death in Lakeland
"Yes ik [I know] I bullied Rebecca nd she killed her self but IDGAF [I don't give a (expletive)]."
That message — posted Saturday on Facebook by Rebecca's 14-year-old persecutor — ended with a heart symbol. And resulted in an arrest.
(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...
I don’t understand why this kind of bullying works. As a kid I was bullied by fists, knife and once a gun. I understood that but words on a text message?
Where’s Rebecca’s father? A little baseball bat justice on the bully’s parents might get the girl’s attention.
“Under Florida law, a range of options is available to punish juveniles convicted of felony aggravated stalking.”
Is one of the options sterilization so that these low lives can be eliminated from the gene pool? And possibly the parents also so that may not repeat their failure. To harsh? Am I over the top? That’s why I never became a cop.
The main problem here, I think, is kids who think their whole world revolves around what is going on in cyberspace. If my kid was being cyber-bullied, the first thing I would do is cut off their internet access and get them involved in the real world again.
There is nothing on the net that cannot generally wait a month.
Thanks to most kids being latch-key kids, they haven’t learned how to be resilient.
Puzzled why parents didn’t change her smartphone number.
The biggest failure here is by the parents who didn’t teach their kid to handle verbal bullying. Sure, if things had gone physical I wouldn’t battle an eyelid to agree to having the bullies executed if the crime fit the punishment (a strong corellation exists - bullies, animal abusers in childhood end up growing to become abusers and serial killers), but self-defeat because of idiotic words from fools? It’s the primary duty of parents to teach their kids to withstand this.
In cases like these the victim is likely emotionally disturbed to begin with, so it takes quite a bit less to throw them over the edge.
So as nice as it would be to suggest the proper response to the bully “After your 5th text, I turned off my phone. I hope you had fun!”, that might not be practical for an emotionally fragile individual.
You know, having raised four children, I think the answer to your question is that some people by nature care more what other people think about them than others. It’s just life. We are all born with different personalities and as parents we can try our best to get our kids to “not care” what others think. Sometimes we are successful at that and sometimes we aren’t. Some people really take unkind words to heart whether they are said in one’s face or in a text. There’s really no difference because it is coming from a person. My daughter has been the victim of cyber bullying, but she handled it well, thankfully.
This is such a sad story.
Where were the parents?
Why not change...or take away the cell phone?
Why not keep her off of facebook?
They sent her to another school...why not cease those things as well?
Why not get withthe parents of the bullies? Or the school authorities, or local police?
So many things could have been done here.
Why does a twelve year old climb a tower and kill herself over Facebook posts and text messages? It is so senseless and was allowed to get completely out of control, where her entire self worth was wrapped up in those things.
I believe there could have been a lote more good, involved, and watchful parenting here.
America at the crossroads of History
http://www.jeffhead.com/crossroads.htm
>>I don’t understand why this kind of bullying works. As a kid I was bullied by fists, knife and once a gun. I understood that but words on a text message?<<
Agreed. There is no NEED for checking messages on a message board. Do what I have done with other boards when I found them distasteful — logoff and don’t log back on.
Her parents are complicit in this by allowing her access to social media without very strict supervision and guidance (sorry, that seems hardh but it is 100% true).
They moved her out of the school over it, I wonder why they just show the cyber bullying messages to the parents of the cyber bullies? Or a school administrator? Or were they anonymous cyber bullies at that point?
I don’t know, there’s a lot in this story that seems to be missing. Not unusual for news stories today I guess.
Freegards
We have entered into a new dimension...Living in a social media world...
Gone are the days of having a circle of friends who can support you, reaffirm you, guide you in dealing with everyday life, sometimes put you in your place.....
You look at any teenager cell phone and they get literally thousands of messages a month back and forth...
There is no real connection, no real interaction, no real relationships...
If you whole life is built on living in a cyber world of texting and messaging...and that world is against you with no real way to combat it...
I can easily see why a young girl becomes helpless enough to jump off a tower to her death...
helpless = Hopeless
I’d give top place for failure to the parents of the bullies. Then to the bullies themselves. Then I’d get around to worrying about failure on the part of the parents of the bullied kid.
Those of us over 30 who didn’t go thru school with ‘smart phones’ and social media really don’t understand how widespread and pervasive this type of bullying is.
We've been wussified and feminized.
So the 14 year old’s boyfriend used to be the 12 year old suicide’s boyfriend? 12 year olds don’t need a boyfriend.
That's the smartest thing I've heard in a long time.
My daughter is a public school teacher. She and I have been having an ongoing conversation about bullying over the last week and a half. I am becoming more and more upset about the subject.
My take - When I was young (albeit a thousand years ago) my mother made me go out a punch out a girl who was bullying us. We did, she never bothered us again. The only way to deal with a bully is to stand up to them. Sometimes you can do it without physical altercations and sometimes you can’t.
When, as a culture, we glorify being victims of bullies, we encourage both the victimization and the bullies themselves.
Teaching those who are bullied that they have a responsibility to stand up for themselves encourages independence, self reliance, strength and courage.
Shame on us for getting to a place where standing up for ourselves, in our neighborhoods, in our country and in the world, is looked upon with distain.
I have been so proud of the civil disobedience going on in regards to the national monuments. That is standing up to bullies. That is American. That is what we need to be teaching, instead of how to be a victim.
When a country like ours turns away from Christ, the sins that follow will never cease to shock.
Thats what I don’t get. Take away the smartphone, and get a simpler phone without texting. Chane phone numbers. Block facebook and twitter.
My tech savvy daughter just bans people who bug her. My other daughter is rarely on social media.
Also, why is a 12 year old on facebook. According to Facebook, You are supposed to be 13. We stuck to that rule for all of my kids.
I think that many kids also do not have church groups that they belong to. All of my kids have been active in church youth groups. The kids hold each other up. They also pray for each other. They have real physical relationships where they are talking and praying together. It helps!
Especially teenagers...once they get into middle school...church is uncool...
What’s facebook ?
Amen to that. Parents need to be aware, vigilant and ALWAYS have their antennae up. There are plenty of filters, firewalls, etc to create safe parameters in which your kids can communicate with you, and friends of theirs that you know. Not blaming the parents, i feel bad for them, but it should be a wake up moment for other parents to prevent this type of senselessness.
(montag’s wife)
Amen to that. Parents need to be aware, vigilant and ALWAYS have their antennae up. There are plenty of filters, firewalls, etc to create safe parameters in which your kids can communicate with you, and friends of theirs that you know. Not blaming the parents, i feel bad for them, but it should be a wake up moment for other parents to prevent this type of senselessness.
(montag’s wife)
Puzzled why parents didn’t change her smartphone number.
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I’m more puzzled why she needs a smartphone or a Facebook account.. when I retire I will be reachable only by USPS and a cell phone whose number will not be given out except to people I want to hear from ...
Sticks and stone may break bones
But words do break hearts
But words do break heartsOnly if you LET them.
And then you end up like the girls on the other side of this little equation.
Ii wish my bullies had punched me in the face.
The emotional and psychological damage that a female can inflict with mere words is a thousand times worse.
“I’d give top place for failure to the parents of the bullies.”
I do too. How many parents actually take their kids to church, any church these days?
Funny you should mention church...My six-year-old is being bullied, by a kid at church. It will be interesting to see how this ends up.
I left the church I grew up in because why? Oh wait the kids there were bullies! The spineless youth pastor did nothing. Many kids left that place because of the unfriendliness. I have a new church now.
I still believe in church, however I believe in finding a new one if needed.
“What’s facebook ?”
A park bench where old ladies go to often to show pictures of their grandkids.
I have a feeling these boys are products of a lousy home and they're being brought by a grandparent or neighbor. Either way we're dealing with it. I told my son if they get physical again and the teacher isn't around that he is to hurt them - repeatedly if necessary - and make them never want to mess with him again. It's an unpleasant task but sometimes that's what it takes.
liberal fathers don’t protect daughters anymore
no joke, when my kid was getting unwanted calls that is exactly what happened
that’s what I told my kids you have to bully a bully
The emotional and psychological damage that a female can inflict with mere words is a thousand times worse.
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You are pitiful and weak. How dare you ALLOW a tormenter to control you and then go fishing for sympathy.
Dude, seriously?
Sheesh. I still use my old flip phone.
Anyway, did her parents think about changing her phone number?
I hope those girls get the max. There is no excuse for this kind of behavior.
Sadly, you are right.
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