“It may be the correct ruling, but it’s sure going to interfere with all of those anti-bullying statutes put in place to keep kids from going after other kids on the internet.”
IMO, that’s a good thing. This “bullying” with words thing has gotten way out of hand. Whatever happened to “sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never harm me”? That was gospel back in the 1960s when I was coming up, and seemed to work pretty well. By agreeing to the premise that mere mean or ugly words about somebody are so injurious, we empower people to do just that.
Now if someone slanders or libels somebody, that is another matter, and should be handled legally, if necessary.
Sticks and stones hurt and we heal, but the words of someone can effect us greatly, especially our parents. When I think back, no other person’s words had as much impact on my self-image as my parents. Kids? none. Probably because I had a large family.