Article says 15-year old girl driven to suicide by bullying

Parent Cafe
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<p>[The</a> untouchable Mean Girls - The Boston Globe](<a href=“http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/01/24/the_untouchable_mean_girls/]The”>http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/01/24/the_untouchable_mean_girls/)</p>

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<p>Rest of story at link.</p>

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<p>Wow that’s terrible, pretty low on the “mean girls’” part. Why do you have to bully people? Seriously what good does it do? I hate people that do that. That girl did nothing wrong…</p>

<p>I hope karma kicks the **** out of those girls.</p>

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<p>Oh, how very sad.</p>

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<p>This story makes me physically ill. I don’t know what part of it disturbs me the most; the behavior of the teens or the behavior of the adults who are so afraid and intimidated by the implications of the event that they are paralyzed in the face of taking action against these girls.</p>

<p>The climate in education has been so encumbered by legality and political correctness that common sense has completely disappeared.</p>

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<p>Excellent resource on this topic is the 30-something sociologist Leora Tanenbaum. Her popular books include “Slut!” and “Catfight” in which she researched and analyzed mean-girl culture in Middle and High Schools. She’s also published many articles, readable and very interesting.</p>

<p>Google her website for more.</p>

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<p>Wow. The mean girls should at least get some kind of punishment for punching the other student in the head. Thanks for posting this. I saw on CNN the other day that a young boy hanged himself at school.</p>

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<p>My D had an 8th grade acquaintance who committed suicide last year. I believe it was also blamed on bullying. She didn’t know her well, and I don’t have the details, but it was shocking.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.thecranberryeagle.com/article/20090610/CRAN0101/706109800/-1/CRAN[/url]”>http://www.thecranberryeagle.com/article/20090610/CRAN0101/706109800/-1/CRAN&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>The culture has decided to prosecute physical abuse. It seems at some point they will have to begin to prosecute bullying in the same manner, as the assualt it is. Until that time comes, I just continue to feel deeply saddened and ill by this kind of thing.</p>

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<p>This is so tragic. How is it that “these things take time” when one of the mean girls committed assault at the school?</p>

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<p>Oh, how terribly sad this is. She was such a beautiful young girl; she reminds me of my daughter and so many of her friends of the same age. How devastated her family must be.</p>

<p>I truly worry about the girls who so callously bullied her and have continued badmouthing her even after she took her own life, due to their bullying. There is something wrong in their souls/hearts/consciences if her suicide and their part in making her feel this was the only way out. I can’t fathom the lack of remorse; it’s beyond me.</p>

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<p>Kisa can be soooo mean! I know why i had boys. That was hard enough.</p>

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<p>Yes, the lack of remorse and the “Lord of the Flies” quality to girl-girl bullying these days is pretty frightening.</p>

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<p>How horrible, even worse is that the bullies have followed to her Facebook memorial pages and continued their attacks there. :frowning: Poor girl.</p>

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<p>yikes! And I thought I had a bad experience with bulllies :-/</p>

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<p>This makes me hyperventilate.</p>

<p>Do you know what I think? We entrust the precious lives of our children for many hours of the day for many years to schools. They have a sacred trust, a stewardship over our kids for the time they are at school, ostensibly learning to be productive capable adults.</p>

<p>Yet many teachers and school officials turn a blind eye to what is happening right in their very school building. What if we did this as parents? Condoned abuse happening in our homes? </p>

<p>Mind you, some of the teachers bully kids as well, and some ridicule awkward kids in the classroom, and provide a wink and nod to the ‘high self-esteem’ class ‘leaders’. Kids who bully are not lacking in self-esteem – quite the opposite. They are lacking in empathy.</p>

<p>I had a bully problem with one of my kids, and I actually threatened to sue the school for condoning abuse and neglect, and “emotional distress” of my kid. Probably that was a lawsuit we couldn’t win – but the publicity would have been very bad for the school. The principal recognized that, and a bullying taskforce was started that very day.</p>

<p>IMO, teachers and school officials need to be ever-vigilant to atmosphere, personality, signs of aggression (INCLUDING teasing and jeering) by certain students, against certain students. I don’t buy their excuses. I say: you are the adult in charge. I hold you personally responsible for my child.</p>

<p>Teachers need to be alert in classrooms, and adults (Asst. Princ. etc) need to monitor the halls. When aggression starts – sometimes it’s a shove, sometimes it’s a comment like ‘you’re a tard’ or ‘that’s so gay’ – the adult needs to point their finger immediately at the perp and say “HEY. Stop that right now.” The adults in schools set the tone.</p>

<p>I’m sorry. I don’t give schools a pass on this one. They are responsible for the safety and well-being of my child while he/she is in school. If they see what’s happening and they don’t care, then they will deal with me. (even if my child is 18!)</p>

<p>:( RIP the Swan of County Clare</p>

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<p>I so agree with you anuddahmom ^^^ With every single thing you say. D has a problem so similar to this…in 7th grade–it broke her heart and mine, but the school was very slow to get it. When they did, and began to crack down as you describe-- the parents of the mean girls were furious!! Why should their kids be punished for such an act as throwing a soda can, or calling hateful names? It was easy to see where the bullying behavior had been learned. </p>

<p>May this poor girl rest in peace, and may the rest of us pay close attention, and put a stop to this when we see it start (no matter how much easier it is to look away.)</p>

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<p>“The adults in schools set the tone.” I agree. The mean girls, who truly ought to pay for this, can’t be the only ones who need to examine their own response to bullying.</p>

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<p>Bullying makes me sick. This is so sad.</p>

<p>EDIT- My dad grew up in South Hadley. I got the chills when I read this. If this isn’t a wake-up call to schools then I don’t know what would be.</p>

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<p>This is so tragic, it makes me ill.</p>

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<p>Please don’t assume that boys do not do this stuff. I recently found out about a very bad bullying situation (involving boys) occurring at our MS. I was in the process of reporting it when someone else did. I also was recently talking to a woman I know who told me that her son was bullied for 2 years before she found out about it.</p>

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<p>So sad. I spent a lot of time as a volunteer and substitute teacher when my kids were in middle school. Many of the teachers prided themselves on being the popular, favorite, teacher and cultivate that status with the popular kids. The kids who are ostracized by their peers are often also ostracized by teachers.</p>