MySpace Suicide: Megan Had It Coming
Megan Meier, a 13 year old teenager who suffered from depression, fell for a MySpace hoax and committed suicide. The story behind this is quite bizarre and twisted really. One of Megan’s friends mum, whom she fell out with, went to “spy” on her on the social network site MySpace by creating a fake profile of a cute teenage boy named Josh. So basically that woman wanted to know what Megan was saying about her kid online, apparently Megan was spreading nasty rumours.
However, after a month of leading her on with a fake profile, “Josh” ended friendship telling her that he had heard she wasn’t a nice person and the world would be a better place without her.
It’s not absolutely clear who actually sent what message, as apparently there were other teenagers involved as well, who had access to Josh’s fake profile. The story is quite confusing and ever since it’s been established that Lori Drew, mum of Megan’s friend, was the instigator and main contributor to the whole hoax, she and her family had been under constant attack from both the media, bloggers and Internet users alike.
A lot of people seem to be calling out for Lori Drew to be brought to justice but the final word from authorities has come down that there will be no charges.
There has been a long around for some time titled Megan had it coming and it’s purpose was mainly to defend the Drew family and draw a bad picture of Megan as a bully and well, “not a very nice person”. It also tried to evoke sympathy for Lori Drew’s action cause she supposedly was only trying to protect her own kid.
Now the blog claims to be the work of Lori Drew herself. In the latest post she tried to explain her action and label herself as a concerned mother.
I don’t much of any remorse on her side and perhaps that blog itself is another hoax. Either way, it received a lot of comments and stirred up yet again publicity. In the end it doesn’t really matter anymore, a 13 year old hanged herself and there’s nothing that can be done to bring her back. Whether or not Lori Drew should be prosecuted is a different story and depends on from what perspective you want to look at the whole picture. Were you in the shoes of Megan’s parents you would probably publicly call for her to burn on the stake. I absolutely agree with people who say that a grown up woman should have known better, especially since she was also aware of her psychological problems. There is no excuse for acting in such a childish even psychotic and twisted manner.
I completely agree. What Megan did was bad, sure, but leading this girl on as a cute boy who she has grown attached to and then telling this impressionable child that the world would be better off without her was completely irresponsible and idiotic of the mother.
The adults in the story have made up their minds as to what they think, who to blame and the excuses they may have.
But, the most important thing is the two chidren, one of which is now dead and the other has to live knowing that she was part of it, whether intentional or not.
Both families failed their children.
While the Megan Meier case seems outrageous and unique, it isn’t. Hundreds of cases of egregious and heinous acts go on every day with the same excuses out of our lawmakers.
One such other case….The case of Nikki Catsouras, is a classic example of disgusting, hateful activity against innocent victims, while our lawmakers excuse themselves from enacting laws to prevent this.
The excuse lawmakers use to let themselves off the hook stem from the growth of the Internet and how fast it’s changing. This is a sham.
Chat rooms, message boards, instant messengers and email have been in existence for far over a decade now. While the software used to transmit messages changes slightly, the basic essence of using the Internet to send a message is largely the same. Is a decade or two long enough to establish some basic decency laws in regards to Internet usage?
I’ve posted the Nikki Catsouras story along with many details about the Megan Meier case so the inactivity out of our lawmakers towards these types of cases can be clearly seen.
Those who are interested in learning about cases like Megan’s and Nikki’s case are encouraged to drop by and comment on them. I have a couple of polls set up as well. Danny Vice would like to hear your point of view.
Public awareness of the problem and discussions about possible solutions are the best way to pressure elected officials into action instead of excuse making.
I invite you to come by and share your opinion.
Danny Vice