HURRAY!!!!! 9 charged with bullying Mass. teen who killed self

[devilgrrl]

:woohoo:

The little pieces of vomit :mad:

http://enews.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20100329/9bf6aa9c-a19f-4862-95d3-19724caec766

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (AP) — Nine teens have been charged in the "unrelenting" bullying of a teenage girl from Ireland who killed herself after being raped and enduring months of torment by classmates in person and online, a prosecutor said Monday.

Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel said 15-year-old Phoebe Prince of South Hadley was stalked and harassed nearly constantly from September until she killed herself Jan. 14. The freshman had recently moved to western Massachusetts from Ireland.

"The investigation revealed relentless activities directed toward Phoebe to make it impossible for her to stay at school. The bullying for her was intolerable," Scheibel said.

Six teens — four girls and two boys — face charges including statutory rape, assault, violation of civil rights resulting in injury, criminal harassment, disturbance of a school assembly and stalking. Three younger girls face delinquency charges.

Scheibel said the harassment began in September. She said school officials knew about the bullying, but none will face criminal charges.

[upi402]

1. Mean people still really really suck

:grr:

[Initech]

11. Totally agree, and these douchebags should not be allowed to get away with what they did.

[Captain Hilts]

20. The term 'douchebag' seems particularly inappropriate here. nt

[Initech]

32. There's no appropriate term to describe these people.

[Posteritatis]

35. If they were a few years older "criminal" would fit just fine

But since they were still in school they can't be touched with that one, because bullying at the K-12 level is considered somewhere between accepted and desirable.

[Initech]

37. I was bullied in high school, I have no sympathy for bullies.

Criminal is definitely an appropriate term.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

64. so? Dodging the point is dodging. Douchebag is a female-hate word.

there are many other choices that would express the disgust at these scum of the earth bullies.

[Berry Cool]

71. I don't think of "douchebag" as a female hate term.

Not unless you assume that women douche.

Smart women know douching is useless, so they don't douche.

"Douchebag" is thus an excellent term for anything useless.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

72. so you don't....I said MANY women do feel demeaned by the ugly slang

and your personal contentment doesn't change that.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

65. agree so strongly. n/t

[Scurrilous]

2. K & R

:thumbsup:

[Jester Messiah]

3. Go directly to jail. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. [nt]

[Echo In Light]

4. k/r

[JoeyT]

5. The last line bothers me a bit.

If the school officials knew about the bullying and didn't even make an effort at stopping it, they should be facing charges with the teens that actually did it. If authority figures knew they'd see jail time for enabling this sort of behavior, you'd see it clear up mighty quick.

[Echo In Light]

16. Authority figures in the US are rarely held accountable

Top-down examples

[NotThisTime]

36. Bothered me too, they should be responsible, why aren't they?

[Echo In Light]

60. See above

[BlancheSplanchnik]

66. What ever happened to 'in loco parentis' ?

I agree. Bullying is damaging. I know from long horrible experience.

Adults whose job is to protect the kids should be held responsible for refusing to act.

[surrealAmerican]

6. I'm glad they're being charged, but ...

... since when is "disturbance of a school assembly" a crime? (The other charges are reasonable.)

[Love Bug]

12. There must be a statue against it.

[surrealAmerican]

7. dupe, sorry.

[devilgrrl]

8. I see a former school bully unrecommended the thread.

Awwwwwww poor bully asshole.. :cry:

[TheCowsCameHome]

9. Why was she singled out?

I wasn't able to find out what these kids didn't like about her.

[HughBeaumont]

14. Often times . . . it really, truly is NOTHING.

Sometimes people are dicks because they CHOOSE to be. They don't need a rhyme or reason, they don't need a specific type of target.

It's not always "bad parenting", "abusive parents", "bad home environment", etc. They can come from the so-called "good stock". They can have friendly parents. Their parents can be teachers or even social workers.

Sometimes people are massive sociopathic dicks just because. I should know - I went to a whole school filled with Bocephus-wannabe rednecks, and they were such bastard shits to me for, really, no reason at ALL. Just because they COULD be.

As far as a few of them go . . . if I ever saw one again, they'd be walking away severely injured. Yes, it's like that.

[devilgrrl]

15. They need a reason? Seems to me that they targeted her for the sake of doing so...

little jerks like that don't need a reason. Simply not being their kind of people was enough.

[Critters2]

18. Scapegoating doesn't require a "reason". Any difference, however minute,

can be enough to attract the attention of a scapegoating mob, often without those participating being able to voice their reasons. Rene' Girard has written some really fascinating stuff on this phenomenon.

[TheCowsCameHome]

21. She looked like a pretty, pleasant girl -

- for the life of me I can't understand why kids (or anyone) would do stuff like this, especially for no apparent reason.

It's sickening.

[aquart]

26. Seems an A-list football player asked her to a dance.

She never got to the dance.

[reggie the dog]

29. she was foreign, talked with an accent

what more do assholes need?

[Posteritatis]

34. First available target, as often as not

"Hey! Let's go be mean to this person!" is all there is to it a lot of the time. If people want to bully someone, they'll find or fabricate a reason to.

[krabigirl]

45. Because she was the new girl, and very pretty.

[Art_from_Ark]

46. My guess is, it might have been her accent/way of talking

And having been raised in Ireland, she probably had a different outlook on things than the bullies did.

Or maybe she was "encroaching" on someone's "territory". She looked like a real cute girl, and the article said she had been going out with some popular boy, after just arriving from Ireland. That may have caused some jealousy among the girls in established cliques.

In any case, it's really sad that this poor girl felt she had no choice but to take her own life.

[TorchTheWitch]

48. apparently it started as a result of her dating "Jonny Football Hero"

for a brief time. And apparently "Jonny Football Hero" was one of the bullys (perhaps when she stopped dating him?). Looks like she couldn't win - bullied for dating "Jonny Football Hero", and bullied for no longer dating "Jonny Football Hero".

I'm puzzled by the statutory rape charges. She was 15 and the two guys that got those charges were 17 and 18. MA must have whackadoodle statutory rape laws.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

49. New kid in school? irish immigrant?

[AngryOldDem]

51. No reason needed.

My older son, and to a lesser degree my older daughter, became targets in elementary school when a couple of new kids moved into the neighborhood and became domineering, and they drew a lot of kids into their sphere of influence.

It's mob mentality among juveniles.

[Subdivisions]

68. According to this article from Boston.com,

she had briefly dated one of the school's football players. That apparently was all it took for the "Mean Girls" to target her as a "slut".

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/01/24/the_untouchable_mean_girls/

Like a lot of kids her age, Phoebe Prince was a swan, always beautiful and sometimes awkward.

Last fall, she moved from Ireland into western Massachusetts, a new town, a new high school, a new country, a new culture. She was 15, when all that matters is being liked and wearing the right clothes and just fitting in.

She was a freshman and she had a brief fling with a senior, a football player, and for this she became the target of the Mean Girls, who decided then and there that Phoebe didn’t know her place and that Phoebe would pay.

Kids can be mean, but the Mean Girls took it to another level, according to students and parents. They followed Phoebe around, calling her a slut. When they wanted to be more specific, they called her an Irish slut.

The name-calling, the stalking, the intimidation was relentless.

...snip...

[xchrom]

10. Recommend

[Dems to Win]

13. Next time homeschoolers are criticized for not socializing children, I will remember this story

It seems modern fuzzy-headed teachers and school administrators are more concerned with the self-esteem of the bullies than with demanding civilized behavior from all students while on school property. I can definitely understand why parents choose homeschooling.

[aquart]

24. Yah, retreat is always the best option.

God forbid that a child learn to COPE with these realities.

[benEzra]

30. Yeah, forcing her to endure the bullies daily worked so well in THIS case.

Homeschooling can be a good option, and it's not always a "retreat," either.

[krabigirl]

44. wow..just wow.

[LeftishBrit]

54. So being constantly bullied is something that children should just 'learn to cope' with?

I'm not sure that homeschooling is the answer (and it's not even possible for many families); but long-term cruelty should not be seen as just one of life's realities that one just has to learn to cope with, and has no right to avoid, let alone to seek redress over.

Not only is that cruel and dangerous to the victims, but it is teaching the bullies that what they're doing is quite OK and normal. Maybe they'll grow up to be the next generation of far-right-wingers.

[Daphne08]

52. "...modern fuzzy-headed teachers and school administrators..."

"...are more concerned with the self-esteem of the bullies than with demanding civilized behavior from all students while on school property."

That's a very broad brush you're using. :eyes:

[LeftishBrit]

55. And teachers nowadays are FAR more anti-bullying overall than in the past

Anyone who thinks school bullying, or adult tolerance for it, is a 'modern fuzzy-headed' phenomenon should read some accounts of 19th-and early-20th-century British boys' boarding-schools. Violence was routine, and the prefect system was in many cases just organized bullying. Parents paid lots of money for the 'privilege'.

[MicaelS]

59. Not broad enough, the girl is dead, AND just WTF were the teachers

And admins at this school doing?? Certainly not a little thing like their JOB, were they? :sarcasm:
Good thing I don't have authority over this school, I'd probably fire every single teacher and admin working there. :nopity:

[lumberjack_jeff]

62. My youngest has Autism. I think it's likely that I'll need to homeschool him when he turns 13 or so.

Adolescents in mobs are no good, and he's absolutely naive.

[Dogtown]

75. That's ridiculous.

Yes, some public schools are rough and undisciplined.

Blockading a child from socialization is not a valid response. Teaching children to deal with society (and adult bullies) is part of the education process.

The system requires fixing. Ostracizing your child won't fix anything.

[Peregrine Took]

17. I was bullied by a bunch of "Heather's" in my Catholic grammar school

in the 1950's. I still hate those girls. They ruined a whole summer for me that I will never get back plus I had to switch my high school choice at the last minute to avoid them as they were all signed up for my school.
I was hysterical every night they would come by my house and holler things. I bet they don't even remember doing it - that's the mob mentality.

[Confusious]

22. Mine was for 3-4 years

from about the 5th grade to 8th grade. By different people. That shit effects you for life. While I've gotten better and don't think "people are evil" anymore, I'm still kind of anti-social and just kinda think "people suck sometimes"

Of course in this case, "people are evil" applies.

[Captain Hilts]

19. Irish Central from NYC has been all over this case. Here's the latest-

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Nine-teens-charged-in-school-bullying-suicide-of-Phoebe-Prince-89400827.html

[slackmaster]

23. Are they militia members, or just a gang of bullies?

I vote for gang of bullies.

[aquart]

25. "Anti-bullying legislation".

Anyone know what that amounts to?

Rape, assault...And everyone waited till the victim was dead to get upset?

[ljm2002]

27. "school officials knew about the bullying"...

...", but none will face criminal charges".

Horrible. Those students deserve the load of shit that is coming their way. But why in the hell can't the adults at the school be held to account as well? Are any of them being fired, at least?

[Posteritatis]

33. The school system's generally pro-bully, so I doubt it. (nt)

[flvegan]

28. It's a shame she didn't have an older brother or other large male friend.

If the school won't do anything about 9 people harassing this one poor girl, sometimes what you need is to strategically hunt each of those boys down, find them alone, and rearrange their faces.

Sadly, getting revenge on the 7 girls is far easier but unfortunately more damaging. The aforementioned male and a number of his friends just flip the script.

It's a shame when the system fails and the need arises for more unfortunate and extreme methods are called for.

[upi402]

31. Law of the jungle- consrvative utopia on the flipside

The coarsening of the discourse of the people have nearly made this a Hobbesian world.

[ShortnFiery]

39. Not all bullies are conservatives. All it takes is a desire to belong to a group

and an enjoyment of gossip and of pushing "the other" down to make oneself feel superior.

There were many "in the middle" who could have reported this and pushed the issue, but they were GUTLESS. They should feel guilty for their lack of fortitude.

My best friend in grade school committed suicide. I befriended him but we were only 8 years old at the time he died. He threw himself in front of a bus. I couldn't stop him because I did not know he was hurting that bad.

I still feel guilty ... wish I could have done something - said something that would have made a difference.

[upi402]

40. That's absolutely normal to feel

I'm no expert but I have heard from more than one person who dealt with this sort of deal. They say it gets easier but doesn't go away. Guilt that is. That's what I hate about suicide the most -the misdirected lashing out at people in your life who care, as well as the assholes who torment or whatever.

Man. That must have taken the sparkle out of your eyes for a minute. Sorry, really sorry all the way around.

[ShortnFiery]

41. I studied these social orders more closely as a result - especially within Middle and High School.

I often would befriend peers who would find themselves outcast for being "too chubby" or "too different" in some way. I could float in and out of some groups and, at times, help others to better become accepted. However, the "groups" I'm referring to were basically cliques and not anything coming close to people being openly ostracized or physically bullied.

[whathehell]

42. OMG...

You knew an eight year old who committed suicide?

Unbelievably tragic....God forbid that you should feel any guilt...You were both just small children!

I honestly wonder if this young suicide thing isn't generational...I'm a boomer, grew up in the fifties, sixties...and though there was definitley bullying (I being one of the victims)..Kids just didn't commit suicide...My same aged spouse says the same thing..It was unheard of...Not even teenagers.

Well, I'll qualify that a bit..There probably WAS suicide among young people..but I honestly believe it was much rarer...I remember it starting with some regularity in the eighties.. I never heard of it in the mid fifties to late sixties, my time in grammar and high school.

[Yehonala]

74. Well, back then....

"I honestly wonder if this young suicide thing isn't generational...I'm a boomer, grew up in the fifties, sixties...and though there was definitley bullying (I being one of the victims)..Kids just didn't commit suicide...My same aged spouse says the same thing..It was unheard of...Not even teenagers."

Back then the teachers and principal dealt with it and so did the parents when the bully returned home. If the bullied student fought back, the bullied student didn't get into trouble. People and society saw the bully as the problem, not the victim.

[ShortnFiery]

38. Where were the ADULTS while all this was happening? Wow! eom

[tblue37]

50. Watching silently. One of the articles linked above says that

on the day of her death she was harassed while studying in the library, and a faculty member was there and actually saw the bullying but neither stopped it nor reported it to the school administration.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

69. another article said she was chased around the school; adults saw but did nothing.

so angry I am speechless. :mad: :nuke:

[krabigirl]

43. good! I hope they are bullied mercilessly in jail and never find peace

[BrklynLiberal]

47. That is such a sad,sad story. Poor little girl.

No school officials are being charged because they had "a lack of understanding of harassment associated with teen dating relationships," and the school's code of conduct was interpreted and enforced in an "inconsistent" way, Scheibel said

:wtf: Could the school officials REALLy have been THAT ignorant?

The Massachusetts Legislature cited Prince's death and the apparent suicide of 11-year-old Carl Walker-Hoover of Springfield last year when members passed anti-bullying legislation earlier this month.

[AngryOldDem]

53. I hope schools are held accountable for known bullying after this.

In my sad experience they talk a good game about "zero tolerance" but when it comes down to actually doing anything, they turn a blind eye. If shit happens on school property -- it IS their business to intervene and stop it.

[MicaelS]

57. Me too, but I really I wonder how the

"School admins and teachers are perfect and can do no wrong" crowd here on DU are going to spin this one. I'm sure they'll find a way to avoid blaming ANY school employee. :mad:

And to paraphrase an earlier poster, shit like this just gives more impetus to home schooling ones' children.

[Posteritatis]

73. The problem there is that most zero tolerance policies would punish the victim

In schools where ZT policies are enforced, being punched out of the blue without provocation can get the victim suspended. It's made worse when parents go all "not my snowflake!" or "boys will be boys!" and actively prevent the schools from disciplining the bullies. Schools definitely need to get around to doing something about this sort of thing sooner than they do, but there's a whole lot of things in place that really, really want the current system to continue.

[Lance_Boyle]

56. Spaghetti justice from the DA - statutory rape charges?

Against two minors? When the "victim" is deceased? Unless the acts were videotaped I don't see how this overenthusiastic DA could successfully prosecute that charge. Seems she just threw it in there along with the kitchen sink. Stick to prosecuting the alleged criminal acts. Throwing statutory in there "just because" is beyond the pale.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

67. Yeah, it's a witch hunt.

[pipi_k]

58. The little shits!!!!

They belong in jail, and so does anyone who KNEW about it but did nothing to stop it.

Including the parents of the little shits, who brought up the little shits to BE mean little shits.

Fuckers!

[LynneSin]

61. Sorry this is NOT good enough. If school officials knew and did nothing to intervene

they are just as guilty as the students who caused this. Our school systems need a serious wakeup call that Bullying is not acceptable whatsoever.

[WilliamPitt]

63. Very good news.

[Garfinkeling]

70. Earthlink still exists?

I felt like I just time traveled to 1996!