What a terrible prank to pull.

[XCashier]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071206/...ternet_suicide

The Drew family (especially Lori Drew) are being shunned by the community...The community wants the Drews to move out.

That doesn't surprise me, really. And the Drews are still showing no remorse over the incident. While I'm sure Megan wasn't a perfect saint, playing mind games and driving a person to kill themselves is wrong, and evil. There is even a term for it: bullycide.

[Emrld]

How many times does it have to be pointed out . . . there was a lot more going on than just the one e-mail that caused Megan to make the choice to take her own life?

This fake male is not the only one who was hurtful to Megan's feelings. Megan was on medication due to depression issues. Megan was not supposed to be on the computer. There is now a debate to determine if Lori Drew typed the messages or is protecting another child.

I agree the best thing for the Drew's at this point is to change their names and move.

People appear to be acting like the judge and jury here when that is not their job. Vigilante justice never truly works. There is a reason this country has the court system it uses.

[blas]

I still believe the Drew's deserve everything they are getting. They shouldn't be allowed to move or change their names. If they aren't going to be punished by the legal system, they can suffer the consequences of what they've done by losing business and losing their reputation and becoming the scum of the earth in everyone's eyes. I hope they can't even leave the house without squash being thrown at them.

[Emrld]

This is one of those delightful threads that people strongly see specific points of view.

Why can some of the reponsability not fall on the one that took their own life? Is it because of her age? Her parents were aware of he mental issues, in fact they had her on meds, why didn't the Mom follow when she heard her crying? I am not saying that it is Megan's families responsability either. I am saying their are a lot of parts to this situation that could have been handled differently which would have led to another outcome. However, that is not possible in the real world.

I am not saying the Drews are innocent or didn't do something wrong. (I am not a judge nor am I on the jury) I have said all along that it is a situation that got out of hand. I am saying their is a lot of information that has not been provided and some that people are refusing to look at. For some reason when a child is involved the public cries out for a vilian to try and make sense of what happened.

The Drews have children in their home. Due to what the media has done to this situation . . .if they move and are not allowed to change names those children will be penalized for the rest of their lives. What makes those children deserve a future based on a bad choice by a parent?

Every few years we have a situation that the media picks up on and sensationalizes. Of course by the time the full story, all the details are available the public has moved on to the next wtf story. So things slowly fade away without all details being made known.

[Pedersen]

Emrld, I was going to rip into you a bit over a few things you've said. Then I thought about it, and realized that doing such would do no good.

Instead, I will focus on just one thing you've said, and ask you about it.

(let me say this first - I agree that this got out of control and went too far)

I have to wonder at what point you would say this was in control, and hadn't gone too far.

Let's assume for the moment that Megan was a heartless bitch. Actually, no, let's go further, and assume sociopathic/psychopathic behavior on her part. She enjoyed harming other people, both physically and emotionally. The world is a better place without her. Let's assume that all that is true, for the sake of argument.

Furthermore, let's assume that her parents were even worse. Thanks to what awful, terrible, horrors they visit upon their neighborhood, their family, and the world at large, that they deserved every bit of what's happened. Again, for the sake of argument, assume that all of that is true.

How does any of that justify an adult (who is supposed to be wiser and smarter than a teenager) manipulating the emotions of a teenager (who is now beginning to experience the hardships that puberty brings in)?

No matter what else, that is what this issue boils down to: The Drews manipulated Megan. They helped others do so. They even encouraged it. Did they set out to drive her to suicide? I don't believe so.

As a bullying victim in high school, though, I can tell you I contemplated it. Came very close on multiple occasions. The Drews set out to bully Megan. They set out to help others do so. And when the bullying had a result they weren't prepared for, they did their very best to cover up all evidence that they had done anything.

So, again, I ask: What part of what they did are you, personally, okay with? Some portion of it must be okay, judging by your remarks above.

As for me, here's my opinion on the Drews: They are liars. They are cowards. They deserve punishment that the community cannot legally give. I won't condone violence towards them. But I will, very much, condone them, and their family, being shunned. They deserve no less.

[Emrld]

Pedersen - Thank you for showing respect and saying you don't understand where I am coming from and could I please explain. I was going to stop posting on this thread but, felt your polite request deserved a reply.

I firmly believe that people do not have the full story and some snap judgments are being made by everyone (yes, I include myself in that), everywhere learning about this tragic event.

I do not think that it was the intent of the Drew's to cause physical harm/ loss of life or liberty. I personally would not have made the same choices. However, when Mrs. Drew initally started contact to monitor Megan's conversations her intent was to try to at least have a head's up when her daughter would be a target. I do not feel that was out of line. That was a Mother being informed.
Attempts had been made to go through Megan's parents to look into the situation from their end. They chose to act innocent. So Mrs. Drew figured out another option to protect her child.

I have a real hard time making somone have to pay the price in something just because the public needs to have someone to blame. Why can't it just be that a tragic ______ has happened. Let's get Parent's to stand up, take notice, and start parenting.

The court's have been given infromation that lead them to decide to not persecute the Drew's. Ergo, I support that decission. Apparently their is some piece of information that we the general public have not been given.

I hope that this helps you to see where I am coming from. I do not have any expectation of changing your thoughts or opinions.

Again, I thank you for being mature and respectful.

[blas]

I must agree with Pederson and a few pages back, Ree as well. Parents cannot fight their children's battles for them.

Now, if Megan were that awful to the Drew's daughter, then the parents could have stepped in and gotten a restraining order. If she were truly that bad, parental intervention would have included teachers and the police, if necessary.

Not only that, I was also a victim of harrassment (both types) and bullying in school. Granted the Internet was in its infancy and Myspace didn't exist, my parents never made a way to "stake-out" what the bullies and popular kids were up to or what they were saying about me. They knew that that would make it worse!

[Pedersen]

I do not think that it was the intent of the Drew's to cause physical harm/ loss of life or liberty. I personally would not have made the same choices.

I agree. I don't believe that was her intent. However, as she has admitted in the Megan had it coming blog (go and read it, it's linked above), she did set out to create some internet mob justice on the day that Megan died.

She admits to that. And then she's upset that it got out of hand.

That was a Mother being informed.

Yes, to a point. The part that is most distressing, though, is that she deliberately falsified herself to someone who was not emotionally or mentally capable of handling the consequences.

In fact, she even allowed that same falsification to continue after Megan had professed her love for "Josh". Once that occurred, she needed to come clean. Had that happened, I believe it very likely that Megan would be alive today.

Instead, she used this later to target Megan, and start an internet mob attacking Megan.

It's hard to have pity on someone when that person's own tactics are used against them, and that is exactly what is happening to the Drews.

I have a real hard time making somone have to pay the price in something just because the public needs to have someone to blame. Why can't it just be that a tragic ______ has happened.

If that was what happened, this conversation would not be taking place. If Megan had killed herself over reasons having nothing to do with the actions taken by the Drews, this conversation would not be taking place.

Lori Drew went out of bounds, so to speak. She admits in her own blog that she set out to give Megan a taste of what Megan was giving out, and things got out of her control. Lori Drew screwed up, and badly. Someone took their own life over the actions and choices made by her.

The court's have been given infromation that lead them to decide to not persecute the Drew's. Ergo, I support that decission. Apparently their is some piece of information that we the general public have not been given.

There is a quote made my a religious figure, but I am unable to find that exact quote right now. It goes something like this: "Once the government has declared something legal, it is no longer immoral."

Most people see the idiocy in that quote, and I think you will as well. The government, and the judicial branch thereof, do not rule on morality. They do not act on morality.

They rule on law. Choosing not to prosecute only indicates an inability to find a law broken by the Drews. It does not indicate that what the Drews did was right, or wrong, or anywhere in between. Only that it was legal.

What the Drews did was wrong. Badly so. By my definitions, they perpetrated a hideously evil set of actions against a person who was already experiencing issues.

As such, I stand by my statement: Harm them? No. Shun them? Yes. They deserve nothing less. Maybe if they were to have been genuinely sorry about what they did, I would be more forgiving.

As it stands, they have shown no remorse (in any of the articles I have been able to find, including Lori Drew's own blog). They have shown anger (at Megan, at internet mob justice), they have shown fear (of being caught, of being prosecuted).

I hope that this helps you to see where I am coming from. I do not have any expectation of changing your thoughts or opinions.

Again, I thank you for being mature and respectful.

You are correct. I think this will be one point where our best course will be to agree to disagree. I will, however, allow you to have the last word on it.

[Emrld]

You are correct. I think this will be one point where our best course will be to agree to disagree. I will, however, allow you to have the last word on it.

My last word - THANK YOU. I am being sincere here. I truly feel that your posts have been handled in a way that allows me to agree to disagree and feel that my pride and emotions are in tact.

[Flood]

Man, it's weird seeing a discussion over the internet remain civil all the way thru both parties agreeing that the argument's over.

I must now go and reevaluate my understanding of reality.

[Plaidman]

Man, it's weird seeing a discussion over the internet remain civil all the way thru both parties agreeing that the argument's over.

I must now go and reevaluate my understanding of reality.

Its the best thing about this board. It normally turns this well.

[Reyneth]

However, when Mrs. Drew initally started contact to monitor Megan's conversations her intent was to try to at least have a head's up when her daughter would be a target. I do not feel that was out of line. That was a Mother being informed.

Attempts had been made to go through Megan's parents to look into the situation from their end. They chose to act innocent. So Mrs. Drew figured out another option to protect her child.

I agree in majority with the conclusion things have come to here - but I disagree with the above. Mrs. Drew would not have been out of line keeping tabs on HER daughter's MySpace. But creating a fake profile to to track, deceive, and be mean to someone else's child? That way crosses my line. That's not being informed, that's meddling and manipulating.

If she was really so concerned with her daughter's well-being, she would have watched her daughter. Not do what she did. And encourage other girls to also participate. I wonder how their parents feel about all of this that their child's friend's mother - someone who is supposed to be a responsible adult - drew their young teen into peer-pressure bullying that contributed even in some small way to another girl deciding to end her life.

[ditchdj]

Seeing that this woman's life is pretty much over and she'll likely never live a normal life and have to move away, I think she's been punished enough. I'd like to see all the attention go toward helping that girl's parents if that's what they would like.

[CaroPhoenix]

http://www.foxnews.com/video2/player...hows&223&&&exp

The above is a fox news video about how federal prosecutors are now going to try the case.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_7390401.htm

The above is a news article about the same thing.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Unless she handed the rope to the girl, she's not responsible for her suicide. This smacks to me of the beginning of a terrible state of affairs where no-one is ever allowed to take responsibility for their own actions and someone must always be blamed.