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Photo by Gail Harvey, no reproduction without permission
Megan Meier and Cruelty Among Kids From today's Toronto Star article:
"Megan Meier thought she had made a new friend in cyberspace when a cute teenage boy named Josh contacted her on MySpace and began exchanging messages with her."
I was reading the newspaper online when I came across this painful story about a girl who received fake email messages online from a "cute teenaged boy" named Josh. Fraudulent messages intent on making her expose herself and her emotions and thoughts. She committed suicide. "Josh" had sent cruel messages and ended their friendship abruptly because he heard SHE was cruel. Turns out it was an adult family "friend" luring the kid and emotionally abusing her. Wow. Will there ever again come a day when people are going to ask themselves before they do something, "Will this hurt someone, wound them beyond measure?" I'm thinking of road-racers and road-ragers and also of cyber-abusers who either lure or fake their way into the vulnerable heart of a teenager, or even an adult who trusts still, no matter that the world suggests we should seldom do so.
When I was a kid, someone played a shitty trick on me of this sort, although back then, there was no internet, a faceless entity of decidedly alarming power. But I guess a "friend" of mine thought it would be funny to send me fake [posted] letters from a boy who liked me, letters packed with excuses about why he couldn't meet me yet but how he adored me and thought I was cute etc. How fun it must have been for these girls to read my posted replies to this "boy" who didn't even exist. How the belly-laughs must have ensued each time they got a kindly reply from hopeful and trusting me. Luckily for me, the ruse was detonated by said "friend's" conscience, and since she was my own age, I recovered from the interlude, aware that girls can be incredibly mean. But for a grown woman to do this to an already-struggling child, what is wrong here? I never told my mom this mean peer trick had been played on me, the shame was too great and we were already dealing with a lot. When I told her about it lately, but before reading this article, she was as enraged as if it had happened that day. My heart goes out to the family of Megan Meier, who are understandably apoplectic with grief that someone could do this to their child.
When will the cruelty stop? Likely never, I guess, but I do wish there could be some way to slow it down amongst kids. I'm mindful of the fact that perhaps we have done it to them somehow, but that's too easy an answer.
Poor Megan. I hope the woman who did this to you never forgives herself. Emotional fraud and luring and bullying have deepp consequences. A young girl killed herself: think about that next time you decide to act thinking only of your own amusement or gain.
Listening to: Counterfeit Heart, Jann Arden
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