What Law(s) Did the 'Cyber-Bully' Break?
Posted: Monday, May 19, 2008
by Terry Mitchell
http://commenterry.blogs.com
Federal prosecutors recently convinced a Los Angeles grand jury to bring completely nonsensical charges against a Missouri woman who allegedly drove a teenage girl to commit suicide in the so-called 'Cyber-bully' case. If Lori Drew, 49, did what she is accused of doing, it was an utterly despicable act, but what law(s) did she break? Those she is accused of breaking -- laws enacted mainly to stop people from hacking into government computers -- do not apply here. In fact, the case they are trying to make against her is a complete misapplication of those laws.
Some would argue that there ought to be laws against the kind of thing she did. Perhaps in this case, there should be, but do we really want to have laws against every rude or spiteful act a person could commit? I know I wouldn't. I would be in big trouble right now (and probably in jail) if such laws were on the books. Just because something is vile or immoral, doesn't mean there should be a law against it, no matter how outraged it may make one feel.
And speaking of outrage, it seems me that many people are very selective with theirs. What if, for example, the victim had been 33 instead of 13? I'll wager that the outrage over Ms. Draw's actions would not have been nearly as intense or widespread. Would we really want to encode this kind of age discrimination into the law? Wouldn't it violate the constitutional principle of equal protection under law?
Besides, we all -- adults, teenagers, and children -- just need to stop being so uptight and just chill out. We all have to get used to the fact that we're going to have to take a little teasing and harassment once in a while. I know I've had to endure some of the most brutal and unmerciful kind of that stuff at times in my life. If one overreacts to it by committing suicide, it is his or her own fault. We need to familiarize ourselves with three magic words: Get over it.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Hi Terry, I believe what Mrs. Drew did to that child was absolutely reprehensible, but since there were no laws set in place prohibiting such behavior, I am not in favor of her being arrested, while the Feds "look" for some charges. With the world changing because of the computer era, I feel this case should be investigated and new laws set in place. Where I don't agree with you is when you stated, " Get Over It"! This 13 year old girl, was unknowingly pitted up against a 49 year old woman. No telling what was said during their e-mail conversations. I agree with you that we have all had to endure teasing and harassment by our peers, but a 49 year old woman knowingly up against a 13 year old girl, suffering from depression is well below the balance of fairness to me. Sorry, this comment is so long. KimberlyKimberly, don't worry about your comment being too long. You had something very important to say and I appreciate your input.
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