Why didn’t someone save Phoebe Prince from unrelenting bullying?

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Maureen Downey. Maureen Downey said: Was Irish teen driven to suicide by unchecked bullying in her new American school? http://bit.ly/9iTows [...]

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I am a 50 year old man, still dealing with this very issue in web forae and in the workplace. At one point, I was forced out of my most recent job because of the bullying by a supervisor, as I was by another in 2008. This is not an isolated issue, and the consequences are damnable.

Anyone who thinks this doesn’t happen needs to spend some time talking to their kids and their employees. I am presently losing my house because I had an employer who kept threatening to “kick my ass.” How do you deal with that and still keep your head on straight? Especially when if you retaliate, you become subject to criminal charges? And where is the law in this? Most of the time, the courts are MIA, and asking you to act like an adult.

Never mind that your boss is acting like a thug. You’re the one with the problem.

Someone needs to make sure these kids spend some serious time behind bars. Maybe after two or three years, we’ll see just how funny this whole thing is.

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As I’ve said before, we need more male teachers in schools. The female teachers just can not stand up to the mean gang like kids, therefore, they say nothing. The bullies not only should be punished, but charged with a misdemeaner. It has to stop somewhere.

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I drove a bus for several years for different schools and different ages. I would never allow any sort of bullying on or anywhere near my bus. My kids always knew they had a safe place. The rule was, treat others the way you want to be treated, and I made sure they knew it, and lived it. Any teacher that knew about it and ignored it, should be incredibly ashamed of themselves.

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I just read about on the CNN newspage. It said that this bullying before the suicide was done in the presence of several faculty and students who did not report until after the fact of her death. This is abhorring to me. There are so many crimes that happen in an informal space (bullying, domestic abuse, sexual assault) that never get the punitive attention it deserves. The previous comments suggest going to the police. I may be generalizing but I can imagine those officers shrugging off the complaints and putting it on the very bottom of their caseload. Bullying is considered to be an unfortunate part of schooling. This incident shows that now only is unchecked bullying unfortunate, it can be fatal.

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I’m a teen myself.I mean yes the schools do get a little out of hand every now and then.I’ve personally never been apart of any bullying or anything.People now a days can be so cruel though i seen it happening.Shes not the first and not the last teen to be a victim of bullying.Theres nothing you really can do to stop it .You have to learn to ignore..

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You people have got to be kidding me! There is no way these kids should go behind bars. That’s what kids do they bully. Kid’s have been doing it since the dawn of time. Whatever happened to teaching your kids to have some self esteem and self respect? Whatever happened to sticks and stones can break my bones but words could never hurt me? What ever happened to standing up for yourself? Now I’m not saying these kids should go unpunished, but jail is a bit harsh. It’s a sad thing that happened to this young lady but ultimately the blame falls on her and the school. I’m appalled that everyone is saying these kids are dirt and the school is blame free. That’s what’s wrong with America today, all this kinder gentler crap. My boy knows if anyone touches him or throws something at him, he better knock them out…not come home and hang himself.

And for the gentleman that is complaining about his boss bullying him, the courts didnt fail you sir because you never went to court. You failed yourself. You should have told him to try it, and if he touched you, you could do what real men do and protect yourself, or take it to the courts. Now your losing your house, survival of the fittest sir…and you’re weak.

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I feel so bad for that poor child and her family. I work for a non profit that does child sexual abuse prevention work in our community. There is another group in town called KIDPOWER, that does amazing work teaching children and adults safety skills, from using their words, getting help, how to deal with bullies, right on up to major self defense. Their website KIDPOWER.ORG is a great site. If you go to their website, they have a library of articles, and a TON of articles on bullying. There is the link for the bullying articles. All children have the right to be safe at school and at home. I dont understand why the school officials didnt put an abrupt stop to this. Maybe what it is goign to take is very serious consequences like jail sentences for these kinds of tormenting behaviors to stop.

http://www.kidpower.org/resources/articles/index.html#bullying

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You rednecks that think she got what she deserved because she didnt fight back are monsters. But im willing to bet all I have youre regular church going folk! I would torture and humiliate the bestards in public. Oh, and heres the kicker Im a Former US Marine, Recon Commando, a liberal democrat and from NYC. Go ahead and have your convulsions now. But im one of those liberals that fights and can shoot back so be careful.

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I disagree, there can be plenty done to reduce extreme bullying- even the slightest initiation of some kind of program that promotes awareness on this issue can help. It is very rare that school faculty and staff members are aware of students who are being harassed at their schools ( kids just don’t speak up ); but in this case they [faculty] were aware, even the parents, and the fact that this concern was ignored worries me. NOT EVERYONE CAN DEAL WITH HARASSMENT, teenagers are not made of steel armor–everyone of them is different, everyone of their emotions are dissimilar with one another, what hurts one may not hurt another, so can we really say “oh, just deal with it”. No, that it absurd- and ignorant to state. People are people, even adults are sensitive– some people can’t handle being rumored or joked upon (and one should not have to experience the severe torments—especially if you are a child- knowing that children have identity crises, fragile self-esteem, and undeveloped cognition)- some are tough overlook rumors or harassment, others find it complex. And, that is reasonable- no one should be tortured mentally or physically, no one should have to put up with people shattering their self-esteem, and certainly not left alone to deal with it- they deserved to be heard and aided.
Parents send their children to school being assured their child will be looked after and protected; in return the child expects that same comfort. But, what happens when someone starts abusing it? They should make the help line more available to students- where a student can go and complain about their issues, where faculty is aware that someone in their institution is being damaged- and actually give a shit. Schools can promote their help hotlines, encourage students to visit their counselors and school psychologists, identify with their teachers as helpers rather than authoritarians, educate parents to pick up on signs of distress , teachers to follow up with academic performances- show u care– give a shit- communication is the key. Student to Teacher; Child to Parent.

In my opinion, this event could have been avoided in several ways:
Obviously, she felt isolated- she didn’t have anyone to go to, anyone to talk to- to get another insight or perspective, or receive words of care and comfort—that’s why she committed suicide.
Teachers could have held a conference with the prime aggressors (the 9 students), psychologists could have been incorporated, programs on harassment and rumor starting could have been placed (educating children on not being assholes, not hurting someone, not making them cry, the golden rule theory). Parents could have taken a much more aggressive approach (move, when worst came to worst) , fought with faculty and staff members until something was done, call the parents of the children, stood by their child and comfort them.
SO, many things to prevent this death.
Yes, children are children; teenagers are teenagers- they do stupid shit (we all have). Some make it in life without having anyone harass them, but does that mean we should see it as punitive because you didn’t experience its extremes? Or, maybe u have been harassed but didn’t care much–does that mean that others would deal with it the same way? NO- we are humans; we are fragile- we can be damaged so severely that we lose our sense of reasoning, and begin to think we are insignificant. The fact behind suicide is–these people actually want to LIVE- but they CAN’T; they feel alone, like they are the only ones who deal with issues as such—no one is there to tell them that rumors happen, no one was there to help build their self-esteem, no one was even there when other people laid their filthy hands on them (physical abuse). If the verbal aggression didn’t seem as severe, then what about when the physical abuse kicked in—why were they [adults] so blind to see this student in distress?
Damaging the human soul in any kind of way or form is unjust.

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“Pursued with unusual cruelty by a group of students at her new high school, Phoebe Prince, 15, hung herself in January.”

So it’s true that The South is illiterate!

She “HANGED” herself !!!! DUH !!!!

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Septic, there is a tremendous difference between blowing through a stop sign causing someone else to lose control of their vehicle, crash, and die, and teasing someone and that someone having CONTROL of the situation going to kill themselve. That was a terrible analogy. Those kids didnt cause her death, her low self esteem caused her death. Those kids didnt wrap the rope around her neck, she did.

You are most certainly right that most bullies will back down when challenged by a dominate figure, however the gentleman above backed down from a “weak” bully, instead of asserting his dominance. So if we work this equation out…the gentleman above is weak and he’s losing his house because of his weakness.

My son is very well mannered and he’s not a bully. He has been taught though that nobody is ever going to put hands on him without repercussions. He’s never started a fight and he never will. So I laugh in the face of your lawsuit, weakling, we’ll counter sue if need be.

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Septic, there is a tremendous difference in blowing through a stop light, causing some else to lose control and wreck, and bullying somone and that peron going to kill themselves. That was a terrible analogy. Those kids didnt wrap the rope around this poor girls neck. I think it would be safe to say that she was not the only child at this school being bullied. Jail for these kids will not stop other kids from bullying because its a natural thing. It’s part of socialization. It’s like trying to stop highschool kids from having a sex drive.

As far as the weakling guy up there, you are absolutely correct that bullies will back down when confronted by a dominant figure. This guy however, backed down from a “weak” bully, and he’s losing his house over it. Now you seem like a smart individual, so let’s work this equation. Weak guy no.1 bullies weak guy no.2. Weak guy no.2 backs down = weak guy no.2 is weaker than weak guy no.1

My son is very well mannered. He’s never started a fight in his life and he never will. He has been taught though that no one will ever lay hands on him with out repercussions. To be quite honest with you, I would rather have to pay for a lawyer than for a funeral. But I laugh in the face of your law suit regardless weakling, being that my son will never start a fight, we’ll counter sue.

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It may be unjust, but it doesn’t warrant jail time for the 9 kids. That would be cruel and unusual punishment.

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Septic, there is a tremendous difference in blowing through a stop light, causing some else to lose control and wreck, and bullying somone and that person going to kill themselves. That was a terrible analogy. Those kids didnt wrap the rope around this poor girls neck. I think it would be safe to say that she was not the only child at this school being bullied. Jail for these kids will not stop other kids from bullying because its a natural thing. It’s part of socialization. It’s like trying to stop highschool kids from having a sex drive.

As far as the weakling guy up there, you are absolutely correct that bullies will back down when confronted by a dominant figure. This guy however, backed down from a “weak” bully, and he’s losing his house over it. Now you seem like a smart individual, so let’s work this equation. Weak guy no.1 bullies weak guy no.2. Weak guy no.2 backs down = weak guy no.2 is weaker than weak guy no.1

I would bet Mike’s son is very well mannered. He’s probably never started a fight in his life and he never will. He has been taught though that no one will ever lay hands on him with out repercussions. To be quite honest with you, I would rather have to pay for a lawyer than for a funeral. I’m sure this girls parents feel the same way.

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Mike- u are an idiot. “it what kids do”— bully around- abuse a 15 year old teenager younger; they stalk her, harass her, physically abuse her, torment her mentally–and u think its ok?– They should be charged, severity of the charges are debatable– obviously the charges are set— jail time and psychological help should be enforced—one way or another they need to institutionalized (whether that be jail.. or rehab center– considering the fact they are teenagers, they are idiots, they did stupid sh-t, they have undeveloped brains causing them to go about their abusive manners—but does that mean they should be ignored? Hell, no. If u ignore the conditions of this case today- “as children being children” then tomorrow there will be another suicid–someone elses son or daughter— how many deaths does it take to realize this is significant and serious?—this is not the first—).

These teenagers tortured a girl- caused her death.
You Need to start educating yourself on the notion of “verbal” agression in the end result of a death.

THink about it, your being a parent, your busy at work, trying to make it through with ur family in this tough economy, you can’t pay attention to your childs every need, you trust the school as an institution that could help aid you and mold your child into a sucessful, strong, caring individual–[but instead they ignore the signs of a distressed teenager]. and now ur child is being bullied in school, stalked, harassed, abused, and then kills herself—> and you say “well– gee…children bully- big deal”—->?

I agree, yes they are children, they make mistakes, they should be given a second chance at being able to better themselves, but their actions were so extreme– they should be held accountable for something– no?

also the school should have been investigated and charged or liable in some manner– the are the authority figures, somebody should have stepped in.

spetic- i agree with you. Abuse ending in death= guilty. Charges? should not be as harsh as an adult would get— bit chargers are a must.

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Mike- I suggest that you go find a history book and learn about the Holocaust. Social Darwinism did not work for Nazi Germany, and there is no reason to expect that it will work in America. Besides, how does fighting a bully actually demonstrate any strength? Mostly, not wanting to be confrontational is just a byproduct of being intelligent and civilized. People who are aggressive are generally pretty ignorant.

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BTW, these kids laughed and joked about the suicide at a party 2 days after it happened. If I were on the jury, I would have no sympathy for them.

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Very few things make my blood boil. This does. So what if the bullies were identified and so what if they’re given the guilty verdict in court? They’ll just get a slap on the wrist.

You know what justice is? Let the bullies have their day in court. When they’re proven guilty, each of them should get 50 lashes each in the public square and 2 years in a forced labor camp. Both parents and children should have “Murderer. Rapist. Bully.” burn-branded into their foreheads. On lashing day, their parents should be in the front row, gagged and bound with their eyes pried open and their heads fixed in place so they can’t help but watch and listen. The rest of the high school population should be present as well. The message? If you’re a bully and you’re caught, the state will give you something to cry about.

Of course, that won’t happen. After all, terrorists, rapists, murderers, and all the other monsters out there have all the rights and the victims have none of them.

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Septic makes some very sensible comments, especially those he directed at Mike, who I believe was NEVER picked on, or bullyed in his school years.

When you are picked on or bullyed, it does play with your confidence, and your self esteem. In some cases it takes years to overcome those damaging and hurtful feelings.
I know, because I was a victim of bullying.

As an adult, I know now that many of those who chose to bully me (and some of my other class mates), mostly did so out of insecurity and to make themselves feel more superior.

Some of the bullying I received, could have been stopped with a punch, but that would have landed me in hot water with the school administration. So, I usually just did my best to stay away from those who picked on me, and tried to keep them from messing with me, as best I could. That chain of survival allowed me to finish my education and eventually move on to college. Maybe I was lucky, but it took years for me to garner the inner-confidence I have now.

In the case of Phoebe, who knows what she had to deal with. The fact that she was in a new country may have had her scared. The fact that she was tormented by a network of nine to 12 kids, may have given her the feeling of being completely outside the inner circle of acceptance and her only way to deal with it, eventually, was to hang herself.

This story makes me sick. A beautiful young girl snuffs her own life out, because she can NOT deal with the horrible torment that a few kids were doing to her. However, the idea of being accepted and being allowed to go to school with-out fear from our fellow classmates, is a luxury that many who have not been bullied in life, take for granted on a daily basis.

Something tells me that this goes way beyond a can of soda being thrown, or name calling etc… but everyone, has a breaking point. Some kids break, (as we have learned over the past several years), by bringing a fire arm to school and killing their classmates. Others act out in less violent ways, but they do act out. Others do what Ms Prince did.. they kill themselves.

I have ZERO compassion for the kids who tormented this girl, to the point where she killed herself. Why did they do it?.. What did Phoebe do to them to make them hate her so much?… Did they ever once consider how they would have acted had they been in a new country, unfamiliar with the customs and culture, only to be ridiculed and abused for being different?… really big of them to do this to a girl who they could have learned from. Instead, they drove her to suicide. Make no mistake about it, this girl would still be alive if some of these brats would have taken the time to get to know her and be respectful of her culture and accent, instead of pushing her around so mean and hurtful.

I also believe, from watching talk shows that dealt with kids who bullied from years ago and now were confronted by their victims 5-20 years later, that most bullies have ZERO remorse or even an inclination of the harm their horrible actions do (and even did) to their victims.

Therefore, I don’t know how far this prosecutor can go, but I think that some form of punishment should be handed down to make these kids realize that their harmful actions can lead to more than any of them thought. Phoebe’s life was worth something… and yes.. these kids did not kill her, but their acts were contributing factors to her suicide.

Something else to consider, perhaps next time, they will bully the WRONG kid, and that kid will do what Mike suggests, only this time the victim of the bullying will take things MUCH further than any of us would ever want to see a kid take things, and there could be another incident of gun violence at a school, sparked by so-called “routine, or harmless, bullying”.

The bullying today is probably no worse than it was back in the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s etc… only now, the internet and other devices (cell phones/ emails/ texting etc..) make it easier for kids to broadcast their hurtful remarks to a much wider audience and through the cowardly position of anonymity.

My prayers go to the girl’s family who came here looking for the American dream, only to lose their daughter to a reality that is growing worse every year in American society, … Teen suicide. (and to make it more tragic, her suicide was as a result of the bullying she suffered from her fellow classmates).

I know that bullies have always existed, and maybe our grandparents had a much more sensible way of dealing with the bullying, (good old fashioned butt whipping), but today, we are training our kids to utilize “conflict resolution” as ways of dealing with their bullies.

A girl is dead, and yes, it was by her own hand. But the actions of those who tormented and abused her, are as guilty as if they put her head in the noose and hanged her themselves., and those who treated her in that manner, and made her feel so worthless and beaten down, that her only resolve was to kill herself.

Well, I’m not sorry for them and they need to be held accountable, unless schools are willing to allow for corporal punishment along with kids being able to fight back in physical ways, to stop the bullying. Because, quite frankly, the “conflict resolution” route, is NOT working.

As for Mike…. some day, you will understand what its like to be bullied, and just remember your own advice pal. Whether its you or a significant other in your family, someday you will see that its not that simple and easy to confront bullies, beause our schools really don’t allow you to take such matters into your own hands, and are increasingly ignoring such problems, rather than to stand up and stop them.

I just wish that someone, anyone, a student, a parent, a kid, a school administrator, a teacher, could have put their arm around Phoebe and told her she was somebody, she mattered, she is a good girl, she has something to contribute and was important to the overall well being of the school, what that might have done. Sadly, now, its too late for that.

Like someone posted ealier, please remember how our words can and do affect others, and if we have power to stop horrible acts of unkind treatment, we need to do it.

God bless Phoebe Prince, her death was unecessary and she is hopefully at peace and hopefully her parents and loved ones and friends, will some day be able to find some solace to this horrible and maddening tragedy.

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I resent this statement; For those of you who work in schools, why would administrators and teachers let this persecution go unchecked? We can’t deal with bullying unless we witness it ourselves. Many of these teens are so sneaky. They make sure that there are no adults around before they bully anyone. Around here, if we accuse anyone of bullying without actually seeing it, we can be disciplined.

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Survival of the fittest, all she had to do was wait till she was out of high school instead of hanging herself which is completely irrational. After HS she would never see those people again, ya know? Also, why the hell would anyone move to the USA?! gosh that sucks if I lived somewhere in europe and had to move to this hell hole, already filled with militia wanting to murder the gov.

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I want to know where the teachers and administrators were during all this? Why didn’t they intervene. And if this girl was so popular, why did none of her friends defend her during this bullying. I was bullied in school, but my friends stood up for me, escorted me to classes and walked or drove me home until the bullies got tired of trying to get around them. Pay attention, kids: if you are not strong enough to physically discourage bullies, you can take names & kick a** later with your parents, school administrators and even the cops.

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the fact that there are so many posts proves this is a very common serious problem. My son was harrassed in med school by a sociopath – a fellow student. he went for help and was told HE needed therapy and yes, the creep, who’d had run ins with others in the school is still there. My son withdrew and this sicko will be a physician some day. It happens at every age and the sad thing is these sociopaths can smell a kind gentle soul a mile away. Satan does walk on this earth in the form of evils like this. I hope for these nine students that they spend their life remembering what they’ve done. A beautiful vibrant young girl is now gone – hopefully to a better place than this pathetic world which only seems to get sicker by the day.

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Iam so sorry for phoebe and for her family to have encountered the ugly side of this world, these kids are 100% responsible for their actions and should be punished to the full extent of the law, we are responsible for eveything we say and do in this life and should learn the the power of our words as well as our actions.

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Josey is obviously a bully . . . Hank, I like the way you think!

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To Whiskey Charlie….I just read your comment and I am OUTRAGED!!!! You have to be kidding me!! CRUEL and UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT??? What are you thinking?? These 9 KIDS joked and laughed about this death at a party!! They knew exactly what they were doing!!!! They need to be dealt with as adults and put away!!!!

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Part of the problem is that most schools I have worked with will not allow the parents of those concerned sit down and talk together. They will not allow an exchange of phone numbers nor will the school offer to mediate the situation. I can’t tell you how many times the parent of a victim comes in and just asks as a solution to bring in the other parents and work through the issues. I don’t want to put all the burden on the schools, but until they wake up and bring parents into the equation, they will continue to struggle with these issues. Where there are unwilling parents, then other measures need to be used to make kids safe. But in what I have observed, that is the minority.

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it’s obvious that Mike and Josey are bullies. I hope if they have children they do not find themselves in the same place where these 9 students parents are, but unless they can come to understand that sticks and stones as well as WORDS DO hurt, and that the effects can’t be reversed sometimes… they too may end up in the same situation someday.

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Roadtoad

March 30th, 2010
12:45 am

Roadtoad, you need to get a backbone!!!!!

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Parents are ultimately responsible for the behavior of their children. However, as a teacher, I believe the school should have intervened. This is the policy at our school. On three separate occasions students were recently assigned 5 days of in-school suspension at an “alternative school” because of bully behavior. FYI…..the person slamming Southern grammer should read a reputable dictionary to learn that “hanged” is an acceptable alternative to “hung”.

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Mike – YOU have got to be kidding me! According to the article, the bullying went as far as her being raped and having at least one can thrown at her. This is far beyond non-contact bullying that can be ignored.

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I grew up all over the USA. Always the new kid and always bullied in some way. At about the age of 15 that all changed. I figured if I could take it… what happens when I dished it back to those who deserved it. I almost lost my left eye from a cowardly sucker punch from a 6 foot 3 inch kid who ran down some bleachers and caught me blindsided as I turned around. I should have thanked ole Quincy… And I did just that. I never backed down and I kicked ass from then on. Didn’t matter to me if I was fighting 1 person or 6 of the bastards and all at the same time. Same result. They lost and sometimes they had broke bones to show for it and others times… they bled their way to the E.R.

In one fight that started with 5 to 1 odds, one kid left trying to hold his eye in the socket. The police officer asked in I wanted to press charges against my oppressors. I don’t think it was necessary.

By the time I had graduated I was in more fights each year than the sum of all the kids at my school each combined and probably multiplied a time or two.

I didn’t back down. I was never sure who was going to win and I knew exactly who was not going to lose. I never asked for help and never received any. I once had 11 fights in week and 4 in just one day. Sometimes they used weapons and every time they met the same result.

One thing was for sure, they were not going to lay on me or come within my 12 inch body space and if they did whatever they got, they earned it. Let a 200 pound kid with an extra foot of height explain how he and his twin brother got beat to a pulp by some skinny runt… It was a common story in my little town for a few brief years.

Recently I went back home and one of my younger cousins told me he wanted to thank me for standing up to the bullying. He said ever since I did what I did people never knew what to expect any more and so were a lot more careful who they picked on in school or even in the community.

See I only stood about 5 foot 6 or 7 inches and weighed in at a featherweight 130 pounds or so soak and wet.

I was also the quiet kid and one of the brightest of my class despite my moving from school to school and even being expelled from school after a riot in which some kids got a lot more than they gave. Nothing less than deserved however. Sad to say.

If the big kids and the sportsy kids give other kids a hard time and the culture/parents or whatever allow it and even encourage it. Turn the tables.

There will always be a table…

What goes around comes around.

So no I still don’t approve of bullying.

It only takes one trip to the E.R. for a community to wake up and stop such nonsense.

The question is which kid has to take that trip?

The bit about educators not seeing it is pathetic. They know or “hear” of it in the school halls and should be held to the highest accountability if they allow it to persist or they are as guilty of the crime as those who committed it. In some quiet way they allow such a culture to exist.

I have a friend who had his young son and only son beaten down in Denver over his being of German descent. His collar bone was broken and his body was bloodied in the incident and it is published.

This type of behavior cannot be condoned. Somehow it is.

Listen to some of the people who have responded here…

God bless the bully who treads on me… cause I won’t.

To the Mike’s of the world… sometimes, every once in a while, your world can change, and when it does and you meet a person who does bend or who will not yield, your world can and will change in the blink of an eye.

FYI: Self-Defense is “ALWAYS” and option. If more people tried it less people would have to.

For those who say and think: Tell someone and report it… It’s not as easy as it may look to the adults who offer such good advice, when you are being kicked down in an empty bathroom or back of a bus, or somewhere else on school grounds – and literally scared to death of what is going to happen next.

It takes time for a school incident to get responded to sometimes. It takes the bully only one a brief immediate second to injure another student or traumatize another student for life.

People wonder why and often times feel sorry for the sociopaths when they meet the psychopaths…

Which came first?

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My daughter was bullied for years. We looked into changing schools. A couple teachers were helpful but when I spoke with the vice principal about it and asked to have a meeting with him and the main bully’s mother, you know what he said. He said, ” oh that would be too personal”. You think. It was personal. No wonder bullies get away with it. The schools don’t care. Something has to be done. Later on this same bully was suspended for threatening another girl on line.

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Hank – I love your soloution – it is swift, effective, crime-related, and doesn’t overload our jails for years and years, but makes the punishment memorable and definately would make kids think before they decided to pick on someone and would make the parents think when they let their little one get away with bullying!

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she was to young to die i think that parents need to know whats going on in school and with their friends. may god be with her!

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I was a very fat poor kid growing up. Kids made fun of me behind my back. Although the kids knew I could hurt them physically, their teasing would eventually make it’s way back to me and I would just tear up in silence. The chuckling and whispers were ever prevelant for me when I was in elementary school.

On one such occasion, my teacher Mrs. Thompson, picked up a drawing that all the kids were passing around and she asked me to leave the room. Mrs. Thompson proceeded to tear into the entire class and admonish them for being so mean and two-faced. I don’t know what happened to her but I’m really grateful she decided to stand up for me when no one else would.

My father was an alcoholic and he would beat my mother regularly. Things were not good at home to say the least and I was the poor fat kid people made fun of behind my back. With all that said, I felt someone cared when few did and that is something I will never forget.

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I wish Phoebe had a Mrs. Thompson. Unfortunately she didn’t.

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You want to know why this happened? Because administrators have no backbone. I laugh each day as I watch students out of dress code walk by me. If I thought for one second that the admin would do something about it, I would report it. Their response is to either tell me to call the kids parents or have the kid sit in the office for a few minutes and then get sent back to class. Most of these kids aren’t even my students, but they want me to call home? If the admin are going to handle the little stuff like dress code infractions this way, what makes anyone think they’re going to handle bullying any better. Their answer to everything is to put it on the teacher as if we don’t already have enough to do.

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To answer your question, Maureen, I have no idea why the school would do nothing if they knew about the bullying. In my experience, if teachers know that a child is being picked on, they will stop it. However, a lot of times so-called bullying is a two-way street with both sides picking on each other. We’ve had cases where the “victim” cursed and called other students names until they got fed up and did something about it. Then the “victims” went to the principal or to Mama and claim they were being picked on. It doesn’t look like that was the situation with this girl, but it does happen. As stated, much of it goes on online and off campus. Home life should also be looked at when a child commits suicide. There may be something going on there, too. However, having said all that, I do believe that if these nine are responsible they should be punished for their actions. This is a sad, sad situation. No child should ever feel so hopeless that he/she feels compelled to commit suicide.

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The football captain, honour role student; it sounds like the cast of one of the numberless films exported by America promoting this horrible hierarchy and clique mentality. These kind of tragic outcomes aren’t shown on the OC unfortunately and young people this side of the atlantic are all too ready to hop on the abercrombie bandwagon.

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This comment by the author of this article is right on: “Bullies go after younger and smaller kids, but victims also are chosen because they are more anxious, sensitive, cautious and quiet.”
This is allowed to happen in schools and allowed to go on into the work place. Bullies never stop if not corrected when young. Bullying gets worse at work. Why not do an honest survey at at work places and see how many grownups go through this daily.

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I spent 15 years as a school administrator and my final four years in a provincial position in which I visited nearly all of the more than 500 schools in Nova Scotia.

I commend the prosecutor. She should use every means to ensure that significant penalties are imposed on the perpetrators. The rapists, for example, should receive the same multi-year jail sentences that any adult would receive. The others should also receive some jail time, assuming that option is available.

Though I understand that the school cannot be charged in this case, there must be an investigation with full dissemination of the results. It would appear that there is certainly some culpability on the part of the school, especially since the girl’s parents informed them of the abuse. Their apparent negligence must be highlighted as an example to other school boards, administrators, and teachers.

Quite simply, bullying cannot be tolerated. There must be accountability for those who allow it to continue.

Again, my commendations to the prosecutor.

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I remember in my public High School back in the 80’s we had a punishment worse than paddling. It was in-school suspension isolated trailer with enforced silence while you did your work by one of the toughest coaches we had. Lunch was delivered there, often cold. You had to show up at 7AM and leave as late as 6PM. A single peep in response to the coach’s constant drill sargent barking would extend your sentence by 1 day the first time, 2 days the second time, etc. Tardiness was treated the same way. Repeated offenses in in-school suspension will result in expulsion. It was either this or expulsion, very few out-of-school suspensions were allowed.

The point of this in-school suspension is to make you fear this punishment as much as possible. It was fear of this that kept us in line. If a teacher saw bullying going on the threat of in-school suspension either stopped it cold or the bully will have a lot of time in the trailer. If you are a bystander that saw it happen and you said nothing you will get 3 to 5 days and the bully will be told by the coach that you “snitched” on him to get a lesser punishment, that encouraged kids to come forward.

In this case it should not have gotten to this point. It is because kids no longer fear the teachers and principals that the law must step in when it is too late for Phoebe.

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Mike,

Your posts are ignorant, as are you. When a child is tormented so much that she/he feels the best option is to commit suicide, I think it’s safe to say this isn’t normal bullying. These kids who drove her to this obviously aren’t getting the right discipline or being taught what is moral at home – so let them sort it out while they wallow in a jail cell.
I’m honestly astonished that you could really be obtuse about the matter, the more you write, the less credibility you have, and the more you make yourself look like an idiot.
Good luck with your “well mannered” son whom you have raised to think that violence is the answer – great parenting, I’m sure you endorse beating women as well – they are weaker after all, and sometimes need to be put in their place, right?

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Monica your post sounds cogent and reasonable, and I am sure much of your experience is can be explained by the adage “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” however if you have only had 1 set of parents agree with your assessment in 20+ years I suspect your definition of bullying could be a tad stringent. It reminds me of a friend who in searching to legitimize his claim that Atlanta has aweful rude drivers commented that he is honked at 3 or 4 times a week. I commented that I have lived here for about 16 years and have been honked at a total of 3 or 4 times so perhaps the cause of the honking was his driving and not the “atlanta drivers”

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Dan, I’ve dealt with only about a dozen incidents of this severe nature over 20 years. Most bullying is garden-variety and can be handled effectively without going to such extremes. When it gets to the point where victims are considering changing schools or worse, taking their own lives, it requires a severe response.

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As a parent my heart goes out to her parents and to all the kids that have to endure this abuse. Kids have to receive severe punishment for this behavior.
The bullies become adults and continue the same behavior in the work place. There is lots of bullying happen in work place also.
This country has to come out with specific laws to deal with this type of crime. Because this behavior is a crime.

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Bullys are people who gain self worth from treading on others. These people grow up and become the jerks who don’t use their turn signals before cutting in front of you in their huge SUVs (again another sign the driver may have self worth issues). At the end of the day, parents MUST teach their children how to push back. I thank goodness that my father taught me to be the one that pushes back. I’m 45 now and while I choose to ignore a lot of bullish behavior in our society, I still speak up when someone tries to step on my toes… I therefore don’t subscribe to the “turn the other cheek” baloney. If I had children, I believe I would try to instill in them to treat people how you would like to be treated, but if they are treating you poorly, don’t just take it. It’s frightening standing up to bullies, but once you’ve done it, it becomes easier and easier, until you grow up and realize that you have a good sense of self worth and pretty much get along with everyone… except those bullying few….who you stand up to. I feel so bad for this family, coming from Ireland, a country with relatively small population, America must have been such a culture shock for her. Could petty jealousy by the School Administration kept them from doing anything? Are any of the bullies children of the Administration? This is pathetic, but sadly a big problem in the US…. Why didn’t the School do anything? Then again, if it was so bad, why didn’t the parents take her out of school until the school agreed to do something about it?

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Yes, bullying is an issue that schools deal with on a daily basis and try to control. However, there has been little mention of the rape issue which could have led to the suicide issue more so than the bullying which took place at school. The biggest issue with bullying on a school campus is it goes unreported until a major incident occurs and then that is the first time the administration is aware of the bullying of the student. Schools need additional help from classmates, parents and the student itself.

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As the parent of a child that was bullied in school growing up I can say I have seen this problem first hand. Kids are different today than they were when we were growing up. yes, it use to be “3:00, bike rack” but today kids have not been taught the value of human life and easily step over that boundry on a daily basis- just read the front page of todays AJC. They think little of the repercussions of their actions and parents are so fast to defend their little tyrants that they think ” my little Johnny couldnt possibly be like that”! NEW FLASH! He is! The schools on the other hand are a completely different problem. It has been my observation that teachers/administrators turn a blind eye to this problem, reports and even incidents. Case in point, my son was beaten at the bus stop, down on the ground the other boy kept kicking him so badly that he did damage. The bus driver came up over the hill and seen the whole thing. She did the right thing and stopped it and reported it. When I got to the school I was told by administration that the other boys foot “slipped” and it was an accident! At which time I politly told the admin staff that the first time that boys foot contacted my sons ribs MIGHT have been an accident, but the 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc time was malice intent and I would not only prosecute the boy and his parents but the school as well if it was not resolved as of now. The boy was expelled and later went to jail for unrelated charges but the point here is if you think your kid cant or wont, you need to open your eyes. if you think your kid is or was, be a parent. find out and do something before you find your daughter or son hanging from the the staircase!!

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The fact that some of these kids posted more insults on the memorial website set up for the girl shows there is no remorse for what they did nor should there be any remorse in punishing them. What a huge waste of skin!

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I am sickened by this behavior. What has happened to the minds of parents and school officials who allow this to happen? You are breeding hateful kids, so miserable with their own lives, that they must torture others. Each of those kids need to have help to find where their human side went. Not a single one of them could have taken it themselves, day after day, either.

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So, comes now Angeles Chanon, the mother of Sharon Velazquez one of the bullies, and says “My daughter never fought with Phoebe Prince”. She comes from a home of “strong values” and, while suspended after a verbal exchange with the bullied girl a month before Prince’s suicide, never physically harmed her. “She exchanged a couple of words with her,” but Sharon never fougth with her or said “Go harm yourself or I hate you.” I read this and it makes me sick. It makes me want to go kick her and her daughter’s ass. This is exactly the reason why your daughter is the little bitch that she is. This is what you have taught her. You are in complete denial of your daughter’s actions. You minimize the gravity of the problem. You also mention that your daughter cried when she found out she was indicted in the case. Well, guess what? I hope she cries the rest of her life rotting in jail along with the others. Well-deserved! Now… Phoebe’s mom can say… “It’s just your daughter in jail”. No harm done. Society will miss nothing except another little bitch who acts without thinking of possible consequences. Welcome to the real world. Nothing goes unpunished too long. Kudos to the prosecutors and I hope they get maximum sentence regardless of age.

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Isn’t is something how children are “protected by law” from adults and their parents, but not protected by law from other children? This isn’t old age bullying anymore, it’s defamation of character, discrimination, rape, assualt with intent to harm, harrassment, humiliation, torture, mental abuse, etc. I wish in this age of technology more students would record and video these things. I wish Phoebe would have had a friend video what was happening, record the verbal abuse, threats, and conversations with school officials. Her mother went to the school 2 times, and her mother should have recorded those conversations. I wish they would have used this strategy to work together and put a stop this situation. By collecting irrefutable proof, bringing it to the police, and pressing charges against the students involved and the school – it would have stopped. They should have threatened lawsuits and citizens arrests to make their point clear. Old bullying is knocking books out of someones hands, and calling them 4 eyes – in other words, just being a jerk and an ass. Modern day bullying is advanced to the point of being truly criminal. I blame the bulliers, the parents of the bulliers, and the school. These under-aged victims and their parents need to empower themselves. These bully groups are modern day terrorist cells. Some if not most corporations require employees to take sexual harrassement, anti-discriminatory, and integrity courses, among others. One of the reasons for this is to “teach” employees “where to draw the line”, “how to appropriately act” in the workplace, and what do if you feel you’re being violated. It should be mandatory in schools, since some parents suck, to show children how to and how not to behave in (at least) school, what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior, what the school expects of them, what to do if they feel violated, and explain the consequences when students violate the schools rules and break public laws.

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@Mike – you’ve received enough abuse here, but let me tell you a story. I was bullied in school and I was timid and tried to avoid the bully. But I also had a temper and one day, while being mildly tormented, I snapped and beat the stuffing out of him. He might have fared better and I worse if he had been prepared. I learned a lesson from that. Not long afterward, a classmate accidentally splashed mud on me and with my new found swagger, I beat the stuffing out of him too. It didn’t take long for guilt to settle in and I still feel bad about the second incident. 65 years later. I guess that’s what you mean by lessons learned in the school yard. But in instances where the bullied person is outnumbered as in the case of Phoebe, she can’t retaliate against all of them. She needed allies and evidently found none. To dismiss her as weak is to not see the unfairness in her situation.

As for the guy who didn’t stand up to his boss, you dismiss him as weak, but you again don’t consider the unfairness of the situation. When the bully is the boss, you have no option if you want to go on drawing a salary but to put up with it. In my adult life, I worked for a bully once and after a little more abuse than my temper would allow, I shouted back and embarrassed him in front of his staff. This strategy only works in a situation where you cannot easily lose your job. I worked for the government. It appears that the fellow you accused of being weak did not have that advantage. He really had no choice. Physically attacking the boss in the parking lot was not an option. His only option was losing the job and at a time when finding another one with a bully as your most recent reference is likely to put you in a situation where you also lose your house. In this case again, it was not a fair fight.

Your criticism of weakness is the verbal equivalent of a sneer which may or may not have been your intent. Ultimately in the case of Phoebe, those who persecuted her continued to do so because there were no brakes in the system. No one took into the account the unfairness of numbers, at least nine against one. The accused take the greater blame and therefore, I suppose, deserve the greater exposure for their actions. We don’t know their minds, but I am willing to venture that few if any of them wanted the outcome to be Phoebe’s death. They will all have to deal with this 65 years from now. As for the others who didn’t step forward, they carry some of the guilt themselves and their guild will be their punishment and perhaps some day, their redemption.

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As a father of a teenage daughter, I would turned the tables on these punk’s parents! Fire with fire baby!!!!!!!

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I am very upset with some of you people who seem to think that all the adults in the school ‘let’ this happen. If we see it, we do something about it. The bullies are really good at hiding their actions.

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Sadly these child bullies will become bullies in the workplace and their victims will become victims in the workplace.

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Out laws do not let us prosecute parents for the behavior of their kids, especially if the kids are old enough to be tried as adults. The question here, though, is why the teachers and administrators did NOTHING to protect this kid while she was at school.
Sarah H: I can understand how you can find this upsetting. I am sure YOU and many others like you would have stepped in. And,yes, kids are often sneaky with their bullying-but in this case, the bullying was so severe that it was known about ALL OVER THE SCHOOL. I do not believe that no person in authority knew this was going on. And,in addition, several of us have cited instances in our own lives where bulling was ignored and parents were brushed off, put off and essentially “bullied, when trying to get help from teachers and administrators for their kids. They don’t want to be involved and they do not want any responsibility in these situations. Maybe this will help put a stop to the ” I’ve never seen anyone picking on her ” attitude. Maybe, just maybe, some eyes will open, some questions will be asked…and a child will be saved.

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Philosopher, I never said bullying was normal childhood behavior my fear was that normal childhood behavior would be labled bullying kind of like when one first grader kisses another and it is labled sexual harrassment. And quite frankly some level of teasing and name calling is normal behavior not positive behavior but certainly normal

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BULLYING IS NOT PART OF SOCIALIZATION.
The parents of the nine attackers and school authorities failed tremendously on their respective roles and I feel deeply sorry for this little angel that didn’t see another solution than taking her life away. This could have been prevented. The role of a parent is to teach values, good manners to their kids and the role of a teacher is to continue reinforcing what they have already learned. Respect from one another is the pillar to be good citizens. Everything, everything starts from home. If there is not a good role model at home, kids grow up without discipline and these are the consequences (vandalism).

Parent, you need to be close to your children, spend some time with your teenager. Try to improve the communication with them. Most of the time parents are busy traveling, socializing and they forget that they have teenagers that need (especially in this period of life) the most of attention possible. As many know, growing up sucks. We all have passed that period with a lot of discomfort or probably a little less for other ones, but come on let’s be honest: This period was painful! Wasn’t it?! So, let’s help our teenagers. Let’s be part of their lives and good role models. If we see that one of our daughters or sons have aggressive conduct toward others, then we have to do something, right? We need to have a serious talk, don’t you think that’s educating? That is educating, of course! If we don’t do something now, that kid as an adult is going to have a lot of conduct problems at work, in the marriage, in the community, in other words is going probably to end in jail for being a troublesome. And we as parents, we wouldn’t like to see a son or daughter in jail. That would be very painful.

We all want a safe place to live, a place where we are not attacked of our race, gender or beliefs, so let’s make this a better place by educating our children.

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Bullies absolutely THRIVE in the work place…by the time they are adults, bullies have perfected the art of sneaky, subversive bullying, using their position to hold the bullied back, blocking promotion, , turning coworkers against each them with rumors, lies, and innuendoes. Women are the pros at it.

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Children and teenagers bully because they are copying adults, and that is where they get it and the re-enforecement of the adult bragging in front of the children. It is not just what they do, but it is what they are taught by others. Society needs to take a strong stance against this, instead of taking the “good ‘ol boy” cod-scratching approach, which is the problem when they become of age. This is a sick part of the society, and the sports mentailty is one of the biggest area of this crime. People in charge, teachers, administrators, and parents, are more afraid of bad publicity than anything. Parents who condone this kind of activity in underage children should be arrested, and then the problem will ease. Cure the disease, and the symptoms will go away.

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I saw the Fox News update this morning on the pending charges of the bullying and I say, “FINALLY!”

I was bullied from 7th grade through 9th grade. I spent most of my time running home from school. In my freshmen year, I would strategically place myself in front of a classroom just outside of the bus loading zone. I am 47 years old and the pain of those years never goes away. And yes, it was usually over boys. And rarely did I have any interest in them…it was very one-sided but because the boy just happened to like me and not them…it was reason enough in their eyes. One particular girl lived across the street from me and she was the neighborhood bully. Although we were “friends” and played together at times when we were in fourth grade..if thngs did not go her way she would start throwing punches and pulling hair. Her parents always defended her actions. She was a mean and wicked hearted girl. She tormented me (because I was not allowed to fight) and my best friend across the street. I was delighted to hear that one day, my friend slapped her across the face. I know that we she never return evil for evil, but she had it coming to her and she got off mildly in comparison to what she did to us. This went on from fourth through sixth grade. In middle school she just worked on flirting with the boys I liked. Our freshmen year she finally moved away – and although it would be lonely in my neighborhood not having a same age friend…in my heart I rejoiced at her departure. My best friend and her family left when we were in eighth grade due to a job transfer.

When I became a mother, I promised myself that I would be a better defender of my children than what I received at home. My goal was to be home by the time she reached middle school. Well, God granted the desire of my heart because of the wonderful husband I was blessed with (my second marriage). Although I was able to be a SAHM (stay-at-home mom) we weren’t even into our first month of school and the bullying began. First by the seventh grader and then by the neighborhood kids. Although she did not want me to defend her, I did – I calmly spoke to the girl who was instigator and made a phone call to the school. In about October, it was evident that I needed to bring my children home ..and homeschool them…for scholastic reasons. Each had a different learning style. One child was way ahead of his grade and they wouldn’t move him up, the other was struggling to stay afloat in a class of thirty children.

Fast forward …my daughter is now a senior. She has done quite well with homeschool. In her sophomore year we elected to let her take some classes at a homeschool school. It is a CHRISTIAN school set up like college. You sign up only for the classed that you want and do the rest at home. All of the parents are committed CHRISTIANS and have reference checks done. Even so, by my daughter’s junior year, the bullying started. They did things to her, they talked about her, they shunned her…and did everything to make her feel uncomfortable. This year, her senior year, it has gotten worse. I tried to get her to go to the principal last year and earlier this year but she refused. This winter was the last straw, We had unkind prank calls, a tire slashed on the car she drives (it’s mine), gossip, and obscenities written over a senior profile done on her in the school newspaper. We told her that this was no longer okay…and we had reached the end and we were going to the principal.

Our meeting with the principal was great! She was sorry and aghast that this was happening to our daughter and told us that if she had come to us in December she would have expelled the ring leader. Now here is the unbelievable part. The bully is an eigth grader who has enough “leadership” skills to hornswaggle older girls including other seniors to bully my daughter. We don’t know if any cyberbullying was involved because our daughter has just gotten a facebook account. It was one of her eighteenth birthday. And although she is eighteen, the rule was that she had to be “friends” with us. If she unfriended us…she would be locked out from FB at home. (We have parental controls).

Measures are now being put in place in this school to protect kids from this bullying, which I am hoping and praying will include cyberbullying. It is now a law here in this state that all schools must put programs in place to educate all students and protect victims. We expect to see these changes implemented over the summer.

As for the bullies…this is the ring-leaders last year in this school. The biggest problem that our principal faces is that the parents REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT THEIR CHILDREN are capable of this type of behavior and defend them to the death. If they believe that it MAY be true…the insist that they must have been provoked. THAT IS THE PART THAT IS INFURIATING TO ME.

The eighth grader…has issues at home. The father believes that the daughter is behaving this way..but is at a loss of what to do next. He’s a single parent. The older daughter is a model student and citizen.

Here are my major points: If you think that homeschoolers don’t suffer this way; think again! Bullies come from all walks of life….including Christian homes. The issue is that these teens don’t know what it means to be a Christian and have not taken responsibility and ownership for their faith. A Christian is to be CHRIST-like. And although we are not perfect…it is incumbent upon us as their parents to monitor what our children are doing. The rule that we have established in our house is that if you “unfriend” us …you lose your FB account. Period. End of Story. All other social programs like “myspace” have been disabled.

My heart goes out to Phoebe’s family and all the other families who have lost thier children to this cyberbullying and bullying in general. I hope that Phoebe’s parents go after the school board…and hold them accountable. It appears it has been an on-going problem with little to nothing done.

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What horrible little monsters – Karma will come back to get them. That’s all I have to say.

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[...] of bullying in school and even in her Facebook account. When I read how Prince was bullied via FaPhoebe Prince Facebook – Phoebe Prince was a 15-year-old student from Ireland, and she was found hanged in her home after [...]

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South Hadley students + teachers + administrators = Zero courage.
Not one person at South Hadley High School has courage. Pity.

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Enter your comments here

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Mike- you are LOST if you think this wasn’t murder- Self-esteem is not something you can beat into a kid, teach or buy. If you don’t realize the impact that words can have on a human being and their ability to destroy, especially an adolescent psyche, you need some serious sensitivity education. Words can murder just like a gun…only slower and much more painfully. Educate yourself, PLEASE!

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[...] of bullying in school and even in her Facebook account. When I read how Prince was bullied via FaPhoebe Prince Facebook – Phoebe Prince was a 15-year-old student from Ireland, and she was found hanged in her home after [...]

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Another important lesson parents must teach is how not to be bullied. Lets not forget there is an entire spectrum from the biggest bully to the meekest victim. From hangers-on to enablers to supporters and those who fight back. Almost every suggestion here is passive agressive someone should make them stop, this is a nice way to scapegoat. It is hard to compell another to do something either right or wrong so people must control what they can and that would be in part educating the “victims” how to dissuade being bullied, Bullys by definition pick on the weak make yourself not so weak. I am not in anyway trying to blame the vicitm, just suggesting an alternative or symbiotic approach

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@Dan:That’s just plain bogus and implies that all personalities are the same. If that were true- all things wouild be equal , there would be no bullies, just a free-for-0 all. What you have to rrealize is that all children cannot be forced, taught, bullied into, shamed into, or made to be strong enough to stand up to a bigger, meaner, slyer, more forceful person. And since the old “survival of the fittest” is no longer applicable, we have no legitimate reason NOT to PROTECT kids from bullies!!!

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It’s highschool your going to get bullied.Those kids shouldn’t be sent to jail for her emoitonal instability. Also if the bullying was so serious why didn’t her parents who knew it was going on remove her from school, transfer her, or get the police involved? Lets see maybe because it wasn’t really as terrible as Mrs. Scheibel wants you to believe it was. She justs wants her 15 mins of fame and doesn’t care if she has to ruin the lives of nine young people to do it. If you asked everyone in america if they were ever called, a slut, had a terrible nickname, or had some mean girls scribble tuna tina on the bathroom walls and found tuna in thier mail box. They would say yes, well maybe the tunatina thing was just me , but the point is it’s highschool and part of it is getting bullied.

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Philosopher it is your perception that personalities are the same, not mine, and I didn’t say people shouldn’t protect kids from bullies at all I said in addition to teaching kids not to bully we need to teach them not to be bullied as well. Some kids won’t take to either teaching but taking both approaches is sure to result in more success than either one alone. and quite frankly your approach and most on here are entirely reliant on others to act eschewing self reliance. (which is typical of our current political and educational paths)
Anyone whos only response is for someone else to solve their problems is already a victim. This is where philosophy meets reality

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@tina: following your logic…because lots of men in our society rape women, it’s the woman’s fault when she’s raped if she is unable to fight him off?! RIGHT!

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i repress my anger because in over 35 years endentured to this triviality i remain offended by this legal system but pray be for this life the stand etudiede

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Quite frankly put they will not leave america again

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Ole Guy – you are a complete and total idiot.

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I think that the kids who knew about it should have reported and helped Phoebe out. Also the teachers should have listened and done something about it. It doesn’t matter if your a female or male.

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Josey, those 9 kids should have thought about the consequences to their actions not only during but after this girl killed herself. The fact that they continued to mock this poor girl AFTER she took her own life should show (even you) that they are uncaring, cold-hearted individuals. Clearly this was not just some kids teasing a girl – it was much more sinister than that and these kids WANTED to act cruel, and now they need to own up to it. I think you need to learn some compassion.

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Josey & Joel those 9 kids should have thought about the consequences to their actions not only during but after this girl killed herself. The fact that they continued to mock this poor girl AFTER she took her own life should show (even you) that they are uncaring, cold-hearted individuals. Clearly this was not just some kids teasing a girl – it was much more sinister than that and these kids WANTED to act cruel, and now they need to own up to it. I think you need to learn some compassion.
(I tried to post this a couple times and it didn’t show up so I apologize if for some reason there is multiple posts that look generally alike)

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I, too, was the victim of bullying.

When I was in elementary school, a group of boys decided to pick on me because I was a “Yankee.” I suppose I was since I was born in Athens, GA, but I had moved to a small city in Louisiana and I was an outsider.

My mother taught me never to fight, so I didn’t. I later found out it was a huge source of arguement between her and my father.

Finally, my mother relented and my father was allowed to teach me to fight back. I did. I was not picked on again at that school.

Why? Simple. Bullies are generally cowards and lazy. It is not much fun to pick on someone who fights back.

When I moved to back to Georgia several years later in eighth grade, I became a target again, but I knew what to do. I challenged the chief bully to a fight after school. He broke my nose. I broke his arm. I was never picked on again. Why? I was not easy meat. As my father taught: “It does not matter if you win or lose as long as the guy picking on you feels it in the morning.”

Yes, for boys, violence does solve problems from time to time.

That said, this is how boys deal with problems. Not girls. Quite honestly, girls (and grown women for that matter) can be cruel. I am not sure how a woman deals with that.

Students these days, however, are not allowed to fight back or to stand up to other students. We preach doing the right thing in character education, but we punish those who stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.

In the classroom, I do not tolerate bullying or general disrespect of other students at all.

@Anthony:
Point of fact: There are no “commandos” in the Marines. The only “commandos” in the US military are the Air Commando units in the Air Force. “Commando” is a British term. In the US military, special operations folks are referred to as “operators.” Please, on behalf of all of those who served, get your terminology correct.

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This burns my A__ that anyone could drive someone to do something like this. Not only do those responsible need to be severly punished, but the school officals who were aware of what was going on and did nothing should go to jail for a very long time. How the school is not being charged for failing to stop Phoebe Prince’s harassment and resulting in her death is a crime. That’s part of what is wrong with this country! All of these people need to be held responsible and send a message to everyone so that this will not ever happen again. God rest her soul. I hope those spineless people who drove her to kill herself pay dearly. They are cowards!

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Perhaps these teens need to spend the rest of their natural life in prison where bullying is the norm. See how they like it. Or, at the very least their parents need to be charged as well, for raising unruly kids.

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@Josey – please leave your “enlightening” words of wisdom and thought provoking analysis about the mental state of the DA for your myspace audience where it will perhaps be, frighteningly enough, more appreciated.

@Joel – and you’re a friggin idiot if you think all these “kids” did was bully this girl. They ganged up on her, they stalked her, they harassed her, they raped her and they blatantly terrorized her both online and in front of school officials. They planned their attack, struck where it would do the most damage and even celebrated when it was over. They are no different than the terrorists who bombed our country on 9/11.

These “kids” ruined Phoebe’s life and in doing so their own lives. Now they have to pay the consequences. I hope Massachusettes reinstates the death penalty and makes examples out of all of them.

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Taxpayers should not shoulder their lifetime imprisonment expenses for a long time, if ever they will be convicted. They need to be “outsource” for only 3-days or less to an Asian prison camp where their butt will be whacked for good so they will understand what “bullying” is all about.

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When did we reach the point where multiple sexual assaults are deemed “bullying”?

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I am curious what her parents did or didn’t do while this was occuring.
what did they know, and when did they know it.

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You all have posted so many opinions about these kids being prosecuted, but the real crime here is rooted in this question, “Where was your father Phoebe?” If something happened to my daughter a first time, i go to the school. If something happens a second time, i go to the bullies parents. If something happens a third time. I stop it myself by ANY MEANS NECESSARY.
I read EVERY comment on this post and Not one of u asked the question. Where is her father? SAD sad story, of course, but no Man stepped in, and that is what was needed most of all. Boys fight in playgrounds, i hope that never ends. My friends fought with me too. Some of em still do.
Prosecution? I think not. They are all suffering now and will for life. That’s punishment enough.

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[...] [...]

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I first read about Phoebe’s suicide last month. The problem arose when a boy one of the bullies was interested in took an interest in Phoebe. The article indicated that little was done to her abusers because the school is in an upscale community where the parents have quite a bit of influence in the school and community. It was later reported on the same web site, True Crime Report, that a few of the students were expelled. IMHO, this is a good move on the part of the prosecutor. That it had to get to the point where Phoebe killed herself is the most painful aspect of this situation for me.

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Where were the parents of this girl during all of this? Also, it seems to me that she decided to have sex with one of the other girls’ ex-bf’s…. and then with another guy… she really should have been more closed-legs IMHO…. however, that is definitely not a reason to harass and bully her… though that stuff happens anytime you have social relationship conflicts between little boys and girls.. hell, it happens with adults and usually ends up with someone dead… not by hanging though…..

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[...] Leave a comment Go to comments. Phoebe Prince, South Hadley High School's 'new girl,' driven to suicPhoebe Prince Facebook Comments – Atheist and Catholic School Bullies and Stalkers Rejoice In Murdering Teens. March 30, 2010 [...]

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I realize bullying has been around forever. Bullies have very few brain cells and it is empowering to these types to pick on those who are, in their minds, vulnerable and/or different. One bully is bad enough, now we have group bullying, or tag team bullying.
I was the girl in school who defended the kids that the bullies tormented. Why, because I was taught, from a very young age, to be a critical, independent thinker and to respect everyone, until I had a good reason not to. Obviously, the bullies weren’t given the appropriate tools to respect themselves, or maybe they weren’t given the genetics to communicate effectively, so they externalize, hurting others. That’s just wrong!!! I LOATHE BULLIES AND IGNORANCE!!! They’re not mutually exclusive. Worst emotion I’m having when reading about this is, the way I want to smash the skulls in of these 9 kids who did this…can’t believe they’re able to evoke such rage in me. I truly hope the legal system works and that these kids, not only pay for their actions/behavior, but that they are able to be cured. There is no room on earth for this kind of behavior from human to human.
My sincere thoughts to the families involved in this, especially to Phoebe’s family…so sorry for their loss.

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Most of you are forgetting- in many other articles there is more information given about the victim and her family, and the overall situation.
1) they recently moved from Ireland- hmm, you think Phoebe P. had tons of friends to support her?
2) [dr. golden] her mother complained to the school twice about her daughters distress–> meaning the school failed to respond- a little to late are we?
3) These 9 kids couldnt care less about Phoebe’s death- on the note of this discovery they showed no signs of remorse.

You can point your fingers to the parents— but lets think about this for a second, more specifically lets take a look at the average citizen in America.

Yes, parents tend to neglect their childs need, many of them do grow up raised by media— but is this intentional? Do they do it “INTENTIONALLY”?-
Consider: The average American parent(s) IS BUSTING THEIR *** WORKING HARD TO KEEP THEIR JOBS, WORKING HARD BY WORKING OVERTIME, SACRIFICING THEIR TIME WITH FAMILY IN ORDER TO KEEP THEIR HOMES and FAMILIES FUNCTIONAL. Reality is they don’t get too much time with their children- they depend on schools to help mold them. After all, a school is a second home for several kids.

She [ the mother ] made a few attempts with the school— my concern lies with school staff— what the f were they doing when the student body was posting and sending pictures of her throughtout the school, facebook, and myspace ? they admitted they knew—then why did they not kick it.

You all are getting carried away on the subject at hand by analyizing parenting methods ( the deed is done, a death was a result—whats the next step America. Should we wait for a few more kids to hang themselves or blow of their heads and continue to be ignorant fools?

I agree with PHILOSOPHER: he exerted that regardless of parenting and bully prevention programs some kids are simply just sensitive to the bullying—they can’t “handle” it or “let go” as easily as others can— and it is absolutely understandable that they should not have to- if anything the school needs to work on their communication with student body- teacher-student relations so kids have a authority figure; to let their voice be heard- and that it is not so hard for them to do so.

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her social life should not be an issue.
although my concern does lie with the fact that one of the teenagers was charged with sat rape–meaning this is not the heinous form of “rape” as many of u may understand it to be; im pretty sure that Phoebo did consent to engaging in sex with this 18 year old boy senior boy— my opinion for his charge means he must of sent around dirty pics of her, or abused her image with their sexual acts one way or another and that is why he got charged—in which I agree with charges.

it doesnt matter if one choose to engage in sexual activity at a young age– this is something new- the fact is that she didnt deserve to be abused in the manner she was. Suicide should not be an option for children- they should be given the opportunity –> help-.

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Mom, you will find no arguements from me; I agree wholeheartedly with every word you write, and with every thought, I presume, is behind those words. I do often express myself, both in writing and by speech, in what may gently be viewed as devoid of pc strictures. If this annoys you, I sincerely appologize. However, the only way you will save your eyes from having to cast upon my words will be to either ignore Ole Guy comments or don’t participate in this blog series…have a great day, Mom!

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Guys, if the bullying was SO bad shouldn’t the parents have done something about it by now? Shouldn’t they have pulled her out of school or something? Also, let’s clear something up; one of these boys had a prior conviction of STUATORY RAPE. None of these boy held any body down and raped them they simply had sex with an under aged girl a few months ago. I think we need to blame this on bad parenting for not taking care of the problem before their child did!

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This is to those of you who believe that Phoebe is at fault, and should have done something to defend herself:

Do you honestly believe, that one girl against many could protect herself against the harassment of her classmates? No. You’re very ignorant for believing that it would be that simple. I was bullied in high school. Constantly. I’m still bullied and I’m in college. What did I do wrong? I was smart, quiet, and would rather spend my time reading and studying instead of partying. Let me tell you something, I tried to defend myself. But there is only so much one can do in the face of a death threat. It probably wasn’t simple for Phoebe either. People ganged up on her. It wasn’t just one person she could punch and that be the end of it. What is punching someone going to solve anyway? It’s definitely not going to prove that you’re the bigger person. It’s just immature. Even if she had tried to fight, she would have probably gotten her butt kicked by the GROUP of bullies. And then gotten in trouble for starting a fight in the first place. I’m certain that she probably attempted to defend herself in some way. And obviously her mother did by going to the school administration who did nothing. From there, there is not much more you can do. I feel so horribly for this poor girl and her family. I know what it’s like to feel that there is no way out. Kids in high school can be extremely cruel…more so than any other place I’ve encountered. For people to pick on her and abuse her in such a manner is just plain inexcusable. And the people commenting on how she’s to blame, you make me sick. These kids deserve to be punished. They deserve to have to do time for the crimes they have committed. This isn’t something to take lightly. A girl lost her life. She was important to someone, and loved. I never met this girl, and she still means something to me. I was never able to understand how people could do so much to intentionally hurt someone. When words are used maliciously, and posted online or sent through mass text, they can be extremely painful. A young girl who is in the process of trying to figure out who she is, does not deserve that kind of harsh treatment. No one does. Every single person on this Earth deserves to be treated fairly and with some sort of respect. As soon as that boundary is crossed, you’re wrong. Of course it’s irrational to think that you’re going to like everyone and get along with them. But that in no way acts as an excuse to abuse someone simply for your own satisfaction. Put yourself in Phoebe’s shoes. What would you have done? How would you have reacted? Maybe not in the same way, but I think it’s safe to assume that most people would feel pretty horribly about themselves after being treated in such a manner.

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School are supposed to be orderly, and that order is to be kept by adults. When the adults stop doing anything they are putting the inmates in charge of the asylum.

Is it any wonder that these “bullying” cases are followed by testimony from parents, teachers, and other authorities who say “well I told so-and-so” or “what am I supposed to do about it?”

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Why didn’t the school have an anti-bullying program in place before she got there? This is not brain surgery, these programs have existed for years. With such a program, teachers are encouraged to report children — for the safety of *both* the children who are bullied, and those who do the bullying.

Those who bully are indeed ruining their own lives, though, sadly, to them, they may be gaining thrills in the moment. Both the bullies and the bulliers need to be protected from this cycle.

Even if your local schools haven’t had a tragedy like this, it’s time to find out if they have an anti-bullying program in place or not. In a good school system, children begin to learn that this behavior is not acceptable *in kindergarten*, with age-appropriate curriculum every year.

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[...] [...]

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A generation of kids now raised by people other than their parents (day care, school, after school day care) are now well equiped to keep their bullying and bad behavior under the radar of what school officials can do legally to address the issues of non-civil behavior. The kids who don’t learn the rules in the new “lord of the flys” world are the victims.

My oldest got brought up on terrorism charges by a group of students in Jr High who thought it would be funny to tell stories and get 36 classmates expelled. It worked even though the allegations were false and most of the accused students (unpopular and nerdy kids who were made to look like potential columbine murderers by the spineless administration) had to defend themselves in court or plea no contest to a misdemeanor to avoid a lengthy trial.

At least years later after high school some of the bullies had grown up and apologized to my son when they realized he was one of their victims.

The bullies are sophisticated and organized. They don’t play fair.

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What a shame… she was such a pretty girl. I can’t imagine how her bullies must feel.

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My mother has this saying “It’s the choices we make”, which makes me think before acting. So, the choices these kids made will affect everyone. Our children need to know they can’t do whatever they want when they want. More parents need to acknowledge when their children do wrong rather than justify what they’ve done. There’s always excuses and everything is an accident, yeah, whatever. We need to pay more attention to our kids so we know what’s going on. If i go to the school with continuous problems concerning my children and they do nothing, I would be the school’s, the bullies and their parents problem. If I don’t protect my children, who will? Not the judicial system. I’m a firm believer in you get what you give, so I guess I’ll get what i give. Is it worth it? Hell yes, especially when it comes to my children. Get it together people. These children will be taking care of us in 30 yrs and running our country. We think we’re in trouble now, just wait.

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The death of Phoebe Cates isn’t new and things like this ends up with either the victim kills himself/herself or sends a band of mercenaries to turn there school into “Hiroshima, 1945″. People still haven’t learn there lesson, but at a local Jr. High School on June 4, 1971 an event happened. A Senior Student party was transformed into a “Pearl Harbor” like attack when three groups took on 1,500 Senior Students and teacher alike and and left 1/3 dead & almost destoryed the school. Where was the police? They were sent to aid people affected by poisonous toxic gas on the opposite of town when a train derailed with poison nerve gas & The fire department was handling a 4 alarm fire on another side of town. The reason for this: The so-called victim was an admitted, 15 year old male virgin & that in that middle school was worse than being Charles Starkweather or the men who bombed a black church in Birmingham in September, 1963. It seemed nobody learned there lessons at “Denton” or “Columbine” or Virginia Tech. Also nobody didn’t give a damn when a student named Ralph Weiner jumped into the Moody River back in 1971 either. History repeats itself. Marcus Brainard

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@ Hoop: You said it best, I believe-Schools are supposed to be orderly, and that order is to be kept by adults. When the adults stop doing anything they are putting the inmates in charge of the asylum.
There IS no way to stand up against the terrorism that PHoebe faced each day-she was out-numbered, out- manuevered, and had absolutely NO ammunition against these vicious brats. So the whole argument about teaching kids to defend themselves against bullying has absolutely NO place in this discussion. These kids are evil, wicked animals and the teachers and administrators who were aware and did nothing are absolutely complicit in the crime.

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Feel sorry for the kids that tortured this girl…not one single bit. “Ruin their lives” by prosecuting them and putting them in jail, ah, it was they that ruined their lives. Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time. The laws are in place, and if they were violated, well, that is it. Seriously, I thank this DA for taking this gang, and that is what they are, a gang, out of society. Just toss them into the slammer and throw away the key, and anyone that defends them, toss you in too.

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While I believe that action should most definitely be taken to ensure that these bullies realize the wrongs of their actions, and while they should surely be given community service and perhaps a long stay in alternative school, I do not believe that they should be expelled. For several reason. The first being, they are children. Cruel, irresponsible, careless jerks, maybe, but children. There is no evidence that Miss Prince didn’t fight back, or even instigate an argument, after all. Even Prince may have been cruel at times to someone or another. Why? Because they are children. All children, just as all adults, have bits of cruelty in them. It is human. It should be punished and dragged out, if possible. But ruining their futures, because Prince decided to take her own, is not the right thing to do.
The second reason I have to disagree with any hard action against the students is proof that there was no other reason. There is no proof. If they are going to take action against the students, then they must look into any and all aspects that may have given Prince any discomfort, and destroy those too. Did her parents yell at her recently? Did her sister call her any names, or hit her? Siblings fight, does that count?
And as for prosecuting the district and teachers, her parents really should be punished if they are going to even try and go there. It isn’t like the parents took any action to secure their childs wellbeing. They didnt pull her out of school when it got too bad. They didnt insist that action be taken. They didnt do anything for their daughter, and now, in the wake of her death, they suddenly step up to defend her? That is questionable to me.
As for Phoebe herself, while I pity her and wish, as I’m sure everyone does, that I could have been there to give a word of comfort and try to stop her, I believe she successfully killed herself all on her own, without any help from bullies. She could have done more to prevent the attacks. She could have not gotten on facebook. I’m a sixteen year old girl, with a cell phone, and plenty of friends, and when someone attacks me on facebook or myspace, I block them. Simple as that. If someone harrasses me at school, I make sure it doesnt happen again-by whatever means neccessary. She had options. She put no effort into exploring those options, and so she killed herself in every way shape and form. Noone but Phoebe is to blame for her death, that is what suicide is, it is taking the blame for someone elses mistakes. It is murder. If she had lived and fought, then maybe she would have a case to get these girls expelled. Hell, if she had even fought AND THEN killed herself, that would be something. She didn’t even try to stop them, and so they had no way to change, to become aware of their evils, before she died. Until they are given a second chance, I will not be able to completely pity Phoebe Prince with all my heart.
She’s left a mess in her wake, and that is fair to noone. Especially not the families of the TEENAGE girls, of these KIDS, she’s left behind.

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Cindy. If you ever, EVER, made fun of anyone, even once, in your life, I hope you go and turn yourself in. I don’t have to know you to know what a hypocrite you are for your statement.
I will defend those students.
To a certain extent, of course. They are horrible little rats, albeit, but they are horrible teenage rats, and should not be given the blame in a situation where not even Phoebe’s parents cared/knew what was happening. No one did a single thing to defuse the situation, not even Phoebe herself! She alone is responsible for her death, no one else. I wish I couldn’t say that, but it is what I believe. She could have reached out, she could have asked for help. With no one, not even their victim, to show them any discipline, how could those students have seen the error in their ways? Common decency? Yea, they should have had common decency, I agree. But expulsion, or jail time, is too hard of a punishment for children who were not given fair warning.
If they are going to throw those kids in jail, then they can throw me, every other child in the world, and every other ADULT in the world, in with them. We have all committed some type of bullying. The difference between us and them? We either had more time to overcome our cruelty and grow out of it, or we were punished accordingly and came to the realization of our wrongs. These kids were not given those opportunities and therefore we have no right to condemn them. It could just as easily have been any other bullied child in the world, even one that you bullied yourself, Cindy. It was not the bullies, but Phoebe, who committed the ultimate crime.
Who knows when something you say is going to make some mentally instable person go off the deep end? Yea, you should give everyone the benefit of the doubt that they are psycho and sensitive, and just be a universally nice person (wouldn’t that be a great world?). I agree that those kids are assholes for tormenting her, and it seems, from the information given, that it was totally random and unnecessary. But they didn’t necessarily know that she was so depressed, she obviously didn’t let on to anyone, not even her own family.
So, Cindy, if you think no one deserves a second chance -ever- then just go to the cops and turn yourself in for a lifetime imprisonment. You’ve probably done a thousand things worthy, or at least deemed worthy by your relentless, selfish morals. You must hate the world, for we’ve all bullied someone. And you must hate yourself, because I’m sure you have too.
Phoebe has my pity and my prayers, but she died without even a fight. How can you respect someone who put themselves down so easily? It’s not even as if she was literally fighting for her life, as many do, in dark alleys or dim lit parking lots. There are kids with fatal illnesses, fighting day after day, with not school children, but death himself as their tormentor, and they wouldn’t dream of taking their lives when they’ve spent years fighting to keep them! Those kids would have heart attacks hearing about Phoebe Prince’s selfish demise! She left the earth without even giving the alternatives a shot. She has no respect coming from me. Only prayers that her soul reach whatever bliss comes after this life, if any.
By the way, you can go ahead and mentally toss me into the slammer if you like. I would go to jail for what I believe in. I would defend and adhere to my morals no matter what! A person like you, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to have much honor. If you did possess any self-respect, you wouldn’t have been able to type that comment. You would be in jail, serving time. If you’re going to have such strict beliefs, then at least honor them yourself before preaching to anyone else.

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You can’t be serious, Josey! Those nine kids are pond scum and they need to be severely punished. It wasn’t just small-time bullying, they were relentless and NEVER let up. They need to be severely punished and made an example of. The fact they didn’t show remorse, and in fact, were brazen and arrogant of the suicide, show, they need to pay for what they did. Once they get what’s coming to them, they will be ashamed of what they did and regret it because what those scumbags did was heinous!

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Excuse me, these individuals were not indicted for “bullying”. They were indicted for Statutory Rape, Criminal Harassment, Assult by Means of a Dangerous Weapon, Violation of Civil Rights, Stalking, and Disturbance of a School Assembly. Furthermore, to what I understand it was a Grand Jury that chose to indict them. So, as I have never committed any of these crimes, I will not “turn myself in”. Now, for the sect of our society who seems to believe that it is okay to do these things and, in their ignorance, lables these acts “bullying”, that is not what they are. Its really simple, if you don’t want to end up indicted and maybe doing time, behave in a civilized manner and do not do engage in this behavior. However, if you want to enjoy the sadistic pleasure of engaging in these activities (as these individuals are now indicted of doing, for a sustained and continuous period of three months, no less) then also be prepared to reap the consequences of your illegal acts. I see no reason why these people should be treated any differently than any one else in our country would had they committed these crimes. That school was a place where parents sent their children to learn and, hopefully, make friends and enjoy their youth. I fully believe that it is reasonable to expect that when you entrust your children in the care of a school, they will be safe and will not have their civil rights violated, be stalked, be criminally harassed, be assulted by means of a dangerous weapon, be statutorily raped, etc. I also cannot see how anyone could possibly be expected to learn in such an environment. That school doesn’t seem to have a “bully” problem, it has a GANG problem, but no one wants to call it that because its located in Western Massachuessets. I think that the day those individuals were indicted for their crimes was a day that marked the beginning of the end of the “bully’s” reign, and now we hear the cries of fellow bullies as the they circle the drain.

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Dear “In my opinion”:

These individuals were not indicted for “bullying” as you term it. They were indicted for, inter alia, Statutory Rape, Civil Rights Violation Resulting in Bodily Injury, Criminal Harassment, Stalking, Assult With a Dangerous Instrument/Object. Furthermore, to what I understand it was a Grand Jury that chose to indict them. There is a lot of commentary on the internet that even after the girl died, the dead was mocked and the word “accomplished” was written on the deceased facebook page. As I have not engaged in these activities, I will not “turn myself it”. Regarding giving these individuals a second chance, if they are so convicted they can have one, after they pay their debts to society, and to the deceased, for what they are charged with.

Blame the victim. No. Reports on the internet have revealed that the victim did report the abuse to her mother who went not once but twice to that school to implore their help. It does not appear that her pleas were answered. Regarding Ms. Prince perhaps having mental instability, well, that would make sense, after being tormented and humiliated for three months straight by a gang while staff members of that school looked on. Maybe they thought it was funny too, who knows?

Its really simple: if you want to enjoy the sadistic pleasure of Civil Rights Violation Resulting in Bodily Injury, Criminal Harassment, Stalking, Assult with a Dangerous Object/Instrument, then also be prepared to reap the punishment of engaging in these illegal activities.

I believe when a parent entrusts their most valued “possession” in the world, their child, in the care of a school, it is reasonable for that parent to expect that their child will not be subjected to the crimes listed above. I also believe that a school is a place where one should expect to be allowed to LEARN without continual harassment and torment. South Hadley does not seem to have a “bully” problem, rather, it has a gang problem, but no one wants to call it that because of its being located in Western Massachussetts. Honestly, I think Ms. Prince would have been safer taking a stroll through the projects than going to that school.

These individuals should be treated no differently than anyone else charged with these sorts of crimes. They should make their retribution to Ms. Prince and society. The day those individuals were indicted marked the beginning of the end of the bully reign, and now we hear the protests of fellow bullies as the circle the drain.

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Want to punish these kids? Pack them up and send them each to a new town in a new country, say Ireland, France, England, etc. Make sure it is just before school starts so they don’t have time to develop friends. Then during their first week in school spread a vicious rumor about them (in this case the truth) and just let nature take its course. I give them 6 weeks before they are crying themselves to sleep at night and cursing the world for letting it happen.

If they are lucky, someone MIGHT step in to help them (but I really doubt it).

Let us pray that humans are the only species in the universe that can be this cold and this disconnected from others.

Oh, and their parents ought to be given the keys to the homes of each of the kids that did this. If they didn’t know what was going on then they need to be in jail too for felony lack-of-involvment.

And as for the school and the teachers and staff? Plow it into the ground and fire them all. NONE of them truly give a rats ass. I know. I was once one of these kids. However, I was a boy and that one kid sort of talks normaly now. Well, you can understand him anyway. This girl never had a chance.

RIP Phoebe Prince – I cry for you.

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Everyone knows about the damage caused by bullying. The bully knows it when they bully the target. The target definitely understands and feels the damage. People who witness bullying also know the damage done to the bully. And yet bullies continue to dominate. Boundary education needs to be taught to children from preschool. The United States Constitution needs to be honored because it is based on equality. Bullies cause health problems and death to the targets. The targets may experience a slow death with the increased possibility of heart disease and other problems in which stress breaks down the immune system. Also, they may end up in accidents.

Targets may have their problems multiply when they report it to authorities. If bullies have a certain amount of power when they bully, they also have a greater amount of power when they put on a show defending themselves and blaming the target.

Purdue University has excellent research on silent treatment which causes the anterior cortex part of the brain to register silent treatment as physiological pain. What the target feels is the equivilent of being beat up. There is no doubt that Phoebe felt the silent treatment from the school officials as well as her class mates. Google silent treatment/anterior cortex to find a data base of research on this.

Rules for Radicals is one of the most important books in American History because it outlines tactics which are often used by bullies. I do not recommend buying the book because Rules for Radicals tactics are easily found on the web. The tactics seem to be inherent knowledge of bullies. The tactics may be used in domestic violence or to over throw a nation. Knowledge of the tactics are important because America needs to be aware of counteracting the tactics in order to protect America and our constitution. American values need to be protected and re instated. The tactics of bullies need to be counteracted.

Bullies exist like a cancer in America. I deeply regret the cruelty done to Phoebe. I hope she lives on to be a warrior princess to help get America straight on the sick cruelty in America. May she rest in peace. My heart will always cry for her.

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[...] earlier blogs here on bullying, many of you have applauded the Massachusetts prosecutor’s filing of felony charges against [...]

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First I would like to say that may Phoebe Prince rest in peace and may god be with her family at this time. Then I’d like to say to all of you that think this is no big deal and this is not serious:

This is a big deal, this girl is dead now. Wake up! look at how kids act now, things are not like how they use to be back then. With all the technology and cell phones it actually makes bulling worse than back then. For anyone that says you have to ignore it you are just CRAZY! First of all the girl had just moved here, that alone is hard itself (especially moving to a totally different country), second of all this had been going on for months before she killed herself, and third of all her mother told the school.

Those kids that stood by not saying anything and those teachers that were aware should take this as a lesson learned and next time say something. Anyone that sees this going on somewhere should stand up and say something and then actions need to be taken.

I work in a hospital and I see all types of people each day. And there are people that have mental problems and have other issues and alot of it has to deal with things that happened in their past. These kids that made this girls life a living hell really messed with her mental state.
So of course shes not going to be thinking how all of you people think, she was probably depressed and was at her breaking point. So don’t try to sit there and say just ignore it, she couldn’t have ignored it with the messed up girls that were sitting there texting and writing her on facebook. how do you ignore something from school when you have to hear about it while you are at home too.

I really hope these kids go to jail, and hope they learn their lesson. This was way out of hand, and someone should of stepped in and took action. Maybe once those kids have spent time in jail they will then have second thoughts on what they do in the future and how they treat people.

Some of you have no heart what so ever, you say its just another kid killing themself, its a persons life! whats wrong with you. Maybe you feel its not a big deal because you didn’t know her, but what if that happened to one of your kids, or someone you really loved? I’m sure you would then be saying something totally different. Have some respect for this girl, and respect for yourself, stop making yourself look like a heartless person and not write anything on here if you don’t have anything respectful to say.

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Had the victim been a young teenage male (who commit suicide at five times the rate of teenage girls) instead of being a female would this case have even made national news? I don’t think so! What this case highlights most of all is how our society can’t abide anything bad happening or being done to a female while caring not one wit about males…

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What a terrible shame for Phoebe and her family. To have your entire life uprooted, to move not to another town, or city, but a new country, away from everything familiar. That would be tough on me and I’m a grown up. The teens that tormented Phoebe until she took her own life, it is tragic, it is what these teens wanted, what they told her to do. To live in fear every day, I cannot imagine the torment she went through, or that her family is suffering now. Where were the bullies parents? They really fell down, because they knew.

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Well you know hearing stuff about this is truly heart breaking. I’m only fourteen years old and I can tell what kind of pain this poor girl was experiencing. I have ancestors from Ireland and I visit there often. Hearing the words “Irish Slut” (One name Phoebe had been called based on her nationality. I found that out in a Fox article) hurt me on the inside because there are so many nice,pleasant and outgoing Irish people in Ireland and now the United States. You could tell by just looking Phoebe and hearing what her parents had to say about her in other articles you could tell she’d live up to be somebody. There are so many people to blame…. Those teenagers,teachers,principals etc.. But you know when I was younger I was faced with bullying and went to the guidance department but no action was taken. TRAGIC
Its like a stab in the heart hearing a story like this. As I,and many others go through our stage as a teenager you have a feeling you might have been able to do something to prevent the outcome. Though I don’t live anywhere near Massachusetts and I didn’t know Phoebe at all I still feel I could have done something…..
At the age of 15 you are looking to find your inner self. Guys like me don’t really care when something is said about you but hearing negative comments can destroy a girl. Phoebe experieced this everyday and it killed her.
Its hard to admit this because I’m a guy but the first time I saw articles and pictures of Phoebe I cried. Phoebe may you rest in peace. I love you.

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