Soapbox re: Online Bullying

I was frequently bullied in junior high school by a neighbor who decided she simply didn't like me. She'd run after me after we got of the bus, get in my face, slap me and yell at me. As an adult, I can see that she really had self-esteem problems and was jealous of me. That doesn't excuse her actions, though, and to this day I am glad that whenever she crossed the line from annoying yelling to actual, physical contact, my mother promptly called the police and filed a police report.

Yes, I begged my mom not to call the police because I knew it would lead to more teasing. And yes, I did endure even more taunting on the bus because my mom called the police, but this girl never dared lay a hand on me after that (nor did anyone else for that matter). Two truisms always seem to hold true in this situation: "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" and "nobody can make you feel bad without your permission."

While kids today have it much easier than we did in may ways because of the Internet, they also have the potential to endure brutal, public humiliation on a worldwide scale. This can be devastating to a young person, as evidenced by the recent string of online bullying related suicides.

I support this boy's mother's decision to sue the kids responsible for the Facebook web page. I also hope that Facebook promptly removed this page from their website, servers, and search engine indexes upon learning of it. In my opinion, social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook should have zero tolerance toward the unauthorized use of the names, photographs, likenesses, and personal information of minors, and should immediately remove such content upon receipt of notification of such content (no questions asked). They should also remove the accounts of anyone who repeatedly posts and misuses such information on their websites.

Congress should also reconsider the Communications Decency Act, which has effectively given website owners a free pass to allow this kind of nonsense and harmful Internet use to occur. At a minimum, this law should be amended or provisions should be added requiring the removal of photographs, private and personal information, and other materials related to private individuals (as opposed to public figures) that are used to harrass, threaten, or tarnish the reputation of that individual.

Finally, I urge any parent whose child is physically assaulted during or as a result of bullying to immediately file a police report against the offending party. Urging the school to file one is simply not enough. Don't take "no" for an answer here - call the police yourself and demand that a report be filed and keep calling until they do. Your child needs you to be strong and show your support through this difficult time.