By Antonio D. French
Filed Monday, December 03, 2007 at 11:15 PM
While the parents, media and lawmakers look for someone to punish for the suicide of Megan Meier, others wonder how Internet postings could possibly drive someone to suicide. Labels: Commentary, Crime, Dumb_Laws, Media_Watch
"What if the boyfriend was real?" asked a friend of mine. "What if he dumped her, called her a [vulgar name] and she ran home and killed herself? Would they try to prosecute him?"
Good question. While the link to the popular social networking website MySpace has made this St. Charles tragedy a worldwide story, the media's thirst for sensationalism mixed with politicians' opportunism has really left common sense and any idea of personal responsibility at the roadside.
Shouldn't a 13-year-old be able to handle "meanness" better than this? Or is this newly-coined "cyber-bullying" really a new, more menacing threat to young people, as an editorial in the Post-Dispatch claimed today:"The pervasiveness of technology, including cell phones, e-mail and instant messaging, coupled with the anonymity it bestows, makes electronic harassment less escapable and more effective. Bullies no longer lurk only in school hallways and playgrounds; now, they slip right into a child's bedroom, wreaking havoc even when school is out."
Really? Are emails really more scary than three bigger kids beating the hell out of you everyday at lunch? Because sticks and stones can indeed break your bones. Words — well, they can be hurtful too, but at 13 years-old aren't kids at least responsible enough for their own actions as to rule out the words of a faceless boy or girl as the reason for them killing themselves?
Ironically, at the same time newspapers, TV news, and the girl's parents are arguing that 13-year-old Megan was not responsible for her own actions, a St. Louis County judge sentenced young Sherman Burnett Jr. to 60 years in prison for a crime he committed when he was — you guessed it — 13 years-old.
So which is it, Missouri? Are 13 year-olds responsible for themselves or not?
Because if they are, young Sherman should go to jail for a very long time for kidnapping, beating and sexually assaulting his 6 year-old neighbor. And young Megan was old enough to know what the hell she was doing when she decided to take her own life. No words from someone she never met caused her suicide.
Or is someone else really responsible for causing Megan to hang herself in her room, because as a child, Megan was manipulated and harassed to the point of her own suicide and, like young Sherman, had no concept yet how precious life — theirs or others — actually is.
So which one is it, Missouri? What are 13 year-old kids responsible for — your kids and mine?
12 Comments:
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12/04/2007 12:55 AM
This insightful post is why I am paying 7 dollars a month for PubDef when technically due to my wages I am below the poverty line.
And to answer the question I find it hard to hold youth accountable for their actions when they are heavily influenced by their peers, social institutions and more importantly lack thereof, and the media. The 13 year old who committed rape should not have gone to jail as his action signifies a systemic problem that exists within forgotten urban areas. Spanish Lake, the community which he resided, is long off the agenda of our politicians and is left to fend for itself. Of course we can expect this action when the community has a history of divestment and the poor are forced to live there, and other similar areas both urban and suburban, due to failed housing policy especially exclusionary zoning. What can we expect when the poor urban youth of America are left without any role model in the home or any positive support from the government?
What can we expect when public aid is cut in the form of AFDC meanwhile job requirements are placed, through TANF, yet child and health care for single mothers, and most importantly the guarantee of work, isn't supplied? In effect our welfare policy consists of unrealistic expectations while the means to reach those goals are not supplied. Government does not supply health or child care meanwhile most jobs that welfare recipients qualify for are slave wage service sector jobs with no benefits. In effect government policy places an an undue burden upon the mother.
The appropriate result of this abhorrent act should be an assessment of all levels of government and how they address inequality. Yet if human beings, and most importantly US CITIZENS, dying on the streets of New Orleans doesn't compel a widespread review of public policy in America, then you know a 13 year old black teenager will be written off as being solely responsible for his own actions! Such a tragedy that in 2007 this totally irrational dogma still pervades discourse within our society!
They created the problems which exist, act as if they are not responsible, and judge those who fall short of their unrealistic expectations. The United States at all levels of government is callous, hypocritical, and cares little for those living in urban environments. We can thank Ronald Reagan for these fascist and inhumane policies. Sleep well!
12/04/2007 12:58 AM
doug duckworth, balderdash! The world is full of poverty-stricken, impoverished people and children. They are not committing acts of violence against others. They might steel food because they are hungry, but they don't rape and beat a girl who is barely more than a toddler. The act of the boy was vicious and heinous. He appears permeated by an evil bent. Go to the city schools. You will find many boys from the same societal issues and challenges, but they are not venting their anger against an innocent child. There is an age of accountability. In past history and in some cultures today, the parents themselves would execute the child themselves.
Yes, Megan Meier is responsible for her own suicide. Just because the press and the media are having a hayday doesn't mean the rest of society agrees. Nevertheless, the comments by adults or others initiated a deluge of ugly comments from others, and supposedly at least one of those adults knew she was already psychologically frail. Still, she is responsible for taking her own life.
These two cases are apples and oranges and do not relate well to each other.
12/04/2007 6:09 AM
These cases are similar. In both you have 13 yr old children committing brutal acts. If the girl would have lived would she deserve 30 yrs for her acts? Both acts would have and did cause harm. Both children would require intensive treatment if they had any chance at re-entering society as functional.
Great Topic.
12/04/2007 6:25 AM
Since when is anyone who attempts to commit suicide sentenced to prison?
Suicide is considered by some as sin, but is it listed anywhere as a crime?
What one does to oneself is seldom defined as brutal; what one does to another can be both brutal and heinous.
Hitler committed suicide, and no one accused him of being brutal because of that; what he did to over six million other people was deemed brutal.
12/04/2007 6:52 AM
Suicide is generally considered a crime, especially since many people use suicide to try to avoid the consequences of committing another criminal act.
more info
12/04/2007 10:43 AM
"In the United States, suicide has never been punished as a crime nor penalized by property forfeiture or ignominious burial.[citation needed] Historically, various states listed the act as a felony, but all were reluctant to enforce it." (The source given)
Legalalities may have become involved, but who has ever been sentenced to prison for attempting suicide. A previous writer said the girl would have deserved 30 years. It has never happened nor will it ever happen in this country. Someone might have been deemed insane and institutionalized, but not jail or prison.
Most cases of suicide in this society are acts of hopelessness, desperation, or deep depression. Very few are committed so another act of violence on someone else might take place.
The two cases remain "apples and oranges."
12/04/2007 12:16 PM
I believe the 13 year old boy should face serious consequences for this insidious crime. His age doesn't relinquish him from this inconceivable act. The injured baby girl will have to undergo serious counseling. Furthermore, this young boy is capable of performing the same act again. He must be PUNISHED!! On the other hand, I wish someone could have reached out to the young lady from St.Charles before her untimely death. It was mentioned that this young lady had emotional issues that should have been addressed. The mother thought that "chating" over the internet would bring comfort to an already mentally distressed child. Why weren't there parental supervision in place while the child had access to the computer. Internet "freaks" are prevalent throughout society. You would have thought that the parents knew their daughter was vunerable. The parents have displaced aggression and refuse to take responsibility for their inability to monitor the child....It's unfortunate!..Nat Turner spoke!
12/04/2007 12:32 PM
It is interesting that in almost any situation, Megan would have been the victim and the focus. And in almost any situation, Sherman would be the problem, the thing we must put away as quickly as possible. Where's the counseling for this young boy? Where's the concern for his home situation, which obviously is abnormal. I don't believe kids are born evil. Things some kids are exposed to early on makes it harder for them to judge what things are evil. All kids deserve compassion.
12/04/2007 3:29 PM
What would Jesus do, we are all born with fallen, broken, sinful natures. Most of us pay for the consequences of our individual natures in one way or another.
Proverbs 20: 11 "Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right."
Suicide victims are not generally focused upon as are rapists and brutal, violent offenders regardless of age, race, or gender.
Remember the black woman in East St. Louis who was vivid about the older black girl who molested her boy on a school bus?
We all have to a degree a conscience that discerns good from evil. Sherman, sadly, chose evil.
Megan's parents will have to come to the place where they recognize their daughter was a very vulnerable girl who did not come to them with her great sorrow or grief to obtain love and reaffirmation. She is a tragedy.
12/04/2007 4:45 PM
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12/05/2007 2:31 PM
Anonymous said...
Since when is anyone who attempts to commit suicide sentenced to prison?
Uh, you can be committed to the psych ward! That's physical imprisonment!
12/05/2007 5:21 PM
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