The lead story of the moment on FoxNews.com--"BULLIED EVEN IN DEATH?"--deals with nasty comments made the Facebook memorial set up for Phoebe Prince, the South Hadley girl who, apparently, killed herself due after some extremely ugly bullying.
But the Fox story doesn't tell us what those comments were. Similarly, Margery Eagan's column in today's Herald describes the relentless quality of 21st-century bullying, but omits actual comments from Prince's tormentors. The Globe has taken a similar tack, with the exception of Kevin Cullen, who related that Prince (who'd emigrated from Ireland) was called, amont other things, an "Irish *advertiser censored*."
Given the loss Prince's family has suffered, this delicacy is understandable--but I wonder if it's the best approach. Here's the problem: unless the nastiness of the girls who made Prince's life hell is revealed in all its grim detail, a certain segment of the public will continue to miss the point.
Take, for example, the musings of assorted commenters who've weighed in on Eagan's piece. Yes, there's sympathy for Prince. But there's also crap like this:
I feel bad for the girl, but, other people are not responsible for her committing suicide. Its the same old victim game. She may have been egged on, but clearly the girl had problems to begin with and would have killed herself at some point. It's always someone elses fault....
Granted, a fuller look at Prince's suffering might not change that commenter's mind. But if it made even a handful of people more enlightened on the subject, wouldn't it be worth it?
Read more:
http://thephoenix.com/BLOGS/dontquo...-happened-to-phoebe-prince.aspx#ixzz0lTwbsu3c