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GUILTY Canada - Amanda Todd, 15, posts anti-bullying video apparently kills herself, 2012 *arrests*

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Snoopster

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Absolutely heartbreaking....

http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Vancouver+area+teen+commits+suicide+after+telling+story+being/7375941/story.html

After documenting a heart-breaking story about cyber-bullying on a video posted to YouTube last month, 15-year-old Amanda Todd was found dead Wednesday night in Coquitlam.

Her tragic death - a suspected suicide - has prompted many to speak out about the dangers of bullying, especially in the age of social media.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/technol...d+with+video/7375941/story.html#ixzz292S4HV78
Click to expand...

You must watch the video at the link. It's devastating.

:cry:

Rest in peace, Amanda.
:rose:
 
This child was a friend of my daughter's lab partner. This is a tragedy in many ways.

Amanda WAS getting help - lots of help. She had relocated more than once. She was attending CABE, a sheltered alternative for students experiencing challenges in mainstream public education. She DID have friends at CABE. She had access to great counselling and support services. He parents were very aware of what was happening.

She was broken in ways and for reasons which go far beyond having been bullied. I don't believe Amanda wanted to die. What she wanted was for the pain to STOP.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...cide-bullying_n_1959909.html?utm_hp_ref=crime
 
Amanda's story is so very similar to the Phoebe Prince story. I don't know how Amanda's life would have gone had she not posed topless for strangers on the internet, but I would guess that her self-doubt and deep need for affirmation caused her to pose topless on the internet for a stranger. The stories make it sound like that topless photo led to all this sadness and difficulty for her - but I think she had a deep sense of sadness and need and that preceeded the decision to pose for that picture.

I completely agree with Crafty - although I don't know Amanda, my guess is she was broken in ways that go far beyond being bullied.
 
craftybatchy said:
This child was a friend of my daughter's lab partner. This is a tragedy in many ways.

Amanda WAS getting help - lots of help. She had relocated more than once. She was attending CABE, a sheltered alternative for students experiencing challenges in mainstream public education. She DID have friends at CABE. She had access to great counselling and support services. He parents were very aware of what was happening.

She was broken in ways and for reasons which go far beyond having been bullied. I don't believe Amanda wanted to die. What she wanted was for the pain to STOP.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...cide-bullying_n_1959909.html?utm_hp_ref=crime
Click to expand...

Thanks very much for this background.

Mental illness is such a complex topic. It surely won't be solved anytime soon, but thank goodness the topic is receiving much more attention. Of course coordinating the resources to deal with it is a major challenge.

How wonderful to hear about programs/schools like CABE! Coincidentally, yesterday, as one of the community support/donation initiatives where I work (a large financial institution), we had a social agency in to describe their role with youth in our community. One of the speakers was a client of theirs. This young woman fell apart early in university, became depressed and suicidal and found herself living on friend's sofas or on the street. This eloquent young woman seems to have found her way through coordinated support (emotional, daily living, and employment counselling). As we all know, so many simply don't find the right resources to help.
 
JeannaT said:
Amanda's story is so very similar to the Phoebe Prince story. I don't know how Amanda's life would have gone had she not posed topless for strangers on the internet, but I would guess that her self-doubt and deep need for affirmation caused her to pose topless on the internet for a stranger. The stories make it sound like that topless photo led to all this sadness and difficulty for her - but I think she had a deep sense of sadness and need and that preceeded the decision to pose for that picture.

I completely agree with Crafty - although I don't know Amanda, my guess is she was broken in ways that go far beyond being bullied.
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I remember Phoebe Prince case. The bullies in that case were mostly from dysfunctional and permissive families where abuse is likely to happen. They clearly had deep issues of envy and self-hatred. A dangerous mix.
 
Amanda's mother has been quoted by media as saying "Amanda was only alone in her mind".

What happened to Amanda was heartbreaking. On many levels. She was both a victim of others and of her own mind.
 
http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/10/12/amandas-story-in-her-mothers-words/


Amanda’s Story: In Her Mother’s Words

photo-2.jpg


Finger-pointing at schools for not stopping bullying only angers Carol. She said Amanda, who had learning problems, had excellent support in the Coquitlam school district, where Carol is a teacher and where Amanda spent most of her school time.
Since last March, she was a student at CABE, Coquitlam Alternate Basic Education secondary school, a school that is like a haven for youth who for whatever reason need the alternate learning situatiion.
It was there Carol said that Amanda made friends, both among the students and the staff.
“She had a good support network there,” said Carol. Among the teachers Amanda especially liked was former Olympic track and field star Leah Pells, who teaches physical education at the school.
“She and Amanda clicked and Amanda trusted her,” said Carol.
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How wonderful that there are caring people like Leah Pells.
 
I am really sad about losing this young woman. I had one too that just didn't want to live and i didn't know why and she doesn't why. That was 20 years ago and you wouldn't even know now she had ever been in that state of mind. I always thought it had something to do with hormones. I am just glad we got thru it.
Prayers for the angel we lost and her family.
 
this young woman lived in the same town as I do. We've heard about this case for awhile now and believed it had turned around. Is it a case of bullying by her school mates, a predator stalking her on cyberspace or both because of a mistake she made at 12 that could happen to many teens who are sextexting..

Such a sad sad case - we think we have support in place - we believe the victim is healing and she is being kept safe but at what point or do we ever know when they are safe from their own minds? it is just heartbreaking...
 
Lurker here first time posting. I'd just like to note that it sounds like she had low self esteem from the start, perhaps from bullying too, that caused her to post the photo. It spirals downward because she kept putting trust in the wrong people. I lived in the same town as she did and some of the kids who bullied me in middle school went to the same alternative school she attended, although I'm a few years older than her. I'm not surprised at all over how my hometown is making worldwide news over this tragic story because I always found Coquitlam to have a severe bullying problem. I couldn't even name my bullies because I felt that aside from my tiny social circle of "unpopular" kids, everyone, whether I knew them or not, was out to get me. I've been injured severely enough to miss school due to the physical attacks inflicted upon me, and then there was of course the verbal and cyber bullying. I got mocked for standing up for myself. It never ended. I think I know to some degree what Amanda Todd went through. These monsters feel zero guilt whatsoever, even after they kill their victims.

Right now I live on the other side of the country and I feel like I'm completely over my past. It's laughable anyone found it worth their time to harass and assault me. Perhaps if Amanda had the luxury of starting over in a far enough place she might have healed. Some may call that running away from your problems, but I see it as living in the present.

Also, I'm well aware of the (sadly predictable) abusive content that has exploded in popularity after her death was announced through international media channels, much like many other high profile deaths. It's become a reality because in the age of the Internet how anyone, stranger or not, can hide their identity if they care to and feel no guilt. I hope all these cowards are dealt with through the justice system.
 
There is a RCMP police investigation ongoing. This wasn't simple 'bullying' to me; this was STALKING. Dissemination of Child 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬. Blackmail. Assault. I hope they find every last one of them and throw the book! This is under Federal control w/the RCMP investigating and Canada is OUTRAGED. Our PM likes to court public opinion on some issues, I hope THIS is one of them. We had another girl bullied to death, charges laid and conviction won. Reena Virk:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2009/04/14/f-virk-timeline.html

The video Amanda made is a must watch, this occurred over yrs and multiple moves. She was stalked, imo.

On Friday, the RCMP set up an email account so people could submit tips -- [email protected]

Thiessen said by Saturday investigators had received more than 400 tips from around the globe, and police are encouraging the public to provide even more information.

Investigators are prioritizing those tips and are trying to determine which ones need to be acted on first, said Thiessen.

He said police are also asking inpiduals to stop posting inappropriate and hurtful comments and images online that continue to re-victimize the Todd family and others.

He said police are even getting complaints from young girls and adults because of those images.

"They're being impacted by it and they're quite emotional discussions that we're having from these people that are calling us," he said.
Click to expand...

http://www.vancouversun.com/technol...eath+nets+tips+from+around/7387557/story.html

ALL IMO
 
Social Media Users Outraged; Amanda's STILL being bullied!

Cruel photos and comments littered her memorial pages, including one photo of a young woman hanging herself with a rope and another of a bottle of bleach and the caption “it’s to die for.”
Click to expand...

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/tech...ullying+continues+memorial/7387488/story.html


RCMP to investigate Amanda Todd's death (with video)

Video also states coroner looking into death and connection with bullying and other acts....(paraphrased)

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/technol...h+with+video/7381793/story.html#ixzz29Fwl7gQL
 
ebonydarkness said:
It's become a reality because in the age of the Internet how anyone, stranger or not, can hide their identity if they care to and feel no guilt. I hope all these cowards are dealt with through the justice system.
Click to expand...

It is a double edged sword -- the Internet also allows people to take historically "private" tragedies, such as a suicide, and blast them all over the internet while ENCOURAGING comments from the general public!

Suicide has long been a controversial topic and IMO a Facebook page was NOT appropriate, especially since the comments are turned on and poorly moderated. They are not doing Amanda any favors with that page, it is just plain undignified. The girl should be left to rest in peace and not turned into a FB fiasco.
 
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