Daily Dunklin Democrat

Observations -- Ignore stupid people

Posted Tuesday, December 4, 2007, at 7:48 AM
<< Previous | Read comments | Respond | Email link | Next >>

A St. Louis prosecutor announced Monday that, while understanding the public outrage over a 13-year-old's death, he has been unable to find laws allowing him to charge the people who sent cruel Internet messages to Megan Meier with any crime.

Apparently, federal authorities were unable to find a law allowing them to press charges either.

I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. Some of my thoughts have to do with so-called hate crimes. Only recently, the U.S. Senate passed by voice vote a bill that would expand federal hate crimes coverage to include sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and disability.

With the institution of hate crime laws, someone, a judge I presume, will determine whether one person hates another. My question is, obviously, someone hated this young girl so why can't he/she be charged with a hate crime? Because the victim is not a person of color? Because she was not lesbian? Because she has no particular disability? Hate is hate, is it not!

Other thoughts have to do with why in the world do we as individuals appear to give so much weight to the thoughts of so few others about us or about our work or worth? This young woman obviously paid too much attention to the thoughts of a few people who do not even know her.

One person might complain about something and some of us think we have to make wholesale changes in the way things are done. Or, the "right" person might complain about something and the world appears to stop until that complaint is addressed.

My advice: Pay attention only to the advice and opinions of the people in your life you know you can trust -- and those are probably few and far between. And, before making changes in any aspect of your life, make sure more than one disgruntled old fuddy duddy is unhappy about it!

As a rule: Ignore stupid people!

Comments
Showing comments in chronological order
[Show most recent comments first]

I agree. While it's hard to take criticism and what not from people, we should listen only to the people we know and trust, and even then you might hear something you didn't want to hear!

Too many people let others comments bother them and let others opinions of them shape their own self image.

It's really all pointless. Listening to "stupid people" will cause you to be miserable. Ignore them and you'll have a much more peaceful life.

-- Posted by vambfly on Tue, Dec 4, 2007, at 2:05 PM

Of course I'm speaking for adults, it's harder as children to understand that what others think of them isn't really important. Isn't harassment itself a crime? Why would the offenders not be charged with that at the very least? To set up a fake account, with a fake person just to play mind games with a child is at the very least harassment, and certainly a "hate" crime. The fact that the offenders were adults is sick. Hopefully someone will look at this case again and charge them.

-- Posted by vambfly on Tue, Dec 4, 2007, at 5:56 PM

Child endangerment, child abuse, something.

-- Posted by vambfly on Tue, Dec 4, 2007, at 6:02 PM

The Internet truly has a darkside, anonymity allows some people to do horrific things to others. Not having the reservoir of life's experiences to cope, any child at that age is most vulnerable.

-- Posted by Lived There Once on Tue, Dec 4, 2007, at 11:47 PM

I think most will agree that the Internet laws should be changed pertaining to hate and harassment over the internet, whether it is done on an individual basis or done en mass by a 'group' of people that are intent on hurting others. We have such a case right in our own midst that has shown up in the mindless way that TOPIX allows a small 'group' to spew their unhappy, uneducated (low self opinions of themselves), to harass Kennett residents and ex residents.

As a victim of this kind of harassment for eight years, I now devote most of my free time in trying to get others to get involved in curtailing and stopping cyberstalking, internet harassment of any kind and have been doing quite a bit of research along these lines (of Cyberstalking and Internet Harassment) and one bit of advise stands out loud and clear as far as 'getting help' with this problem of having no rights as far as being at the mercy of our harasser...

The question is: WHAT can be done about it?

The answer begins with getting in touch with the Attorney General office in your state (in this case, Missouri) and filling out the form(s) available for stopping this in our state/town/city... Below is a link to the Missouri Attorney General's office in Missouri. GO THERE, and "File a consumer complaint" on your computer and while you are there also download and print out how to "File a consumer complaint by mail"! The printed out version may be more effective than just filling out the form by using your computer... There is always more 'weight' attached to getting public office attention by a fist full of real time MAIL instead of just a bunch of emails that can be ignored for days/weeks if someone wants to ignore them..., get the complaints in the mail..., make phone calls to the Attorney General's office and ALSO fill out the on line form complaining about OUR rights that are being abused by a small 'group' that are working to destroy Kennett, Missouri. It is (or maybe 'once was'...) your home-town and you have just as much right (or even 'more' right) to 'defend' Kennett and it's residents than one small 'group' has in endeavoring to destroy Kennett!

Below is the link for the Missouri Attorney Generals Office. You will need Adobe to open the 'forms' links to read and fill out the forms or to get the 'printout' for mailing into the office of the Attorney General of Missouri.

http://ago.mo.gov/consumercomplaint.htm

Lets 'get the show on the road', folks and get our hometown returned back to where it belongs; to all the people that love Kennett even with it's faults and even 'if' you no longer reside here...

Ruth Chambers Holt - originally from Kennett, now living in North Carolina.

-- Posted by Ruth on Wed, Dec 5, 2007, at 8:46 PM

Get acquainted with YOUR (Missouri's) Attorney General:

http://ago.mo.gov/nixonbio.htm

Mr. Nixon's bio and his efforts and/or triumphs for Missouri in helping the citizens of Missouri is at the above link.

From what I have been told, an Attorney General is the 'least' affected by outside influence of any kind when it comes to helping the state that he is elected to serve... The Attorney General is there to HELP YOU.

I urge each of you to get in touch with his office so that his office can help Kennett recover from recent insults, hurts and damage that Kennett has been subject to by a small group.

-- Posted by Ruth on Thu, Dec 6, 2007, at 2:46 AM

I wondered if there were not any laws pertaining to child predators that could have applied to this case myself, since the person communicating with the girl was legally an adult, or does that act only pertain to sexual offenses?

-- Posted by 5LittleMonkeys on Thu, Dec 6, 2007, at 4:21 PM

Federal Law On Cyber Harassment Is Clear -

How come MORE is not known (and made public), Internet Harassment Laws that have been/are being PASSED? It would seem to me that the 'Megan Meier harassement' would qualify under this law that HAS been passed GO to:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/search/display.h...

TITLE 47 UNITED STATES CODE - CHAPTER 5 - SUBCHAPTER II - Part I - § 223

Signed into law by President Bush on Jan. 5, 2006, section 113 of VAWA prohibits anyone from using a telephone or telecommunications device "w/o disclosing his identity and w/ the intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person." Under VAWA a telecommunications device is defined as "any device or software that can be used to originate telecommunications or other types of communications that are transmitted, in whole or in part, by the INTERNET." Penalties for violating the act include 2 years in prison and fines.

Also found on that page is:"(4) The Attorney General may bring a suit in the appropriate district court of the United States to enjoin any act or practice which violates paragraph (1)(A) or (1)(B). An injunction may be granted in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure."

I wish that our state lawmakers would make this kind of information more readily available so that we do not have to spend hours/days 'looking' for the latest in laws that have been passed that can help us protect innocent victims...

Ruth Chambers Holt

-- Posted by Ruth on Sun, Dec 9, 2007, at 5:14 AM