http://news.aol.com/story/_a/missouri-makes-cyberbullying-a-crime/20080630190309990001?icid=200100397×1204709778x1200224552

I was raised with parenting that seems to resemble Tina Meier’s: I was held to higher standards than my mother held the general public to, because she recognized that while she (and I) could do little to control everyone else, we’re easily responsible for our own actions. That’s what Tina Meier’s upset at Megan’s behavior says to me: you can’t control what these people on the internet are saying about you, but you can and should control how you behave.

That (in a more general sense, of course) is one of the core tenets of being an adult, and one of the most important lessons to learn while growing up, and I don’t think we can fault Tina Meier for attempting to instill that, regardless of whether Megan feeling her mother’s disappointment was what pushed her over the edge.

As for the proposed legislation: while I agree with the fear that we’re letting the government nanny the internet to death, I have zero objections to the idea of holding adults responsible for bullying children the way Lori Drew did. We have laws protecting children from internet sexual predators; I fail to see why we shouldn’t afford children the same protection from predators of other kinds.

While her death is unfortunate, legal recourse is not appropriate. Megan Meier, as all teenagers do, overreacted. Her mother should have expected her overreaction and attempted to calm her. Neither Tina Meier nor Lori Drew should expect legal punishment, let alone internet users as a whole.

Just watch out… you might be surprised at the following of people who think that parents can do no wrong and will say the most horrendous things about you or what should be done to others!