Watch out, Energizer Bunny
Girls can be so mean, can’t they? Especially in high school. And girls (especially in high school) can be so frustrated and angsty and angry with the world that they need some sort of (usually inappropriate) outlet.
So what are we to make of this story that’s all over right now, about six teenaged girls who made a list of 300 people they wanted dead? Now, I’m not saying these girls did a smart thing – I mean, they posted the list on freaking MySpace, for one thing, which is as public forum as any. And in this post-Columbine world, kids have to know that any threat of violence is not going to be dealt with lightly.
But a charge of homicide conspiracy? Even the principal of their school admitted that he didn’t think he’d “thwarted a shooting incident or an act of violence.” And the list included classmates and faculty, but also Tom Cruise, Oprah Winfrey and the Energizer bunny. Were these girls really serious?
There is some great advice on dealing with arguments between teenaged girls which, as we all well know, can get pretty nasty, here on the Parents of Teens board.
“I know how hard it is ... my own dear daughter (now 15yo sophomore) went through her own fair share of mean girls stuff in 8th grade, with girls she had been friends with since 3-4th grade. I wanted to strangle a few scrawny 13yo necks, that's for sure.”
“Who knows why girls are so passive-aggressive, it may have something to do with the fact that girls usually do not "slug it out" the way boys do, and then move on. Girls can be vicious, in my humble opinion, much worse than boys.” This poster also recommends, as a way of gaining more insights into teen girls’ mean behaviors, reading Queen Bees and Wannabes, an excerpt of which can be found here.
But back to these six girls in Tennessee – did they deserve to charged with homicide conspiracy? Or has political correctness gone too far, making us all overly skittish about the threat of school violence?
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Hmmmmm...this is a hard one. What if my child had been ON this list of 300? Did anyone really think those Columbine kids were capable of what they did?
Conspiracy to commit homicide? Probably a bit much...but they definitely IMHO deserve a very serious penalty for this type of behavior. I was bullied myself as a child, my own child has been bullied, and I think this issue should be taken VERY seriously.
How silly. These girls need to be spanked like the children they are. They should have to go to school for the rest of the year without wearing makeup and wear clothes that are 2 sizes too big. And lastly, they should have to make a video to post on MySpace where they confess to being just hicks from Tenn.
The Murder charge is ridiculous and typical of law enforcement's inability to see gray. There is only black and white.
mike
altadena, ca
If they're sick enough in the head to even think of such a thing, then they need to face the punishment hey? Believe me, they knew what they were doing and should be held accountable. We should not take something like this lightly!!!!
I think the whole community should take responsibility for allowing this to get so far out of hand. They should ALL as an entire school system, have to work with a team of socialwork/therapists experienced with teens and with violence and what it really means. They should explore how things got to where it was, and recognize that this is a community problem, not just the problem of a few bad seeds. While obviously some kids in the community are probably far from ever behaving like this, nonetheless, they are all walk the same sidewalks and hallways and need to come to terms with how this could have happened, how to grow in healthier ways.
In a strange way, this sick act is an opportunity for the school system and the community at large to pull together, take an honest look at how ths came to be, and grow together.
Otherwise, the same things will keep happening, in different ways, for years to come.
Also, the make a video idea is not a bad idea; but make it a thoughtful process tht leads to growth.
This should not be taken lightly. I think the charges are appropriate and they should be punished. They should be split up and sent to different schools and not allowed to talk to one another. I was bullied very badly from 6-10th grade and had a mother who didn't do anything when I was spit on, on school grounds. Anyone spits on my kid on or off school grounds, that's assault and I'll file a police report. Period.
That will teach these little rats a lesson. Hopefully after this they will make more productive use of their brains, if they have any.
I think they should be punished.My Daughter starts High school next year,I hate to see her going, Knowing there are such mean girls out there. If these girls are not punished I think more and more girls will try to get away with kind of behavior.
Something like this happened at my school a few years ago, but it was only one girl who made the list. Everyone just printed out copies of it off her myspace and circulated it around school. Once everyone knows you've made a list like that, everyone bands against you. It's just not cool. So, one girl against a whole school? No chance. She learned her lesson well.
How many times have we all thought or said in a fit of rage "I wish they would just die," without having the intent to do it. The prosecutor in this case will have to prove that the defendants intended to carry out their conspiracy. Are we really going to believe that these girls had an actual intent to kill 300 people (numbers which even the best serial killers do not accomplish), with people who they will most likely never see or never COULD see (such as the energizer bunny)? This list is obviously NOT a serious hit list and it is not within the policy of the law to criminalize behavior which obviously was made without the intent to commit a serious crime. The law is for justice and protection, and it would be unjust to criminilize juvinille girls for participating in a childish behavior.
by the way, conspiracy is punished with sentences that are the same as given for the crime.
these girls would be faced with life in prison.
I LOVE THE IDEA OF THE NO MAKE-UP & BAD CLOTHES BUT WITH AN APOLIGY WRITEN AND DELIVERED IN PERSON TO ALL THE REAL PEOPLE IT PERTAINED TO. JAIL IS A BIT MUCH THAT WILL FOLLOW THEM FOREVER.
Maybe not conspiracy to commit homocide. But I think it was the appropriate reaction. Kids need to get the message that violence and killing are not acceptable.
They definitely deserve a strict punishment. They are old enough to know better.
Who's to say they would NOT have taken thngs to the next step? Some of the most benign-looking individuals have committed the most heinous crimes in our society. I think when it comes to something like this, it's far better to overreact and thwart possible violence than to pass it off as "girls being girls" and miss a chance to stop others' suffering.
factual and legal impossibility defense. the energizer bunny is a fictional character and it is not illegal to kill an energizer bunny (well I guess if you have a hunting license it's legal).
but I guess they could have taken it too far. poor bunny.
LOL, good one, Lauren!