Parenting Gone Horribly Wrong

Several news stories have been posted about Megan Meier, the 13 year-old girl who committed suicide after being rejected by a "boy" she thought was her friend. Turns out the boy wasn't a boy - or even a real person. It was a hoax, perpetrated by the MOTHER of another young girl that used to be friends with Megan.

Various reports have noted that the woman, Lori Drew, who is 47 years old, created the character of Josh specifically for the purpose of befriending Megan (who had recently broken off her friendship with Ms. Drew's daughter) and finding out what (if anything) Megan was saying about the Drew child. The Josh persona spent several weeks chatting with Megan until she felt she had formed a close friendship with him. Then, apparently without warning, the false Josh turned on Megan, saying he wanted nothing to do with her and accusing her of being mean to her other friends. A short time later, a sobbing Megan (who was being treated for depression already) retreated to the closet in her bedroom and hung herself.

It boggles my mind that any parent, let alone a woman nearly in her 50's, would do something so cruel and vindictive to a child. What is even more disturbing is that Lori Drew KNEW that Megan had emotional problems and was being treated with antidepressants. Yet it apparently never occurred to this so-called adult that her actions might exacerbate the child's problems, or lead to a disasterous result. And, as the article above points out, the woman doesn't even seem to show any remorse for her part in driving this child to suicide.

I am forced to wonder if Ms. Drew is stupid, ignorant, uneducated, trying to relive her own chidhood, or simply too busy trying to be her own daughter's "friend" to remember her only real job was to be a parent - and a good example. Personally, I'd like to see her lose custody of her own child, before she corrupts her daughter's morals and behavior any further. If I were her husband, I'd have already filed for divorce - and custody.

Unfortunately, whatever motivated this woman to do something so irresponsible and stupid, her actions were not illegal. Immoral, unethical, inhumane and inexplicable - yes. But not illegal - at least not yet. The local authorities are actively making new laws to address such situations, and I'm sure this will be looked at by both state and federal lawmakers as well.

Honestly, I would consider what this woman did to be tantamount the emotional abuse of a child, which either is, or should be, a crime. If she had treated her own daughter that way, she would likely have found her daughter being taken away by the authorities. But it would seem that there is no punishment for emotionally abusing someone else's child.

Here's my question though... should we need laws to force us to behave in responsible and ethical ways? I would like to think the answer is that we don't... but then a story like this comes along and makes me wonder if such juvenile and unconscionable behavior by someone who was well beyond "old enough to know better" is a fluke, or proof that humankind has not evolved as much as we'd like to think.

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EzineBlog.org - reciprocal links for your site

I came across a reference to EzineBlog.org yesterday, and their offer to help increase your site's page ranking and traffic. I decided to give it a try.

EzineBlog is offering to give a free linkback to anyone who posts a review of their site along with a link to them. They claim to have a Top 100 page rank in Technorati. When I checked last night, EzineBlog was rated at 13, but those ranks are pretty fluid, so the claim may be an average over time, rather than a snapshot on any given day.

In exchange for your review, they promise to put up a post featuring your site and list your site on their "Cool Blogs" page. So, here I am, writing this review. I don't know how well it will work yet, but I will keep track and let you know as soon as I do. If I see a big traffic (or ranking) increase at once, I'll post about it. I will also track the traffic over a week and a month, comparing it with what I'm getting from other sources (not much yet, but this blog is still pretty new), and then write another review to let you know the results.

Oh, by the way - the folks over at EzineBlog don't just offer free traffic generation. The blog has some interesting articles to read too! One article I enjoyed was from last August, in which they point out that President Bush is likely to beat the old record for the most vacation time taken by a sitting President (previously held by Ronald Reagan). Another is about the British Ministry of Defense effectively gagging it's soldiers by restricting them from participating in blogs, interviews, surveys, and even online gaming if there is any chance it might lead to them saying anything about their experiences in the military. Even the soldier's text messages are restricted and require "permission".

So check out EzineBlog.org. It's worth a visit!

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Mirror posts

I recently started an account with BlogRush (see their widget on the right). I created the account for this blog, but then realized that I wanted to go with a blogging program that allowed for different categories, since I planned to blog on many different topics (politics, religion, news items, an online game I moderate, and product reviews). So I created a new blog with TypePad, which does offer categories.

Unfortunately, BlogRush has not approved my second blog - yet. It may be simply that the new blog is too new. So, for now, I will maintain both blogs. I will do the bulk of my postings on my TypePad blog, but I will copy those that I feel are most relevant to this blog as well. Those that are copied will have a small disclaimer at the bottom so you, the reader, will know it appears in both locations.

Here is the link to my TypePad blog (which I will also add to the side menu here):
http://themindofmoe.typepad.com/moes_musings/

I hope that you will visit both, as there will be additional content accumulating in Moe's Musings.

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State-sanctioned marriage - is that really what we want?

Conservatives are funny people. One of their most prolific claims to fame is that they oppose big government, socialism in any form, and any intrusion on the privacy of the average American. Or so they claim...

But the truth is, they only oppose those things when it benefits them (as in not providing government benefits to the poor, preventing a national health care program that would cover all Americans, etc.). Mostly their opposition coincides with their estimation of what such government-run programs might cost them in taxes (which is usually much higher than what the reality would be).

However, they don't complain when the government intrudes on one of our most highly valued rights of passage - marriage. In fact, they actually advocate for stricter government regulation of what should be a very private and personal choice made by the individual, without government influence or oversight.

In Monday's NY Times, Stephanie Coontz writes an interesting review of the history of marriage regulation, and shows quite clearly that in today's world, a marriage license can no longer be used as a yardstick for determining one's duties and responsibilities, familial connections, or financial obligations.

I agree completely with Ms. Coontz's stance on this issue. Marriage should be a matter of personal choice, and should be based solely on the couple's level of affection, commitment, and willingness to share a life together. No one should need a "license" to marry, which is tantamount to having to ask for the government's permission to spend your life with the person of your choice.

Rather than having to apply for a license prior to marriage, couples should be able to register their union with the local government AFTER they have taken their vows. In this manner, there is a legal recording of the marriage (and all its obligations) and a method to ensure that neither party is a minor child or close blood relative - but without anyone having to ask the state's "permission" to get married in the first place.

This would, of course, effectively end the debate over same-sex marriage, as couples (regardless of gender) would not have to have a license to get married. And that would not be very palatable to the conservatives, who apparently don't mind the government sticking it's nose into our private lives, as long as it serves their political agenda.

**Note: This article first appeared at: http://themindofmoe.typepad.com/moes_musings/

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Burger King Ads Cross The Line

Has anyone else felt the least bit put off by the new batch of Burger King commercials featuring three women/moms trying to kill the "Burger King"?

I have seen two of these commercials so far. The first was, for the most part, just kind of stupid and contrived. It was one of many commercials that cause me to wonder if the ad execs who approve this drivel think the average American viewer has the IQ of a toadstool.

But the second in this series went beyond what I consider to be the boundaries of acceptable advertising. In it, the three moms, having failed their first attempt to kill BK by running him over, are now hiring a hit man to do the deed for them. It opens with them turning over payment as the hit man tells them the brake line on BK's car has been cut.

Do we really want a fast food chain that caters to the younger set advocating (even as a joke) the premeditated murder of a human being, or the use of a hired killer to accomplish that murder?

There are many things that advertisers have done over the years that I have thought were in bad taste, or downright poor judgment - but I think this current set of ads tops the list.

I am sending a letter to the Burger King execs about these ads, including a link to this post. I hope others will as well. It's time these ridiculous commercials were pulled off the air.

**Note: This article was first published on my other blog, which can be found here:
http://themindofmoe.typepad.com/moes_musings/2007/11/burger-king-ads.html#more

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