Boy, 13, 'Hanged Himself After He Was Bullied Online For Being A Fan Of Emo Music'
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A 13-year-old British fan of Bullet For My Valentine and My Chemical Romance hanged himself after being bullied on Internet social networking sites for his clothes and love of "emo" music and punk rock, his parents believe.Sam Leeson killed himself in his bedroom after suffering months of "sickening" abuse from cruel youngsters who bombarded his home page with offensive emails, according to the Daily Mail.Sam Leeson's family say the 13-year-old was picked on by othe r users of the site because of his 'alternative appearance' and his taste in music.Blaming the social networking site Bebo for his 'utterly pointless death', Sam'smother said the family discovered the extent of the bullying only when they checked his Web page after his death.
??Sam Leeson, 13 years old.??'I'm not sure what influence these sites have - but if they are a method of expressing things, maybe they should be checked more,' said 45-year-old Sally Cope.'He was into his appearance and often wore his black skinny jeans. He was an alternative dresser and I think other teenagers did used to make comments about that.'Bebo users who taunted Sam on the site have since left messages apologizing for their conduct.Sam's sister, Emma, 22, said he had also been bullied at school over his interest in the music.'He used to laugh about it when people mocked him over his dress sense and music taste, so we didn't realise it was anything serious.'We saw him as always happy and smiling, but we now think there has been some name-calling about the whole Emo thing.'We know some bullying has been going on. We do not want to attack the school, as they have been very good, but we are very upset it has come to this.'Sam, of Tredworth, Gloucestershire, was found on Thursday by his mother, Sally Cope, and another sister, Katie, 12, when they returned from a short shopping trip.A short time before, Sam had seemed 'perfectly normal', answering the door to a friend of Katie, Miss Cope added.'He was such a loving boy. We all loved him very much and he was always telling us how much he loved us.'"Read the entire article from the Daily Mail.":CH
??Sam Leeson, 13 years old.??'I'm not sure what influence these sites have - but if they are a method of expressing things, maybe they should be checked more,' said 45-year-old Sally Cope.'He was into his appearance and often wore his black skinny jeans. He was an alternative dresser and I think other teenagers did used to make comments about that.'Bebo users who taunted Sam on the site have since left messages apologizing for their conduct.Sam's sister, Emma, 22, said he had also been bullied at school over his interest in the music.'He used to laugh about it when people mocked him over his dress sense and music taste, so we didn't realise it was anything serious.'We saw him as always happy and smiling, but we now think there has been some name-calling about the whole Emo thing.'We know some bullying has been going on. We do not want to attack the school, as they have been very good, but we are very upset it has come to this.'Sam, of Tredworth, Gloucestershire, was found on Thursday by his mother, Sally Cope, and another sister, Katie, 12, when they returned from a short shopping trip.A short time before, Sam had seemed 'perfectly normal', answering the door to a friend of Katie, Miss Cope added.'He was such a loving boy. We all loved him very much and he was always telling us how much he loved us.'"Read the entire article from the Daily Mail.":CH*What do you think? Are sites responsible for youngsters who get bullied and harassed?*[CH]http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1025654/Emo-teenage-boy-hanged-bullied-internet.html
Comments (22)
Doesn't make up for the fact that kids are cruel, and always have been. Remeber the movie or book "Carrie"? What makes it scary, the fact taht kids would treat someone like that (which they will) or that the victim got revenge, albeit a supernatural one.
I agree. No internet in bedrooms. Hell, I say no TV in their rooms either. I even promote eating with your children every night. Doesn't mean my son or daughter might not harass someone, or be harassed someday.
The main problem is there is a accountabiliity deficit in this country. When you blame BeBo or MySpace, you take the accountablility away from all party's involved, even the victimm, who made that choice.
Churches often rent their steeples to cell phone companies to offset costs. People can recieve hate texts, pornographic content, and other nefarious thngs through their phones, from one of those transponders. Is it the churches fault for propegating this information? I'm sure the church wouldn't support or condone these things.
"'I'm not sure what influence these sites have - but if they are a method of expressing things, maybe they should be checked more,' said 45-year-old Sally Cope."
Yes, they should be checked more ... checked more by the parents of those under 18 who use the sites. Why on earth did this mom wait until after her son's suicide to check what was posted and see for herself? Why on earth does the government now need to get involved?
To echo Tyler's sentiments, we don't allow TV or computers in our kids' rooms, so if they want to use the Internet, they do it right in front of us, where we can see.
It's not entirely fool-proof; we found out this year that our oldest son had opened two MySpace sites against my wife's wishes. So we acted quick and deleted them both, and that was that. Until he later opened a Facebook account. We later found out that he had opened the accounts when we had left him to babysit, so we lock the PC's when we leave so he cannot use them when we're away.
It's tragic that bullying happens, but it does, and people react to it in the way they know best. The best thing we can do as parents is make sure we're aware of it when it happens, and communicate with our kids and give them the tools they need to overcome it. That responsibility does not leave us because the bullying happens online.
Well, I blame adolescence. It's terrible, and we should ban it.
In all seriousness, though, it's a tough time in some folks' life. I know it SUCKED for me.
I don't blame the 'net, or the music, or even the assholes who bullied him. I blame an inability to cope with the world around him. No kid should feel that they have to resort to that, and no parent should ever outlive their child. Unfortunately in both cases, it happens.
No matter how you slice it, it's pretty damn tragic. I think it's safe to say MOG's heart goes out to the family.