Let's Put An End To All This Hate

          Cyberbullying has been an issue for many years now, but within these past couple years, the media has covered it more than ever. Cyberbullying has been linked to many suicides, especially among teens. According to Oklahoma Parents Center, bullying includes behaviors and actions that are verbal, physical and/or anti-social, such as exclusion, gossip and non-verbal body language. It can occur at school or in transit between school and home. As of July 2010, forty-four states within the United States have laws against bullying, but why do only five states have laws against cyberbulling?

            With the rising rate of suicides linked to cyberbullying, one would think there would be more laws making cyberbullying illegal. Unfortunately, forty-five states still do not have any laws against this hateful crime. Most states do not consider cyberbullying to be a part of bullying laws because the bullying does not occur face-to-face. One of the most talked about cases of cyberbullying took place in Missouri, the state where I am from. A mother created a fake account and pretended to be a teenage boy interested in Megan Meier, a fun loving 13-year-old girl. After a few weeks, the relationship between the boy and Megan became verbally abusive. The boy began to taunt Megan by saying, “Megan Meier is a slut. Megan Meier is fat,” according to Good Morning America. The young girl could no longer handle the harassment and ended her life October 15, 2006, at the age of 13. Mrs. Meier will never be able to hold her daughter again. Instead, she is only able to hold pictures of Megan and cherish the memories they have together. As of July 2009, the mother who engaged in cyberbullying was only indicted under the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. 

            With the growing rate of social networks available to anyone, there needs to be a law against cyberbullying in all states. There have been way too many unfortunate incidents where young people ended their lives due to this vicious crime. How many more suicides due to cyberbullying is it going to take for the country to realize enough is enough?