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Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

This Memorial Day remember Phoebe Prince

Posted on Sunday, May 30, 2010 at 10:37 PM

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This Memorial Day remember Phoebe Prince if you can.

I know Memorial Day is usually for remembering those who fought so bravely for the United States in so many wars.

But I got to thinking that it would be great if we could remember other souls in need too, especially innocent children who suffered the ultimate fate.

Such a person was Phoebe Prince, a joyful 15-years -young girl from Ireland who was bullied to death at her South Hadley High School in Massachusetts.

The face and the memory is starting to fade and the great American media circus has moved on from Phoebe and her family, but somehow I cannot forget her.

She died too horribly, taking her own life after two separate gangs of bullies taunted her daily, threatened her, made her life miserable until she could not take it any more.

The sad part is that the adults in charge of the children come out hopelessly compromised too

Teachers saw the bullying and ignored it, the school board washed their hands of it, local parents tried to rumormonger that Phoebe was unstable to begin with.

Yet a brave District Attorney stood up to the see no evil adults and has now begun a prosecution for bullying a young girl to her grave.

There will be a trial in a few months of those who allegedly bullied her to death and the media carnival will come to town again.

Most importantly thought, three parents of bullied children elsewhere have come forward since Phoebe died and stated that having read about Phoebe they believe they stopped similar suicides among their own children.

So just as much as the example of our honored dead on battlefields from Iraq to Europe inspire us today, so should the message of a dead young girl from Ireland resonates.

That message is that we should say never again and truly mean it. Our children's lives are sacred.

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42 Comments

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irishwxman | Jun 03, 2010, 07:18 PM EDT

sadly you are correct. :(

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shawnpcochran | Jun 03, 2010, 04:29 PM EDT

I hate to break it to you but Memorial Day lost its meaning a long time ago. Maybe not to you and the few who have actually served, but to Americans as a whole it’s a three day weekend Today Memorial Day is a day to go shopping, have a barbecue to celebrate the coming of summer, and kill a case of cold beer. This is an oblivious nation.

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irishwxman | Jun 03, 2010, 03:11 PM EDT

And as i have said before, I hope her tormentors live with the guilt and get a taste of what being bullied is really like in prison. My original gripe was that while I and many other will always remember this young girl, we should not lump her suicide in with a day set aside to remember the brave men and women who died on the battle field fighting for this great nation.

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irishwxman | Jun 03, 2010, 03:11 PM EDT

I have no doubt depression is a serious illness. Otherwise it would not have so many medications and treatments. nobody is taking away young Phoebe's pain. I can only imagine how horrible it was for her.

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shawnpcochran | Jun 03, 2010, 10:42 AM EDT

After four months of being attacked Phoebe probably had a very serious case of depression that affected her thinking. When a person is depressed it affects their very thought process and no amount of shaming can change that. Shaming is not a cure or a prevention for depression I hope one day you will see that. Depression can take a toll on ones soul and I'm sorry you can't see that, but that is what they teach you the military.

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shawnpcochran | Jun 03, 2010, 10:35 AM EDT

Cut the girl some slack she was in a lot of pain and she probably never dealt with anything like this before, and her family probably never knew how out of hand it was, or how to deal with it. After all authority figures are supposed to help you and they all failed Phoebe.

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irishwxman | Jun 02, 2010, 07:46 PM EDT

Oh I'M selfish. Hello pot, I'm kettle.

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ericalaughlin | Jun 02, 2010, 07:30 PM EDT

You're selfish. That's all

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irishwxman | Jun 02, 2010, 04:55 PM EDT

But I too have had dealing with suicide; and you know what? It made me more angry than anything. That person had no idea how much less beautiful the world is now with them gone. It hurt more people than it helped the one. There is no need for research on a subject that is one of the most vile and selfish acts a human can commit.

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irishwxman | Jun 02, 2010, 04:55 PM EDT

Why do I need to do research?? It's not an art form or rocket science. It is a selfish act of a person who can no longer take life's bumps. I am not taking away the horrible actions the poor child had to endure.

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ericalaughlin | Jun 02, 2010, 03:24 PM EDT

You are way off base. Yes, I do know a lot about it. I think it's selfish not to even try to see things through the eyes of someone who suffers. Again, do some research. It's out there.

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irishwxman | Jun 02, 2010, 02:54 PM EDT

no I think that just because you had dealing with a suicide you seem to think you re the end all be all of the subject. You also seem to think that nobody else but you has dealt with it. Which in itself is also very selfish, and arrogant.

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ericalaughlin | Jun 02, 2010, 02:39 PM EDT

How exactly do you know otherwise? Because someone told you? Because you read it somewhere? It seems to me that you have issues that need to be addressed before you find yourself consumed by what ails you.

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irishwxman | Jun 02, 2010, 01:46 PM EDT

And you know this how exactly?

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ericalaughlin | Jun 02, 2010, 01:17 PM EDT

God would no sooner condemn a soul in such excruciating pain as he would any other good person who suffered needlessly.

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