Harassment of the most heinous form

Do you remember the name Lori Drew? You should; she was a big deal a couple years ago. Here's a recap if you don't remember, or you can skip a couple paragraphs to today's story. She created a fake Myspace account making herself look like a boy who was interested in a girl named Megan Meier. Well she twisted that situation until she basically crushed 13-year-old Megan when the "boy" started dissing her. Megan committed suicide shortly after.

We're talking about a 49-year-old woman who conjured up this ruse which caused a 13-year-old girl to take her own life. 13 years old. I want you to think about that. We're looking at a 7th or 8th grader maybe; a girl who felt she didn't have many friends and was put in a situation where she thought someone was genuinely interested in her. Than poof, no more interest, just disrespect. From a woman old enough to be her mother.

Well, my friends, it's happened again. This time the culprit is one Elizabeth Thrasher. At 40 years old she becomes the first person arrested under newly-enacted "cyber-bullying" laws in Missouri. At 40 years old she posted pictures of a 17-year-old girl, along with her e-mail address and phone number, claiming that she was looking for sexual rendezvous. The reason? Get this: revenge on her ex-husbands new girlfriend.

Allegedly, the girl is the daughter of Thrasher's ex-husband's new girlfriend. Thrasher and the new girlfriend have apparently had several disagreements, so it would seem that her actions were for revenge of some sort. So let me spell this out: a 40-year-old woman posted a 17-year-old girl's personal pictures and contact information on Craigslist soliciting sex, in order to get back at her ex-husband's new girlfriend.

This girl then found herself receiving unwanted emails and voice messages with sexual advances. Some insulted her. According to a Fox News article, she was even threatened with rape.

A 40-year-old woman soliciting unwanted sex on behalf of a minor to get back at someone in a catfight. Absolutely absurd. She's lucky the consequences of her actions weren't so drastic as in the Meier case. She should be absolutely ashamed of herself. It's immature, stupid, and morally reprehensible for a middle-aged woman to take out frustrations against her rival's daughter to begin with, but to do it in such a heinous manner is nigh-unforgivable. She faces up to four years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine.

I doubt you'll ever read this, but this message is for you Elizabeth Thrasher. You're one sick human being and you need to take a long hard look at how low you've stooped to pull a foolish stunt like this. Grow up, get a life and have fun in prison.

For anyone out there who's even thought of trying anything like this; put yourself in the shoes of a 17-year-old girl suddenly receiving unwanted sexual advances and harassment from middle-aged perverts. Think about how frightened and sickened you'd be, think about what your friends would think if they saw that listing. Think about trying to explain to your friends, parents, teachers, your boyfriend that it wasn't really you. According to a Fox News article, she was even threatened with rape. This is the kind of thing that could ravage someone's life for years to come.

So if you're out there and thinking about harassing someone like this, or in any way for that matter - don't. Don't be that guy. Lori Drew and Elizabeth Thrasher got their kicks harassing teenage girls, one to the point that she committed suicide. A 13-year-old girl with 3/4 of her life still ahead of her, gone in a flash. A 17-year-old girl harassed ad horrified by perverted old men. Kids caught up in situations they weren't even a part of. Victims of feuds between adults; adults who should know better than to be so stupid.

Harassing others may make you feel powerful, but no one else thinks so. Everyone else thinks you're weak and foolish because you couldn't solve your own problems without stooping to the level of bullying someone who couldn't defend themselves. Just don't do it. There's no excuse, there's no taking back the abuse that a 17-year-old girl took, and there's no bringing Megan Meier back to life.