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MySpace Sued by Families of Assault Victims

By Ed Oswald, BetaNews

January 18, 2007, 11:57 AM

Not even one day after it was revealed that MySpace was tackling the problem of predators on its site head on, two Texas-based law firms said Thursday that they had filed suit against the site and parent company News Corp. over that exact issue.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of four families in New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina whose daughters were assaulted by adult MySpace users. The suit alleges negligence, recklessness, fraud, and negligent representation.

In each case, the adult MySpace member used the site to lure the child to a meeting place. From there, the victims were kidnapped and sometimes drugged, and then sexually assaulted. In all cases, those responsible have been caught and charged, one such receiving a 10-year prison sentence.

Law firms Barry & Loewy of Austin, and Arnold & Itkin of Houston are representing the plaintiffs. The suit was filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. "Like state attorneys general throughout the nation, we believe that more must be done to ensure that social networking sites are made safer," Attorney Jason Itkin said.

"In our view, MySpace waited entirely too long to attempt to institute meaningful security measures that effectively increase the safety of their underage users," he continued.

Attorneys General from 33 states are threatening legal action if MySpace does not deal with the problem of child predators on its site sufficiently. The company has come up with "Zephyr," a small application that can be installed to monitor profile changes and logins, but it has gotten a cool reception.

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By Sunstar

edited Jan 27, 2007 - 7:52 AM

sudbury your analogy is simply moronic, so any explanation given to you would be wasted.

Anyone who can compare an inanimate object to human actions needs help making proper analogy's.
I would say good try, but it wasn't.

Score: 0

By sudbury

posted Jan 25, 2007 - 10:39 AM

Well. How can you blame the predator? It's like saying. A kid climb a fence with barb wire on top that leads into a water dam. A giant sign that says Do Not Enter, DANGER!! Jumped into the water and gets pulled down into the turbine. Is it the company fault for not having security guard and camera monitoring every square corner of the place? Or the kids ignorant in ignoring the sign and their kids was out wondering late at night?

Score: 0

By Sunstar

posted Jan 23, 2007 - 9:01 AM

I have never seen a larger group of turds

Its a PARENTS fault there are child predators out there??
You dolts
I am thoroughly disgusted with you idiots

Score: 0

By Grazer

posted Jan 24, 2007 - 3:52 PM

Or you could look at everyone's comments as "It is the parents' fault their children were not supervised enough to at least keep them from rendezvousing with a child predator." No one is taking any blame off of the predators. When you fall off a cliff it is the falling (technically the stopping) that kills you; but if an unsupervised child falls, do we blame the cliff? Oh, maybe we should blame the town, city, state, country we are in for not child proofing the planet.

Score: 0

By steve17

posted Jan 22, 2007 - 9:07 PM

this is absofu*kinglutely rediculas bullsh!t like has been said. its all bad parenting and NOTHING else. first off arnt parents suppose to drill it into their kids to not go meet a stranger at some random place. and their kids should be smarter than that too. i think its a whole lot or irresponsible retards just looking for an easy way to get rich.

and how can u call myspace unsafe? think of the other 100 million teens that use it every day that DONT get kidnapped and raped. people get raped in the alleys of L.A. more often then off myspace. can u sue the city of L.A. for having unsafe alleyways? thats ludicrise!!

Score: 0

By sudbury

posted Jan 22, 2007 - 9:30 AM

Suing a company is another way to cover up bad parenting. It could've been MySpace, Yahoo, MSN, Facebook, Bebo or Hi5. Any one of these website can be sued. All I can say is, where was the parent? Why weren't they monitoring their children computer? It could've been an instant message program their children could've been attacked on.. icq, msn, yahoo or gtalk. Are you going to blame them for not screening who they can talk to?

I think it's time the parents should start taking responsibility. Instead of blaming the website company because your too busy watching tv, drinking or whatever to spend time with your children. or maybe it's another way for a a family to make easy money by suing a company for cash? Surprised they haven't sued their OS or computer manufacture for allowing predators to use the computer.

Score: 0

By JacenSolo

posted Jan 22, 2007 - 4:06 PM

Trouble is... many parents work till late and trust their TEENAGE children...

This artical doesn't mention the ages of the children but I'd take a guess about 8 to 14. Old enough to be trusted home alone... but most parents (at least the older ones) are still clueless when it comes to internet and computer safety. MY dad still believes the government can see anything on your computer whenever they want.

"Suing a company is another way to cover up bad parenting. "
I've noticed that people like to sue more often these days, over things that could be their fault.

Score: 0

By Sunstar

edited Jan 22, 2007 - 8:16 AM

I am amazed at the arrogance of people who don't have children.
No this isn't my space's fault, but those of you who can say "watch your kids its the parents fault" obviously lack common sense and have no children to realize how truly moronic such a statement is.
These things happen to adults too...If blame is to be placed, it most definately belongs to the rapists, or abusers PERIOD!
There is nobody else to blame and only a rapists/abuser would dissagree.
You can't stand over your kids 24/7 and most rules made will be bent and some broken...thats what kids do.
But obviously you all were perfect kids who listened and did everything your parents said without testing the limits or questioning anything. Right?

Score: 0

By JacenSolo

posted Jan 22, 2007 - 4:08 PM

Dunno about you Sunstar, but I didn't test the limits.

Trouble is... parents need to enforce their rules. and I bet most don't have computer rules. When my parents first got the net, I was 11... The computer was moved into the living room where they could see what was goin on at all times.

Score: 0

By JacenSolo

posted Jan 22, 2007 - 5:33 AM

I run a (small by comparision) community site myself, revolving around games and I know how hard it is to truely protect every user of my site.

My site, Yahoo, MSN, and I bet even MySpace have pages and rules that are designed to discourage this kind of thing... but is it OUR fault if your child ignores our rules and guidelines?

Right now I can't find that page on Yahoo, but I was reading it less then a year ago... but I did find this on myspace, and it was clear as day:
http://www.myspace.com/M...n/Pages/SafetyTips.aspx ... ... ...

Score: 0

By markadmin

posted Jan 22, 2007 - 2:27 AM

I hate lame parents who are too lazy to raise there kids. They want to blame there loser children on everyone else.

Score: 0

By UNprofessional

posted Jan 20, 2007 - 12:12 AM

I've got a know-it-all teen daughter. Our rule is simply no personal info on the net and no way she's hooking up with some stranger. These are rules she has agreed to...and broken. Not MySpace's fault any more than the personals in your local newspaper. Can't put too much blame on the parents. It is the kidnapper, assaulter AND the kid who is to blame. Must suck to go meet some stranger to flirt and then get raped.

Score: 0

By Black-Wolf

posted Jan 19, 2007 - 4:36 PM

Irresponsible parents, and children at age of puberty. Lame suit.

Score: 0

By ryusen

posted Jan 19, 2007 - 1:49 PM

This is all because children stopped listening to Rick Springfield...

"Don't Talk to Strangers."

Score: 0

By ribslayer

posted Jan 19, 2007 - 1:16 PM

I believe there should be a LAW stating that if you are willing to take someone to court, then you must be willing to pay for court fees when you lose. This is tying up our court systems and making taxpayers pay because stupid parents can not monitor their children.

---- RIGHT ON BLASTEDONTAPE!!!

Score: 0

By Grazer

posted Jan 19, 2007 - 3:01 PM

Sounds nice, unfortunately it would just make the courts favor the wealthy even more than they already do.

Score: 0

By blastedontape

posted Mar 2, 2007 - 4:59 PM

so what do we do? nothing? the rich will always be one up above the common folks. Does this mean that we should just give up? I REFUSE TOO!!!

Score: 0

By blastedontape

posted Jan 19, 2007 - 11:29 AM

Im going to sue betanews.com because the news they presented and comments by users offended me and now i am scarred for life. In ending my sarcasm, I believe there should be a LAW stating that if you are willing to take someone to court, then you must be willing to pay for court fees when you lose. This is tying up our court systems and making taxpayers pay because stupid parents can not monitor their children.

Score: 0

By bourgeoisdude

edited Jan 22, 2007 - 1:52 PM

Better yet, if someone is found innocent of a crime that you falsely accuse them of committing, YOU serve the sentence you would have had them serve. This would also solve that whole "rich get richer" argument above as well, but--

--No, wait...that's actually Biblical, so that would never work-- (end /sarcasm) :|

That would, however, fix 99% of our problems with frivilous lawsuits as well as lieyar problems...er, I mean lawyer problems.

Score: 0

By ribslayer

edited Jan 19, 2007 - 10:17 AM

Like state attorneys general throughout the nation, we believe that more must be done to ensure that social networking sites are made safer," Attorney Jason Itkin said.

HOW ABOUT EDUCATING YOUR KIDS NOT TO GIVE OUT PERSONAL INFORMATION, AND NOT TO EVER MEET THE PEOPLE THEY TALK TO ON THESE SITES! ITS NOT MY SPACE'S FAULT THAT THE KIDS ARE DOING THE WRONG THING ON THE SITE. MY SPACE SHOULD COUNTER SUE THE PARENTS FOR THEIR KIDS BEING STUPID! DUMB ASS'S!!

HEY PARENTS, HOW ABOUT WATCHING YOUR KIDS, PUT A TIME LIMIT ON THE COMPUTER, OR INSTALL NET NANNY OR SOMETHING, MAYBE THIS IS JUST ANOTHER MONEY MAKING SCHEME THAT TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE SYSTEM.

Score: 0

By ingram091

posted Jan 19, 2007 - 3:45 AM

This is stupid... I mean really its not Myspaces fault that their naive children went to meet someone they met online, and then got screwed up for it... Only a crazy person would do such a thing. Let alone give private information about themselves over the internet. Thats been said from practically day one.

And the privacy deal is all well and good, but you have no idea how many people go around it in HS to get past the thing... saying their age is 99 and that kind of garbage... These kids know EXACTLY what they are doing when they go online and act like little sluts.

I have no mercy for the criminals either they should be hung as far as I'm concerned, but I want to know where the hell the parents were to begin with? NO WHERE!!! Now the guilt of that fact is driving them insane and they have to blame someone, so they choose the people with DEEP pockets instead of suing the actual CRIMINALS.

Score: 0

By Silentmaster101

posted Jan 19, 2007 - 8:01 AM

i couldnt agree more. Its not like these kids didnt know what they were doing, and im sure they knew the risks. then again, i dont know a browser out there that you cannot use parental controls, whether via a plugin, built-in, 3rd party software etc. My girlfriends parents have parental controls on the family computer so her little brother and sister cannot go browse randomly, it requires a password to unlock to see all but the most kid-friendly sites, and the kids dont even know the password to get on the computer. That is good parenting.

Score: 0

By mosdef

posted Jan 19, 2007 - 3:01 AM

if it wasnt on myspace then it coulda been somewhere else so suin myspace is just dumb..them kids know what they be gettin themselves into..giving false information to begin with and carryin on with it doesnt help the situation..things like that are on the news everyday so why doesnt someone get the hint..only wanna sue myspace when something happens but why wasnt that prevented in the home..kids are going to tell their parents jack and then some parents going to look at the source the kid was using and try to retaliate,,gotta get it through their heads that kids can can can do wrong..but its still sad when messed up ish like that happens..sometimes some parents let their kids get away with too much stuff

Score: 0

By anon707

posted Jan 19, 2007 - 12:57 AM

As always, its never the teens fault. They wander aimlessly through life with no ability to make any decisions themself, with no clue of the difference between right and wrong.

I would bet in most of these cases the teen is the one that did the luring.

Then of course you have all the teens who post fake ages.

Blaming any of this on Myspace is totally stupid.

Score: 0

By Adrian79

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 9:17 PM

if u act like a hoe, be treated as one.. let the flames begin

Score: 0

By saint.alpha

posted Jan 19, 2007 - 12:17 AM

well said.

Score: 0

By plumlipstick

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 6:19 PM

I feel truly sad for each of these young girls. I'm a mom, and I can only imagine the parents' heartbreak. Suing MySpace and getting security features won't prevent this situation because of how the internet works. When it comes right down to it, it's the parents' job to know where their teen is and who the teen is talking to. They have to ask questions and make it their business to know who their teen is chatting with. Parents also need to sit down and use the internet with their kids to help them get a good idea of what's safe and what isn't. I routinely check the headers in my daughter's in box but don't read her mail unless it's from someone I don't know. I have to ask myself why these parents allowed their daughters to make a date or meeting with someone they met online. If they didn't allow it, there is a problem with trust and dishonesty with their child that goes beyond this situation. If my daughter wants to meet someone she met online, it would only be done with a parent or uncle along as a chaperone. If the person is legit, he won't mind if the girl's dad drives them for their first date. He'll want the girl to be safe. Once parents are sure of the person and his true age, they can relax a bit and let the teens have fun.

Score: 0

By Silentmaster101

posted Jan 19, 2007 - 8:02 AM

finally someone who takes responsability. if only all parents were like you.

Score: 0

By joeshmoe7

edited Jan 18, 2007 - 5:08 PM

"deal with the problem of child predators on its site"

These are the kinds of parents that really bite it. They have absolutely no sense of what their child may be capable of getting into. No, just go out buy them a computer and an ISP, and then blame MySpace for not being a good babysitter.

EDIT: i said it before and i'll say it again. The network was not made for kiddies. If you let them use it, you better know what they're up to. Don't go ruining it for us adults with half a brain. Get a clue.

Score: 0

By Grazer

posted Jan 19, 2007 - 12:08 PM

I wish my parents had bought me an ISP. :(
/smartass

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jan 20, 2007 - 9:18 AM

lmao.

That'd be sweet....

Score: 0

By dvferret

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 6:29 PM

I find it pretty stupid to let young kids use the site, expecially while not supervised.

Nicely said joeshmoe7.

Score: 0

By Babylon2x

edited Jan 18, 2007 - 2:12 PM

Ahhh, silly lawsuits. It's fun.

The internet is an anonymous place. So
1) It's up to the parents to educate their kids about the dangers
2) Up to the parents to monitor what their kids do online

Now if we really want to start a silly lawsuit, they may as well sue the ISPs for letting these people on the internet. I don't see how you can possibly sue a website though. There's nothing you can do online to prove someone is who they are. at all. Even a credit card check isn't valid. Identity theft? yup.

Maybe we should just close all community websites? And then of course these people commit these crimes in real life without using the internet as a tool. So y'know, just ban being out in public completely. All fixed.

These dangers exist in life. It's sad, yes. But lawsuits of this nature should be thrown out the moment they hit court. Where's common sense gone in life?

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 2:26 PM

Where's common sense gone in life?

Common Sense, aka C.S., lived a long life, but died from heart failure at the brink of the millennium. No one really knows how old he was, his birth records were long ago entangled in miles and miles of bureaucratic red tape.
Known affectionately to close friends as Horse Sense and Sound Thinking, he selflessly devoted himself to a life of service in homes, schools, hospitals and offices, helping folks get jobs done without a lot of fanfare, whooping and hollering. Rules and regulations and petty, frivolous lawsuits held no power over C.S.

A most reliable sage, he was credited with cultivating the ability to know when to come in out of the rain, the discovery that the early bird gets the worm and how to take the bitter with the sweet. C.S. also developed sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn), reliable parenting strategies (the adult is in charge, not the kid) and prudent dietary plans (offset eggs and bacon with a little fiber and orange juice).

A veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, the Technological Revolution and the Smoking Crusades, C.S. survived sundry cultural and educational trends including disco, the men's movement, body piercing, whole language and new math.

C.S.'s health began declining in the late 1960s when he became infected with the If-It-Feels-Good, Do-It virus. In the following decades his waning strength proved no match for the ravages of overbearing federal and state rules and regulations and an oppressive tax code. C.S. was sapped of strength and the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, criminals received better treatment than victims and judges stuck their noses in everything from Boy Scouts to professional baseball and golf. His deterioration accelerated as schools implemented zero-tolerance policies. Reports of 6-year-old boys charged with sexual harassment for kissing classmates, a teen suspended for taking a swig of Scope mouthwash after lunch, girls suspended for possessing Midol and an honor student expelled for having a table knife in her school lunch were more than his heart could endure.

As the end neared, doctors say C.S. drifted in and out of logic but was kept informed of developments regarding regulations on low-flow toilets and mandatory air bags. Finally, upon hearing about a government plan to ban inhalers from 14 million asthmatics due to a trace of a pollutant that may be harmful to the environment, C.S. breathed his last. Services will be at Whispering Pines Cemetery. C.S. was preceded in death by his wife, Discretion; one daughter, Responsibility; and one son, Reason. He is survived by two step-brothers, Half-Wit and Dim-Wit.

Memorial Contributions may be sent to the Institute for Rational Thought.

Farewell, Common Sense. May you rest in peace.

Score: 0

By natalees

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 3:11 PM

Oh, if only someone could prove you wrong on that count. If only... sigh... R.I.P., CS.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 3:58 PM

Personal Responsibility, unfortunately, is also looking a tad pale.

Perhaps we should start a donation site in the interest of saving this once great, now ailing member of our society.

Score: 0

By Grazer

posted Jan 19, 2007 - 12:15 PM

I'm pretty sure Personal Responsibility is already dead. If that were not the case, he probably would have saved Common Sense. Maybe you are think of his fraternal twin, Accountability? He is really not doing so hot lately. Some say his days are already numbered.

Score: 0

By bourgeoisdude

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 2:43 PM

That really is a sad obituary...a funny way of putting it though.

Interesting how something can be told better through a silly story or comparison than it can be told directly. Good job.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 3:56 PM

I do not take credit for it.

This piece was first published March 15, 1998 in the Indianpolis Star, by Lori Borgman.

It's since been edited and altered several times to it's current multitude of forms, but the point remains.

Score: 0

By natalees

edited Jan 18, 2007 - 1:31 PM

One important issue I feel that has been missed, is that, even if these naive kids do put themselves out there and are taken advantage of, it's not their fault. And even if their parents didn't know about all of their online activities, and unwillingly let their children meet up with these predators, it's not their parents' fault. The predators hold ALL fault in this game. We can do everything in our power to protect ourselves and our children, but these types of horrendous abuses won't stop until people stop taking advantage of and abusing other people! This issue was here before the internet and will be with us long after. The predators own ***100%*** of the fault here.

Score: 0

By bourgeoisdude

edited Jan 18, 2007 - 2:35 PM

I see what you're saying. If Myspace encourages child predators to go there or willfully allows predators to create pages there without doing something to correct the issue, then MySpace does have a legal problem. This I do not disagree with.

I also understand that the kids aren't 100% at fault nor the parents. The point of my silly post below is that those who are at fault usually know or knew at one time they were indeed at fault, but they justify themselves by blaming anyone other than themselves. For the parents of those unfortunate kids:

"7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

7:3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 7:4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 7:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." -- Matthew 7:1-5

Please note I am not calling anyone a hypocrite here--take the verse in the context here--and IF there is something that needs to be taken care of in your life, take care of it, THEN by all means seek out justice if you have been wronged.

EDIT: I use the scripture here not to "force" my beliefs on anyone, to provoke anger, or any other reason than to show my point in an issue that I could not explain any better myself. If you don't like the Bible, just treat this as a passage from the most read book of all time :D

Score: 0

By natalees

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 3:15 PM

Kudos. ;)

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 2:25 PM

Few things:

these types of horrendous abuses won't stop until people stop taking advantage of and abusing other people!

Never gonna happen. There is Evil in the world, and there always will be. End of story. The ideal is great, but it is dangerous. It is the perfect excuse for irresponsible parents to take the blame off of their own shoulders.

And even if their parents didn't know about all of their online activities, and unwillingly let their children meet up with these predators, it's not their parents' fault.

Didn't know? Unwillingly? They very much *willingly* let their children participate in activites they *knowingly* chose not to monitor. This is anything *but* responsible parenting.

The predators own ***100%*** of the fault here.

Funny that. You say that if there were no predators, this wouldn't be an issue. Let me reverse that and see where it goes, shall we?

If there were no available, negligent, and naive victims, the predators would have no targets.

There will always be Evil in the world. There doesn't have to be any victims.

Score: 0

By natalees

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 2:45 PM

Pardon my typo: "unwiTTingly".

I don't pretend to live in a dream world where abuse will end and we'll all join hand & hand and go skipping all tra-la-la-la-la down the yellow brick road to happiness. I'm a realist. Honest. However, I've seen it happen FAR too many times where the parents and victims are blamed and the predator gets a slap on the wrist. That's where I'm coming from.

Like I said, parents MUST spend time to know about every single move and breath their children take. And they MUST teach their children about the dangers out there so that the children have enough knowledge to protect themselves when their parents can't be around. Because, honestly, parents have to sleep some time, you know. ;) We definitely need to take responsibility for ourselves and place blame where it lies.

"If there were no available, negligent, and naive victims, the predators would have no targets."

I wish it were that simple. But this, I feel, still puts the blame on the victims for being available, negligent and naive. They didn't ask for the abuse. And predators will not only go after them. Many strong, powerful, aware persons have been felled by predators. And these predators aren't always strangers waiting in allies or on the internet.

Anyway, I'll stop now before going on a long and drawn-out tangent.

Summation: Parents have to protect and educate their children on the dangers out there. The internet is dangerous if parents let their kids have unfettered access. Predators are out there and need to be held 100% accountable. Myspace and networking sites like it, imo, shouldn't be held accountable bc predators will seize ANY opportunity to find & lure their prey.

Score: 0

By Alex Stevens

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 1:37 PM

"And even if their parents didn't know about all of their online activities"

Whose fault is that?

Score: 0

By natalees

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 1:47 PM

I'm not saying we should abandon trying to protect ourselves & our children, by any means. Afterall, the internet is NOT a babysitter! Parents MUST keep track of their kids' online activities and friends. Privacy be damned! If you're 13 and you just got a Myspace account and a webcam, privacy is NOT in your best interest! It's one thing for a kid to be able to have a private diary, but when they're posting things for the whole world to see, the first people who should be checkin it out are their parents or guardians. There are way too many people out there that are adept at taking advantage of the innocent and naive. And, if you're 13, you ARE naive!

Be that as it may, this wouldn't be an issue if there weren't people there to prey on the innocent and naive. By blaming the kids and the parents and the internet and the media and Hollywood, we don't hold predators NEARLY responsible enough for their own actions! They are 100% responsible for trolling for and preying on victims.

Score: 0

By Grazer

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 2:50 PM

we don't hold predators NEARLY responsible enough for their own actions
By punishing them according to law, we are not holding them responsible enough? I think the people we are not holding responsible enough are the parents, ever heard of the term "negligence"? Raising a child is a responsibility. Yes, you have to give up any life you had before the child was born, they are not a pet you can leave with a pile of food and bucket of water for the weekend. If you are not prepared to devote every second of your life to the upbringing and security of that human being, you should not be a parent.

Score: 0

By natalees

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 3:06 PM

Read the first half of that posting. I think I've already established that parents need to be responsible for their own kids.

And, no, punishing them according to the law is not sufficient in many cases. The laws need to be stricter and sentences longer and harsher than a few months to a few years in jail, or just probation and house arrest. It's pathetic.

Score: 0

By Grazer

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 3:20 PM

Considering some sex offenders are 21 year olds who were bad at judging 17 from 18, the punishment needs to depend on the circumstances. Personally, I think we shelter children too much in some ways and not enough in others.

Score: 0

By natalees

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 3:53 PM

I have no problem with that. I agree that if it's totally consentual and they're close in age, the law shouldn't be involved.

Score: 0

By bourgeoisdude

edited Jan 18, 2007 - 1:29 PM

Have any problems in life? Did you or someone in your family or group do something wrong and now you are the one left feeling guilty for it? No problem! I have determined the absolute easiest way to fix all depression and guilt, and there is no catch! Guaranteed!

Bourgeoisdude's unique patented process has been proven by billions over the last few millenia and is actively used by nearly every politician and news media outlet today! Try it and see for yourself! The results are clear!

The secret formula is finally revealed: it entails being able to hate anyone and everyone with whom you disagree! By substituting your guilt with hatred, you successfully lose all doubt and sane reason to believe yourself to be wrong, thereby making guilt completely unnecessary!

Here's my new 5-step program to successfully losing all guilt for doing something that your consciousness tells you is wrong:

1. Blame it on your parents (The Disney way :)

2. Didn't get what you wanted in America? Blame it on Bush; if you're conservative, blame the media (or better yet, blame Clinton!). By doing this, you're now in a majority--yeah, now we can propose a law that says it's ok to do wrong since the majority votes that direction. Everything will be fine and dandy in your new dream world.

3. Not into politics? Use computers alot? Blame it on Bill Gates and/or Steve Jobbs. After all, a monopoly is the root of all evil, right? It is, at least, when they are so easy to blame for YOUR OWN mistakes, eh?

4. Watch TV alot? Blame Hollywood and the entire entertainment industry--those bas@#$%s that make those evil GTA games and those evil sitcoms are responsible for your child's drug addiction. It's not like he could have survived in our modern culture without a TV anyway, regardless of the 200 years or so Americans did not have TVs...and God forbid he be without his Playstation!

5. Blame the Internet! After all, look at all those evil websites your son visited because you were too self-centered to spend time with him rather than doing what you wanted to do--Myspace is the Devil! It took your child and daily tries to take you from more important duties such as anything that allows you to escape parental responsibility! Remember--don't JUST boycott them; HATE THEM WITH A PASSION!!!

If, after trying all of the above and you still feel guilt, just think of someone you hate more than anyone else in the world. Now, fabricate a theory where they somehow are responsible. This will always work, but only if you hate people.

So the key to a happey life is hating at least one person with political or personal influence, and that allows you to be guiltless and justify any and all wrongdoing by you and your family. Remember--hate is required for a happy life!

Is anyone scared besides me that although this is quite a "childish" simple way of putting it--this is NOT far from the truth of modern society's way of thinking on all sides of the fence?

WHEN WILL ANYONE TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS?

Score: 0

By rsherry

edited Jan 18, 2007 - 6:40 PM

To bourgeoisdude :
WELL SAID!!

Score: 0

By natalees

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 3:09 PM

Heh. Too accurate for my comfort. ;)

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By Arakiel

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 3:05 PM

Every once and awhile someone comes along making sense and renews my faith that not EVERYONE on the planet is an idiot. You sir, just made my day. Excellent post.

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By Altman

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 2:29 PM

Bravo, well said. I do think that you need to add the fact that society today rewards you for blaming someone else by allowing you to sue them and get money for it.

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By PC_Tool

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 2:04 PM

*clap* *clap*

Well said, sir.

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By Hollywood__

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 12:37 PM

I agree, the failure is in the home. Parents get their kids computers and webcams, all you find is videos of teenage girls doing strip teases for their boyfriends that leaked out after they broke up.

It's ridiculous what kids are allowed to do on their computers right in their parents house. My girls are 4 and 8 years old and my wife and I spend so much time just sitting with them, playing games, movie nights, etc... you can already tell they both know we have a very close family and they act different than a lot of our friends kids.

If any of these lazy parents would do a little digging, you can easily set a list of IP's to be blocked in your router, if you make sure the computer they have access to the internet is linked by cable and not wireless, you have complete control of your PC and what your kids can do.

Most are content to get their kids out of the room so they can watch Housewives and Larry the cable guy on Spike. Then they complain when their kids are chatting with 45 year old perverts who still live at home.

I don't blame MySpace for a second.

go to www.theparentsedge.com

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By chirayu

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 2:07 PM

I second that, I am not a parent yet. But when I do have kids I will make sure my time is spent to make sure they grow up properly.

and yes, parents are at fault not myspace!

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By Altman

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 12:52 PM

I agree that parents are lazy and yes you could block them from getting to myspace at home, but they can't block them from it everywhere. The best bet is the fact that myspace is public, therefore all these parents need to do is go look at their kids myspace account and if they are doing something they shouldn't on it, then give them an a** whooping. It's the parents job to watch over their kids and they shouldn't be suing some company because that company didn't watch over their kids (unless the parents are paying myspace to watch over their kids like it is a daycare center or something).

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By Alex Stevens

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 12:32 PM

Simple solution, if you don't want your kid on a certain site don't let them. You're supposed to be the boss, remember. Personally I still wish Myspace (aka Look at me I'm an attention wh*** space) would get sucked into a black hole and never seen again.

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By slinkys_delsol

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 12:12 PM

I have said it before and I will say it again: Stop BLAMMING MySpace / Websites for your problems!

It's not a Websites issue that your Child is on it. The information that THEY put there is what they want the world to think. Most people on MySpace lie / fake something about themselves in their profile anyway, just like you or I have done on a Job application to get that great paying job.

You might think blocking a site will do nothing more then entice your child to try to get to it more. It's like Crack to and addict, you take it away from them, they want it more.

The true failure here is the PARENTS in the reasoning of, if you spent more time with your child, they probably would not be on sites like MySpace or Friendster. Today's society BLAMES everything except where it should be blamed, on the PARENT. YOU (The Parent) need to involve yourself in more of your child's activities. Today's society, especially in America where "Political Correctness" has ruined us and made most Americans a "Sue Happy Nation" are all just looking to be able to point the finger at the other guy.

• McDonalds did not make you / your child fat, YOU did!
• Marlboro did not make YOU smoke their product, YOU did!
• The PC did not create their profile and post their half naked picture on MySpace, YOUR CHILD DID!

I am not saying you should not look out for their best interest, but you need to let them on places like MySpace and if you want to monitor them, that's fine.

So overall, if your child is on MySpace, tell them not to put to much personal information (Where they live, School the attend, Etc).

Remember, MySpace will only post what YOU tell it to.

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By imafurby

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 1:41 PM

Post what you tell it to? That is if you can figure your way around what is possibly the worst online interface any sadist could ever dream up. I guess that's what attracts the pervs.

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By SCousins

posted Jan 18, 2007 - 12:20 PM

MySpace is evil and retarded. However this lawsuit is even more retarded. These are the same parents filing lawsuits against the shopping mall because their kids met up with their boyfriend there and got knocked up or date raped in the parking lot. **** YOU IRRESPONSIBLE PARENTS!!! It is not my job, the governments job, the schools job, or my spaces job to raise and protect your children. If you can't do it, then you should put them up for adoption and have your tubes tied or your nuts chopped off because I fear for the day that these neglected children are running our world.

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By parrasucker

edited Jan 18, 2007 - 8:17 PM

This is the only article i've seen on this issue, so I might have it all wrong.

If I let my child catch a public bus unsupervised every day, and somebody on the bus built trust with my child over several weeks, then lured him/her to their house and molested my child, would I sue the state for allowing anonymous predators to get onboard and trick my child then molest him/her?

No. I would blame the predator, myself for letting my child catch the bus unsupervised, and for not having the parental responsibility required to form a good relationship with my child, and for not going to this persons house with my child to make sure everything was decent and acceptable.

I wouldn't be sueing the state for their "dangerous" bus service that allows anonymous people to catch the bus!

Money grabbing people sue other people when they take no responsibility for the things they themself should be responsible for.

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By user52

edited Jan 19, 2007 - 8:32 AM

This is like suing your email provider because you got your identity stolen from phishing.

Reminds me of that one person who tried to sue McDonald's for making them fat. This is like blaming Walmart because your kid got kidnapped while you were grocery shopping there. Who is really to blame? Walmart?

No one wants to take responsibility. They want to throw the blame on people that are loaded with cash.

It's funny how they blame MySpace for not taking "meaningful security measures". Maybe the actual parents should have been taking "meaningful security measures".

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