Disgusting and Disturbing

I read the most disturbing article in the NYT today: A Hoax Turned Fatal Draw Anger But No Charges. According to the article a 13 year old girl hanged herself after a boy she was talking to on her MySpace page told her, "The world would be a better place without you." If that isn't bad enough, it turned out that the boy she was talking to was not actually who he claimed to be. In fact, it was the mother of a neighborhood girl who wanted to find out what the girl thought of her daughter.

What sort of adult does something so despicable? Apparently it isn't enough that teenagers are mean to each other, now they have to contend with similar behavior of adults. Apparently the mother was upset because the girl had broken off a friendship with her daughter. Of course a mother would be upset to see her child hurt. But that's no way to solve the issue. In fact, rather than give her daughter the tools to deal with the situation she instead showed her that deception and mean-spirited tricks are appropriate.