Neighbors Shun Lori Drew and Family
By now, most of you have read about the suicide of 13-yer-old Megan Meier. She is the young girl who hung herself after being pushed to the brink by hurtful, personally insulting messages posted about her on MySpace. Almost more tragic than her death is that the person attacking her on MySpace was doing it via a fake account for a nonexistent teenage boy. The account was opened by an adult mother of one of Megan’s friends who lived on her street – Lori Drew.
The local district attorney decided that no charged would be filed in relation to Megan’s suicide, primarily based on the fact that Lori Drew is now blaming the actually negative comments on a temporary employee she hired at her home-based advertising business. Drew said that “somehow” other people had gained access to this fake MySpace account that the teenaged employee created. The employee says the account was created by Drew after a brainstorming session between Drew, the employee, and Drew’s own daughter.
Justice has a way of being served, though. Even if mainstream legal processes will not punish Drew she will still feel the burn of her unwise decisions thorough community channels. Most of her clients from her business dropped her like a ton of bricks. Her neighbors are polarized against her, coming together with the singular request that she leave the area. She is being shunned, just like in days of old when right and wrong were more clearly understood and society did not suffer wrongdoers for long.
Drew has issued statements through her lawyer saying she had nothing to do with the negative comments. Tell me, though, what adult opens a false internet account with the intension of spying on a child, as Drew has admitted was her motivation? It is natural for her community to doubt her, to call to question her judgment and worthiness as a neighbor, parent, colleague and friend.
Drew may claim ignorance about the mean spirited messaged now that the heat is on, but we are talking about a situation where a legal adult hatched a plan with two underage children. Who is responsible in this situation? What adult blames the minors involved? Pathetic.
I say Lori Drew deserves the shunning that is currently occurring in her Missouri neighborhood. If she moves and a stigma flows, she will deserve that as well. Our nation has too long been full of apathetic people who do nothing about the blatant wrongs we see daily. It is high time that people spoke out about it. Until people start being met with public humiliation for their sins, they will just keep on committing self-serving, wrong deeds.
As powerful as peer-pressure is in schools, community pressure can be all the more powerful. Public disapproval is natural and we should thank communities that hold true to their beliefs.
Let us no forget that during the weeks that led to Megan Meier’s last day, the trio of mother-daughter-employee also manipulated other young teens (children) to act as they did.
It wasn’t just the final comments but the realization that, for weeks, everything Megan Meier had shared with the child-predator trio had been used to create this dark and foreboding final day.
All the animosity Megan Meier experienced had been pre-meditated and expertly executed to engage as many people as possible – to make a complete fool of this fragile (and one-time friend).
The Weekly Vice Offers This Open Letter To St. Charles County Prosecutor Jack Banas.
Jan 9, 2008 (The Weekly Vice )
Dear Jack Banas,
The nation has been horrified as an adult mother, her daughter and an employee of the adult stalked, harassed and bullied a 13 year old minor child continually until that minor child committed suicide.
When you reviewed the case, the nation watched as you willfully ignored a sworn statement by Lori Drew stipulating her involvement in this process. We watched when you willfully adopted Lori Drew’s new account of what happened – while failing to address Lori Drew’s previous, sworn statements. We are now watching as you willfully and neglectfully ignore the legal implications that go along with falsifying a police report.
Jack Banas, you have claimed repeatedly that Lori Drew violated no state law or statute. You have gone on the record with these statements multiple times. What you have not done is explain why some citizens of your county are required to follow the laws of the land while others are not. Why some citizens are prosecuted for filing false reports with Missouri authorities, while others seemingly are not required to be accountable for such acts.
On November 11th, 2006, the St. Charles County Sheriff’s Department responded to a complaint that Lori Drew wished to file. The authorities in your county arrived and took Lori Drew’s detailed statement.
The officer carefully accounted word for word Lori Drew’s statements using quotes to accurately record her words, and in this statement Lori Drew stipulated to several key facts that she now disputes. Among those key statements, Lori Drew stipulated the following:
“Drew stated she, her daughter and Ashley all typed, read and monitored the communication between the fake male profile and Megan. Drew went on to say, the communication became “sexual for a thirteen year old. Drew stated she continued the fake male profile despite this development.”
This statement is the exact text as stipulated by Lori Drew in the Incident Report she willfully filed. In this Incident report, Lori Drew detailed in clear language her active involvement in the shameful activities that cascaded into tragedy for Megan Meier.
Jack Banas, Lori Drew’s current statements dramatically and compellingly disagrees with the statements she rendered as true testimony in the November 11th report. She now has stated through her attorney Jim Briscoe, the following:
“Everything, as far as Mrs. Drew knew, was that all the communication was nice and polite and there was no harassing going on,” Briscoe said. “She did not create the MySpace account. She did not instruct anybody to create the MySpace account. She never made any communications through the MySpace account.”
Lori Drew has also given public statements, denying that the report she filed on November 11th is accurate. In doing so, she herself calls into question the accuracy of the statement she submitted to St. Charles Deputies in her November 11th complaint.
You Cannot Have It Both Ways:
Jack Banas, Missouri Law demands that when a citizen files an Incident Report in the State Of Missouri, the citizen has an obligation to tell the truth.
Jack Banas, the citizens of Missouri would like to know why some citizens of your county are expected to abide by the law and play by the rules, while others are allowed to thumb their nose at these requirements.
Jack Banas, the citizens of Missouri would like to know why an elected county prosecutor personally reviewed this case and willfully ignored the obvious reversal Lori Drew has made in her statements between the November 11th incident report and her statements now.
Jack Banas, since you have stated that Lori Drew did not break the law, we have no other choice but to assume that filing a false statement and/or false police/incident report with St. Charles County authorities is acceptable under the laws of your county.
Jack Banas, you can no longer have it both ways. Either Lori Drew (and the St. Charles County Prosecutor’s office) has been untruthful with the citizens of Missouri on November 11th, 2008, or you are being untruthful with us now.
Tax paying Missourians demand that you enforce the laws you have been sworn to uphold.
We await your reply with voting card in hand.
Danny Vice
The Weekly Vice
http://weeklyvice.blogspot.com
Contact Jack Banas here:
http://www.sccmo.org/departments/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=32
Good post. You make some great points that most people do not fully understand.
“Drew has issued statements through her lawyer saying she had nothing to do with the negative comments. Tell me, though, what adult opens a false internet account with the intension of spying on a child, as Drew has admitted was her motivation? It is natural for her community to doubt her, to call to question her judgment and worthiness as a neighbor, parent, colleague and friend.”
I like how you explained that. Very helpful. Thanks.