Trolling doesn't end with death

Sort of continuing with Tom Mellaney's story, trolling never changes and never stops, as long there are bored people out there.

I am starting to realize a distinctive difference between trolling and cyberbullying. Cyberbullying comes as a full-blown action; while trolling is more like an annoying act-by-act reinforcement. This is evident with 15 year-old Natasha McBryde's suicide case.

According to reports, she has Asperger's Syndrome and committed suicide by throwing herself under a train after being bullied in school and online back in 2011. But the real trolling came in when 25 year-old Sean Duffy posted several abusive messages on memorial websites dedicated to deceased teenagers. It included calling her a "slut", making Photoshopped images and videos just to insult MacBryde.

Very little is known about Duffy. Well, I could say at least he knew how to realize his mistakes by pleading guilty and even adding another offense in his account. Trolling "violations" may be old news, but at this scale, the British law enforcement had no choice but to lock him up for 5 years in order to make a judgment with this issue. http://www.channel4.com/news/dead-teenagers-memorial-website-bully-jailed


Now, why am I telling these stories? It gives us the realization that there is a clear difference between "freedom of speech" and "protection against harm". Similar the verbal harassment, people need to respect one another to ensure civil security and safety.

I am just glad to such case like these have occurred in the Philippines yet.