Online Fandom- CNN Bully Story

On CNN.com the story of a young girl in high school that commits suicide is the hot topic for many discussions.

The girl was a high school student recently moved from another place with her parents. As the typical bully story goes, she was having a hard time fitting in and being the new girl everyone made fun of her.

Unfortunately, in this situation the students took bullying too far. The girl, Phoebe Prince was harassed by over 8 people. Three of which were male, and were accused of rape. The girls that she was being bullied by stalked her and physically harmed her. After about 3 months of this torture, Prince was found dead in the hallway of her home. As of now the charges are pending, but all of the students over 17 will be tried as adults and could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.

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Some of the discussions by the viewers are as followed:

Bullied as a child:

1) I was bullied extensively as a child, but my younger brothers got the worst of it, including a broken jaw on the playground and an instance of near suffocation on a school bus. More than once I went mother lion on the bullies -- and of course the school punished me, not them. Children are taught to "take it" or "ignore it". That is NOT okay. (MALE RESPONSE)

2) n my own opinion, as someone who also was harassed and bullied, the parents also need to be held accountable, but to what degree depends on how much rights as a parent the particular state provides. All of the peers involved should be held accountable as you or I would if we were to do this "bulling". And the faculty members who failed to intervene should not only loose their jobs, but also be charged with one of any criminal charges (I can't remember the name, however there is a charge that implies failed to follow responsibility to prevent a violent act from occurring, and such is the case here). (MALE RESPONSE)

3) I was bullied in the 7th and 8th grade and I remember how terrified I was. I never fought back because I was scared to death. I never told anyone, either. I went on to college and became an accountant. I was happy with my life, earning nice money and married to a beautiful successful spouse and had 1 son. I thought those days were long forgotten and that they had no lasting effect on my life. (FEMALE RESPONSE)

Concerned Parents:

1)Let's see the faces of these children. Let's see life sentences for each one of them. Rehabilitation? Not even a possibility. They will be a severe threat to society for the remainder of their lives. The parents? They planted, harbored, and influenced their childrens' mental illness and deserve life sentences as well. (MALE RESPONSE)

2)The schools need to be accountable. Bullying is NOT an issue to take lightly...it's serious with bad consequences. We need to push harder for "bully free" schools. I know at my son's elementary, if ONE kid was caught harassing another kid, that kid will be dealt with harshly. If it happens again, that kid is kicked out with a bad record. "Good luck finding another school with a bad reputation, kid." (FEMALE RESPONSE)

3) I am the father of a 10 year old daughter and my heart goes out to this family.

My daughter has been the victim on multiple occasions to to schoolyard bullying both physical and emotional and the faculty has refused to admit exists in their school. Concerned parents paid for a specialist to come in and discuss the current situation with the parents and children. The school provided the venue, but no faculty were present. They refuse to receive faculty training, citing the cost and budget concerns. (MALE RESPONSE)

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I do not see much of a difference in the response of the male and female answers. Each seemed genuinely concerned about the safety of Pheobe and about the safety of their own child. I did notice that throughout the discussion most of the comments were from males, and they also seemed to be concerned fathers. I feel like a lot of the males are very protective of their children and want to ensure their safety.