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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To feel sorry for this woman?

297 replies

Mammanat222 · 05/10/2014 20:01

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2781377/BREAKING-NEWS-Internet-troll-targeted-McCanns-dead-hotel-room-days-fleeing-home.html

OK so her hobby of internet trolling (and her subjects!!) was a bit dodgy BUT I cannot help to feel quite sorry for how she was treated??

AIBU

OP posts:
HeySoulSister · 05/10/2014 20:46

She's got a family, friends... A sad situation

SaucyJack · 05/10/2014 20:46

Depends on what she was tweeting really. If she was just voicing her opinion on a high profile news story, then YANBU. We all do that on here everyday.

If she really was harassing the McCanns...... then good riddance tbh.

IgnoreMeEveryOtherFuckerDoes · 05/10/2014 20:47

Is it bad that I cant feel any compassion here and am say thinking instead about all the people that have been at the receiving end of Internet trolls and especially all those youngsters who have taken their lives.

Didn't see the program but from what I've read isn't it a case of a bigger bully came along and achieved what the other bully set out to do.

IgnoreMeEveryOtherFuckerDoes · 05/10/2014 20:47

sat

HeySoulSister · 05/10/2014 20:47

I remember the MN thread which v v quickly got the press attention and the MNer in question had the press descend en masse.... A big surprise

SpringBreaker · 05/10/2014 20:49

There are many many many threads on here where posters (in anonymous names) call other people nasty things and make assumptions and accusation. Would it be right for them to be hounded in public?

AcrossthePond55 · 05/10/2014 20:50

It's one thing to post your own opinion on newspaper article comment sections, MN, etc. That can be done in a decent 'I disagree with what you are doing' way. It's another thing to troll someone and post vicious, ugly comments specifically directed at a person/persons with the desire to cause pain. No, I have no sympathy for her. You mess with the bull, you get the horn.

Bowlersarm · 05/10/2014 20:50

No tears from me. If you spill out such vileness with the aim to cause hurt, hurt and more hurt...well, you need to take the consequences of your actions.

jaffacake2 · 05/10/2014 20:54

Not sure how I feel about this other than loss of life is tragic in any circumstances. However there have been a lot of teenage suicides reported in UK and USA of kids who have been bullied and attacked through the internet.
People who harass others online should know that there are legal consequences for their actions. It is a pity that this wasn't dealt with in court and strict sentencing for the perpetrators. Maybe then there would be less trolling.

Bambambini · 05/10/2014 20:55

My, what a strange one! Don't know how I feel about this. Part thinks Karma for suddenly being on the receiving end when she was happy to dish it out and part is uncomfortable as it was a public outing and hounding without a proper trial and being judged.

Itsfab · 05/10/2014 20:57

YANBU to feel sorry for her or anyone else. They are your feelings and you feel how you feel.

Hardly Karma Hmm. A few horrible messages about you are hardly the same as dying.

Seriouslyffs · 05/10/2014 20:58

As I said on the other thread, I was stuck in a waiting room and saw the 10+times/ hour they broadcast her being door stepped. It made for very uncomfortable viewing. I think by definition anyone who spends hours online obsessing over a single subject isn't well. Amazed that no one at Sky pointed out how vulnerable she was.

Mumtums · 05/10/2014 20:59

Those saying 'she had a family, friends..', I'm extremely glad she wasn't a friend or family member of mine! Vile human being.

GoldenKelpie · 05/10/2014 20:59

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

ChippingInLatteLover · 05/10/2014 21:00

Internet bullies should be shown as much compassion as they show their victims, ie NONE. I have no problem with the way she was treat. Taking her own life was her decision, no one made her do it.

Hundreds of people are taking their own lives due to cyber bullying. I hope this makes some of the bullies stop and think.

handcream · 05/10/2014 21:01

I don't really feel sorry for her, why are some saying she was vunerable? She was caught out.

Caff2 · 05/10/2014 21:05

I feel sorry for her too, and her family. As it must be terrible to feel suicidal, or to have lost someone to suicide.

But I can't help wondering what she would have felt if Kate or Gerry McCann had committed suicide, and I have a feeling it wouldn't have been sympathy, so it's a bit confusing.

treaclesoda · 05/10/2014 21:05

you might be glad she wasn't one of your family, but that doesn't mean that her family were a part of what she did or are to blame. And they're suffering now. It's one thing to not feel sorry for her (I can't muster much sympathy for her myself) but there are still a family out there grieving.

treaclesoda · 05/10/2014 21:07

or maybe a better way for me to put it is that no, I don't feel sorry for her but I do feel sorry for her family.

IndiansInTheLobby · 05/10/2014 21:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Tutt · 05/10/2014 21:08

She was a very easy target for a huge news corporation to pick on! She was just one of thousands of people who have put on nasty tweets/posts etc about this case.

I don't condone what she wrote but feel for her family if she did commit suicide.

Nancy66 · 05/10/2014 21:09

I feel sorry for her family. they're innocent in all of this and have to come to terms with the loss of a loved one and the revelations of her unpleasant actions.

fedupbutfine · 05/10/2014 21:12

I think there is a difference between voicing an opinion (as many of us do here) and defending it and actively seeking to make someone's life a misery. Unfortunately, I think the line between the two is a very blurred and probably depends on who you are, your life experiences and your own state of mental health.

I suspect she was a woman who wasn't very well mentally, but not ill enough to come into contact with professional services.

And I have to say WTF at the constant reference to her being a 'divorcee' and still using her ex husband's name in the Daily Mail. Presumably they are trying to suggest she was unhinged because she was divorced? Jesus Wept is all I can say to that.

temporaryusername · 05/10/2014 21:14

There is surely a problem with Sky news (who are steadfastly ignoring this at the moment, when if any other channel had been involved, it would be exactly the kind of lead story they cover) acting as judge and jury. No matter what you think internet trolls deserve, surely you think they should get that after police investigation/trial/mental health assessment. Someone could kill themselves after being mistakenly identified as a troll if the media can do this.

If you don't like people being targeted and abused without accurate knowledge or compassion, then I'd have thought you'd have hated both what this woman posted, and what was done to her. Just an initial reaction though. I don't have personal feelings towards her, but I do have worries about the way this was handled. If that becomes the norm then all kinds of innocent and vulnerable people could be hurt. I don't think bullying the bully is always the best way.

Viviennemary · 05/10/2014 21:15

Why was this not dealt with by the police and not left up to journalists to give out their brand of justice.