This is how I feel about Amanda Todd + her youtube video. - Comments

A poor girl made one mistake and ended up paying with her life, its not like you have someone harping on everything you did wrong and making your entire surrounding public aware. what is wrong with you.

I don't think you understand what the term "strong" means in this situation.

She was twelve when she did that. A child who was taken advantage of by an online pedophile. The man who took advantage of her is a pedophile who deserves to be caught, charged, and punished accordingly. What happened may partially be her parents fault as well. She was a child, she should not have had unrestricted access to the Internet and sure as hell should not have had a webcam at all. Children don't need a webcam for any reason, she shouldn't have had one at all at that age. But I feel her parents have suffered enough right now, what with losing their child and all. The point is, yes, she did show her chest to strangers online. But she was also a child who probably had extremely low self-esteem and was looking for attention so she could feel loved. Low self-esteem makes me people things they may not normally do if they had a healthy ego because they want to feel loved, they want to feel pretty. Amanda was a young, innocent child who was taken advantage of by a pedophile who proceeded to stalk and abuse her for three years until she broke and took her life. To blame the victim is nothing short of cruel in my eyes. She was a young child who made a mistake. I know you are not perfect and I know you made mistakes as a child. I myself made mistakes as a child. I don't deserve for my mistakes to follow me. You don't deserve for your mistakes to follow you forever. Amanda did not deserve for her mistakes to follow her forever. We shouldn't be blaming the victim, we should be blaming the pedophile who took advantage of a young child probably desperate for acceptance and love. The fact that you're sitting here blaming a child who was taken advantage of by a possible pedophile is astonishing to me. We should be blaming the predator who targeted a child.

That being said, as Kurtni pointed out, she did try to "take responsibility" for the bullying. She moved schools multiple times but she was being stalked. Her abusers would track her and find her no matter where she went, she was unable to escape it. The first time she moved, she thought it was over but the pedophile managed to track her and get all her information. The scary part is, that could happen to anyone. Any one of us could be tracked, stalked, and harassed like that because of how advanced today's technology is. What happened to Amanda sadly happens to a lot of people. She tried to escape the bullies. She tried to move on but her bullies stalked her and wouldn't leave her be. So she did try to do something and based upon what you said, I think I am right to assume you don't actually know much about Amanda's story and didn't pay too much attention to what she said in the video.

In the end, victim-blaming is horrible. Amanda was a young person who made a mistake when was twelve. That mistake followed her until it broke her will to live. No one deserves to die for a mistake they made when they were a child. No one deserves to be stalked. No one deserves to be abused and harassed like that. Her mistake should not have followed her like that and it bothers me how you or anyone can think she deserved for it to follow her.

Also, in regards to one of your comments, committing suicide does not make someone "weak". I don't even know what to say to that implication that the "strong" wouldn't commit suicide. Remember: not everyone is you and not everyone has your limits.

@ Careless Whisper.
I read earlier that he knew her address, schools, friends, family, etc., like all the names and such. He wasn't just harrassing her online. It was impossible, really, for her to get away from him, it seems.

Raoul Duke:

I'm not blaming her for being 'groomed', I'm blaming her for the picture itself. She acts like she's 'innocent' when the only person who could have showed her breasts to a stranger was her. She wasn't held hostage and forced. She willingly showed herself to a stranger, and then acted as if none of it was her fault.

Do you understand what grooming is, because it really doesn't sound like you do. You obviously are completely ignorant to the term "coercion" as well.

This is rather... insensitive. She was a child. Children do things they shouldn't, quite often. It's always sad when someone ends their own life.

My only question to the while thing is, if this guy kept finding her on Facebook, why didn't her parents just make her get rid of her account and just NOT start a new one? Though honestly I don't know all the details of this story.

My reply to this blog and your reply to Snow White; .

Amanda Todd was strong, and just because she committed suicide does not mean she wasn't. Everyone has a breaking point, and yours may be different from hers, but she came to her breaking point. If I was her, I'm not sure if I would be able to live through that almost every single day.

Yes, she should've known better than to do what she did, but the grown up man should've known better than to ask or reveal that photo to the world. Those bullies should've known better than to beat her or threaten her or tell her to kill herself. No matter what you say no one deserves to be told to go kill themselves.

@ Raoul Duke
Why does she deserve none? Because not every suicide is brought to light, so that's okay for her to just be ignored right? No.

And I don't think she exactly expected to be stalked for showing her breasts, for her life to be destroyed - and ended - because of it. She made a mistake. Should she have shown her breasts? No. But she did, and it was a mistake, but she did not deserve what happened to her for something millions of girls do everyday, and looky here, turn out fine.

I bet some of the girls that harrassed her for it might've done the same thing, and yet what are they for it? Perfect little angels?

@ Snow White;
I never said or impiled that. If she was so 'strong' she wouldn't have killed herself.

@ ladyschrei
I never said anyone deserves to go through that. But when it comes down to it, she is the one to be blamed. She went online and cammed with strangers. She showed her breasts. What did she expect? For nothing to happen? She was a teen when it happened, I don't know what age she was, but she was old enough to know not to talk to cam with strangers or show her body.

@ Kurtni
I wasn't aware that the man wasn't charged. I'm not blaming her for being 'groomed', I'm blaming her for the picture itself. She acts like she's 'innocent' when the only person who could have showed her breasts to a stranger was her. She wasn't held hostage and forced. She willingly showed herself to a stranger, and then acted as if none of it was her fault. Clearly you didn't read my blog all the way. I never said she DESERVES attention. I said she deserves none, the exact amount most suicides get. And no, I do not think she's too 'pretty' to be a victim. I've seen multiple pictures of her on Facebook pages quoting "She's so pretty, she shouldn't have killer herself, etc." I don’t have a stereotypical view on victims of suicide.

I also have to agree with Courtney, and will now try and write a longer post since I've gotten over the innitial shock of the content of this blog.

I find it atrocious that apparently it's her fault for someone older taking advantage of her. If I haven't gotten the timeline wrong, she was 13-14 when she first showed her breasts in a webcam, and although not a wise deicision young teenagers aren't exactly known for never making mistakes. People make mistakes, and that's human and unfortunate, but no one ever deserves the kind of treatment she got. No one and NEVER! I'm shocked and can barely speak at reading your blog, because I can't understand how anyone can feel that way. She was taken advantage of, and then she was tormented because of it. If a girl gets raped does it also mean it's her fault for wearing provokative clothing? No never ever in a million years ever! Nobody deserves rape and nobody deserves tormen and harassment and bullying.

It's actually pretty fucking frightening to see how someone seems to think that death is a suitable punishment for a young girl, a fucking child making a mistake. It's nothing but atrocious and she is not even a little to blame. No bullying victim is ever to blame! Ever. I was made fun of for wearing leggings to school - is that my fault too? Because clearly I could have worn what everyone wanted me to wear and not what I wanted to wear to make sure I didn't get bullied. It's absolutely astonishing that anyone can have that point of view.

She also did stand up for herself moving schools and attempting several times to continue with her life. Because she was really fucking strong. But in spite of doing everything within her powers to move on he continued following her and bullying her and making sure everyone knew about ONE little mistake she'd made when she was younger. That is not her fault, and she did in no way deserve anything that she got thrown at her.

I don't see what her appearance has to do with anything. Pretty, ugly, skinny, fat, it doesn't matter. Bullying is always horrible and the victims always matter. I can't understand why you feel you're above her just because she was - what you have determined to be - pretty.

This is just atrocious and frightening.

Whatever I may think of your opinion I think that the dead should still be shown respect. This comes across as the opposite.

She was stalked and then harassed by her peers, but you can't tip toe down from your pedestal to see how that might affect a person. Especially a person with mental illness.

A pedophile coerced a young girl and sexually abused her. That's a crime for which her abuser was never punished, and a mental torment I can't imagine living with. Rational people don't blame victims who are groomed online by pedophiles. If someone had taken those pictures of her in person, I doubt you'd be so judgmental and dismissive. Your attitude is representative of a larger culture that shames and punishes women who are victims of sexual assault because they were "asking for it" or did something to "deserve" it, without realizing your attitude is what makes sexual assault so permissive and common.

Clearly you didn't research her story before jumping on a high horse, because she DID move and DID change schools and DID seek mental help. For a teenage girl, I'd say that's pretty monumental, mature attempts to get help, far beyond what I'd expect from a typical teenager. Most kids are fortunate enough to have parents looking out for them in those regards.

Ironically it seems because she isn't odd/eccentric/ a "typical" bullying victim, you've decided she's too pretty/normal to be deserving of any sympathy because of horribly wrong stereotypes you hold about what a bullying victim looks like. Victims come in all shapes, sizes and colors, and I think it's wrong that you feel the need to rank how worthy of attention they are.

I just think it's cruel that you and other people are posting about how much attention she deserves, as if there is some fucked up scale of how important or relevant a suicide or bullying victim is... As if suicide/sexual harassment/bullying is some sort of competition to be won. That's just... so wrong.

...she did move to a different school. Like, three times. And the same shit happened each time.

I completely agree with what @ Snow White; said, and agree with basically none of your blog at all.

No one deserves what she went through. And it isn't because she's "pretty", I have absolutely no idea where you got that idea from.

How great that apparently death is a suitable punishment now for people being young and making mistakes.
Sweet.

Absolutely agree.

And this si completely true