We all remember being in school and getting teased by classmates. Now, bullying is much easier to do while remaining anonymous on the internet.
Some 43% of kids have experienced cyber-bullying, and one in four have had it happen more than once. It’s way too easy to set up fake accounts and go after someone. Sometimes this cyber-bullying can go beyond name calling. Sometimes, victims receive death threats or start being stalked at home.
A 13-year-old girl in Meadow, Texas is finding out just how extreme this bullying can get. Mia Gonzales has received death threats, and there are people taking pictures of the family at their home. The bully is talking about things that have happened at their school.
Of the abuse, Mia said:
“It wasn’t the messages that scared me the most, it was the fact when they took the picture of me at my window, because of how close they were.”
The stalker even made some Instagram accounts that are directly cyber bullying Mia. They post private events that are going inside of her family’s house. The accounts keep getting shut down, but they just pop back up. This has been going on since August, but it has escalated to this:
“It went to, ‘We’re going to kill you, we’re coming after you. My Dad passed away now going on five months – they posted a picture of him and made fun of her for losing him. My brother-in-law died three weeks ago and they told her that she was next. They were laughing at her saying that everybody that she loved was dying and that she was going to come up next.”
They have been isolated to their small living room, and the family’s other children have been having nightmares. Since this is happening online, there are more agencies investigating this. They have contacted Texas rangers and the Attorney General’s office.
There are some people who have volunteered, although they have been told not to get involved. Mia says that she misses being able to play outside.
Here is a taste of some of the messages she has received (her family screenshots all of them):
“I will not stop until all of her friends hate her. Or she dies.”
“Just die already. Wait until I get your number honey. Then I’ll get you. I will come. All in good time. And no one will be there.”
“Please help me. We can end her together. It will be easy. Just get her {expletive} alone.”
The family has gotten behind on bills, because her father needs to stay at home and protect his family. They have started #MiasArmy to show support, and a GoFundMe page is being set up for the family. Whoever is threatening this innocent girl needs to stop and be sent to jail!
Featured image via David D, available under a Creative Commons 2.0 license.
