Arrest Cyber Bullies Responsible for Amanda Todd's Death

There are only a few days left: WOW! What a privilege! Isn't "social networking" supposed to be some trifling part of modern existence? Bam! The force of courage, of a Canadian child, threw me; and I almost saw this delicate shoulder budge mountains of human horror.

I'm a peon in this deal but I am so very grateful to every signature here, to every bit of human intelligence and real strength. I will never be able to express what you've meant to me and, I'm certain, to any grandchildren that might follow. From the bottom of my heart and soul: Thank you.

But that's the last thing that's important here.

These are Amanda Todd's words, that she wrote with the video:

"Published on Sep 7, 2012
I'm struggling to stay in this world, because everything just touches me so deeply. I'm not doing this for attention. I'm doing this to be an inspiration and to show that I can be strong. I did things to myself to make pain go away, because I'd rather hurt myself then someone else. Haters are haters but please don't hate, although im sure I'll get them. I hope I can show you guys that everyone has a story, and everyones future will be bright one day, you just gotta pull through. I'm still here aren't I ?"

The song she played, "You gave us some place to go. I never said 'thank you' for that … May angels lead you in."

You gave us a brand-new humanly-joyous place to go. Thank you dear one. May angels lead you in …

Today, some believe, some don't. Some are wondering where the next meal is coming from, some are comically wondering how to explain that Santa is "green" and re-uses bows, some of us are thinking, "I know one of the kids is going to get sick, we went all out for this vacation", some of us are wondering about a safe place for our children tonight …

Regardless of anyone's roots or beliefs, today is marked in the genetic history of all of us: What if? What if a child brave enough to speak up was answered: by us? What would have happened if I-we would have stood up for her … for him … for them? And, what would it have cost? Fitting in and being comfy have done a lot to keep us (the human race) going. But, today is about seeing light in the darkest times: seeing hope, compassion and human intelligence, when another is drenched in terror, isolation and brutally inflicted-shame.

I have a list of quotations that have "kept me going" – coincidentally (???) every one of them is from one who has stood up to this horror of bullying, in one way or another; Jesus among them. Today, they might have been written off as "panic disorder, major depressive …" and all I can think of is, "What brilliance would have Amanda Todd, and the thousands-millions like her, have contributed to the world that I want my grandchildren to live in?"

Even if one is an atheist, today is important. Please use it to commit to "eradicating bullying".

Happiest of holidays or Merry Christmas!

One jarring statistic is that JUST in the United States, a teenager commits suicide, due to bullying, every 30 minutes. That doesn't begin to calculate the entire horror of bullying. You'd think that the cost to the world economy - alone (to our healthcare, education, justice …) would have brought authorities down on this plague, long ago.

It took a 15-year-old child to stand up to this monster - and say, "No one deserves this". All bullies have elaborate fantasies that entitle them to terrorize and humiliate; and our societies buy into them, to stay comfy. To me, she was such a remarkable spirit in recognizing the "thrill", of all bullies, for the lie it is.

Amanda Todd did her utmost to speak for all victims of bullying. She made the point that people are NOT bullied because of looks, abilities, disabilities ... People are bullied because of bullies. It's long overdue that every community begin to hold bullies accountable, instead of further shaming victims.

Thanks to her voice, victims of bullying are enabled to stand up and say, "No, this is NOT just me". This petition is about making that message even stronger. Thank you so very much for sharing in this act of humanity and courage.

I can't be as eloquent as Amanda Todd, Amanda Saracen, the beauty of Felicia Garcia, the face of a man being sexually humiliated in Africa… the unmitigated human strength of each. Often, I've just put my head down, without words, at the signatures here: human beings from each continent, religion, race – each saying "this isn't me", "this isn't my children", "this is not what it means to be a human being".

This started as a message to an online predator – a consummate bully and his followers – and to the authorities who have allowed these people to thrill, causing fear, pain, dread, humiliation. I know this type well; too many of us do, their rationalizations, minimizing … without giving one thought to the fact that they are causing other human beings to live in terror and dread: any small hope, any small accomplishment, any small human goodness – a target of enraged jealousy and degradation .

The loss, of all of us, is what was taken from this world: the laughter, the smiles, the hope, the intelligence, the compassion.

I'm not as good as the voices before me. I'm just begging people to sign this. This is the first time, that I know of, where people have had the chance to declare allegiance to the dignity of all human beings.

October 21, 2012 7:31am

I can't tell you how many times I have watched Amanda's video. It never gets easier to watch. I imagine her in her bedroom filming this with her laptop and I am reminded of my own daughter as she has recorded some YouTube videos of her own. What teenager these days hasn't done that? I mentioned this in a previous update and was berated by a commenter who stated that I should "win worst mother of the year" for comparing Amanda Todd to my own flesh and blood. I disagree with you, sir. Teenage girls are unique creatures and unless you've been one or raised one, you have no idea what you are talking about. Teenage girls are fragile, emotional and easily manipulated by outside stimuli. They are learning; everyone learns by making mistakes. It's how we grow as people. Obviously these are my opinions and you are entitled to yours.

***300,000*** people have taken a stand for what the believe in by joining this cause in Amanda's memory. If that doesn't say we want change, then I don't know what does!

Through a friend of Amanda Todd's family, I have been informed that the family is hoping we can ultimately reach a goal of 1 million signatures. I believe that this is a realistic possibility if we all keep Amanda Todd and her family in our hearts, prayers and shares! To date we have had 2,162,902 Face Book shares (WoW), 980 Tweets and over 7,000 comments!! Absolutely amazing! Thanks to you all!

Something that I feel I should have made more clear when I started this: I want to see that the pedophile who stalked, blackmailed, and tormented Amanda online be located and prosecuted by the law. This is not another teenager who made a mistake. This is an adult who is preying on children. I do not think that we should use vigilante justice and hang him from the nearest tree. He should go before a judge and jury of his peers and be sentenced like the criminal that he is. I know that there are many people out there that bullied her in life and now are doing so in death. While those people deserve to have some sort of repercussions, they were not the intended target of this petition.

Please continue to stop in and comment on our site but remember to keep your comments as respectful as possible. We all have different opinions but we cannot bully the bullies and if your comment does so it will not be posted on this site.

This cause has morphed beyond it's original sole purpose of petitioning the RCMP and has become a place for people to talk with each other about like ideas while maintaining an anti-bullying atmosphere. We all have differing opinions but we need to remain respectful of each other. The people that have joined this cause are generally really good people that want to bring about change and reform while realizing that they have to be the change they want to see in the world. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for joining this cause and for taking a stand against bullying!

Please take the time to share your personal story on our new feature! Please avoid posting personal information such as phone numbers and addresses for your own protection.

Just click the link and tell your story!
http://www.causes.com/causes/797178-demand-that-the-people-that-bullied-amanda-todd-to-death-are-held-responsible/actions/1694358?utm_campaign=more_from_cause

https://vancouverfoundation.ca/Amanda/donateonline.asp

As reported by the Vancouver Sun, "In putting together her video, which Amanda did all on her own, Carol said her daughter wanted to help other young people who are being bullied and to bring attention and education to the problem in the hope of seeing it eradicated."

"I have lost one child but know she wanted her story to save 1,000 more."

The Todd family has created two funds to keep Amanda's caring spirit alive.

Please select which fund you would like to support (Step 2 below):

Amanda's Legacy Fund: If you would like your gift to preserve Amanda's legacy and support generations to come, please select this fund.
Amanda's Memorial Fund: If you would like your gift to make an impact today on the issues the Todd family wishes to support, please select this fund.

To donate with your credit card, please complete the form below. Alternatively, you can also donate via:

Phone: Vancouver Foundation at 604.688.2204.
Cheque: made payable to Vancouver Foundation with "Amanda Todd" in the memo line. Mail to: Vancouver Foundation, Suite 1200-555 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 4N6

Please Note:

Charitable tax receipts will be issued via mail for all gifts of $25 or more.
We are unable to accept cash donations. Please make you donation via credit card or cheque (see above for details).
If you require a US tax receipt, please contact Peter Jackman at Vancouver Foundation (contact information below) for more information.
Unfortunately, Vancouver Foundation is unable to issue tax receipts for gifts made previously to the Royal Bank of Canada trust fund.

If you wish to receive more information about this fund, or have any questions about Vancouver Foundation, please contact Peter Jackman at peterj@vancouverfoundation.ca or 604.629.5357.

Here we go.

Bullying. We all know what this is, and I'm almost certain everyone has experienced one or two times where they had been bullied in their lifetime. Bullying is a senseless act of violence and acting out to gain attention, within the means of whatever it takes to make them react. Bullying is stupid, and whoever is a bully seriously needs to rethink their life choices, before it is to late.

Amanda Todd, was a sweet young girl who fell victim to one of these heinous acts. I did not know Amanda personally nor did most of rest of us. Yet I feel a strange connection with her, because well, we are almost the same age. Just think. If this was your best friend. Your best friend who was being bullied, and harassed to the point where they drank bleach to end their own life by whatever means possible, would you do something? Would you do something that would forever change the world of everyone around you? Or would you sink back under the radar and not stand up for your friend and let her get bullied day after day, week after week and month after month? Until she couldn't take it anymore, and reached out to different society of people, but before anyone could help her it was to late. This beautiful young girl had taken her own life, because of an individual who was such a coward. His own stupidity and ignorance clouded whatever kind of brain cells he had into hiding away and not taken the blame for such a reckless act. I awoke that morning with my mother, distressed by this. She thought what if this had been me? Her own 13 year old daughter she had loved and cared for. So she started this cause. I couldn't help my self but to insist on taking an hour of my day to reading comments of how dearly everyone wished they could have helped Amanda. I sit here typing this because of how tragic this was, and how brave Amanda was for reaching out to someone. My mother and I, including everyone else who have signed this petition have dedicated just a little moment of their time into helping us bring justice for Amanda Todd and finding the horrible person who sent those pictures of her, in the first place, and putting them away hopefully for good.

Gabrielle

10/16/12 714am

Congratulations to everyone that has participated in this cause! Because of you and the 1.1 MILLION (OMG!!) Face Book shares, 500 Tweets and 5,000 comments we have reached our goal of 150,000 signers and is still rising rapidly!

Amanda Todd, we will not let your death be in vain! We have joined together to say "Enough is enough! We will not just lay down and let bullying continue!"

So many of you have commented and shared your individual stories. Many of you have lost friends and family members due to bullying violence. Please continue to stop by our cause and network with others so that together, WE CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE!!! God bless you all! ♥♥♥

P.S. This cause was started on 10/12/12 @ 3pm

I have been reading some of the comments that are coming through and I just thought that I would reply to a rare few that have said what an idiot I am for starting this cause.

First of all, I am the single mother of a thirteen year old girl and when I saw Amanda's video it broke my heart. I thought of my own daughter and how devastated I would be if something like this happened to her.

I originally heard about Amanda through a tweet on twitter. I watched her video and got very upset, like most everyone that has watched it. At that time, I didn't know that she had already taken her own life. I started writing her a response telling her that she was not alone and that I would be there for her. Then when I went to post it, I saw another post saying that she had killed herself no less than 8 hours before. I thought to myself, no this can't be real. This is a hoax. But as we all know now; it was not. I started crying and I felt like I had let Amanda down. I could have been the one to make a difference if only I had seen it sooner...8 hours sooner to be exact.

I realize that the RCMP will not go out and arrest the person(s) that stalked, harassed, and bullied Amanda Todd because I want them to. However I do think that if we get enough people to sign that they will realize that we are not going to let them sweep this under the rug. I completely believe that this cause will help to bring about change. I also wanted my daughter to know that if you want to see change, you have to be the change. I could have done nothing. I could have went about my day and put Amanda Todd behind me. But I chose not to. I chose to TRY and make a difference - no matter how small a difference it may be. In less than 36 hours, over 300,000 people have seen Amanda's video and have been brought to awareness about the injustice that was done to her, through this cause alone. People have brainstormed together, have made new acquaintances, started websites dedicated to coming together to stop bullying from continuing. My daughter now knows that it doesn't matter that you are just one small little person ~ Because one little person CAN bring about change. Thank you to everyone that has signed this cause. Please continue to keep Amanda Todd in your thought's and prayers. ♥♥♥

Courtesy of CTV News~

It breaks my heart to think that no one stepped up to help Amanda Todd. Another child just fell through the cracks.

She's the B.C. teenager who took her own life a few days ago, just over a month after posting a video to YouTube telling her story of the abuse she suffered at the hands of bullies.

If you haven't watched her video yet, have a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vOHXGNx-E7E

Then, look around.

Do you know anyone suffering in similar silence? Can you do anything to stop what has become a tragic trend of bullying-related suicides?

The statistics on bullying and suicide are nothing short of staggering. See for yourself here (at Bullyingstatistics.org).

Stories like Amanda's, as avoidable as they are, not only put a face to the sad statistics -- they show us that there's something crucial missing in the way our communities and our institutions deal with the young people around us who are in so much pain.

They are a painful reminder of the dialogue that needs to be happening -- at our schools and at our dinner tables -- and if it is happening, then it isn't happening enough.

It's a heartbreak that stories like Amanda's have to be told before we're moved to find ways to make things better for victims like her. Again, look around, ask your kids to look around. This is a concrete example of how just one person can make a difference in someone else's life. I don't mean to sound too preachy but something's gotta give to help disenfranchised teenagers feel connected to more than their laptops.

Amanda's story is leading the CTV National News tonight. I wish she weren't. If more people had listened to Amanda, in life, then we wouldn't be talking about her death.

Amanda Todd Death Sparks Police Probe
Courtesy of Huffington Post Canada
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/10/12/amanda-todd-death-police-rcmp-bullying_n_1962183.html?just_reloaded=1

VANCOUVER - The RCMP in British Columbia have an investigation underway, but say it's too early to know where a probe will lead after the suspected suicide of a teen who made a video saying she was being relentlessly bullied.

Const. Jamie Phillipson could only say police are at the early stages of an investigation, and their primary role now is to act on behalf of the victim's family.

An official with the B.C. coroner's office says preliminary indications are that 15-year-old Amanda Todd of Port Coquitlam, B.C., took her own life earlier this week.

About five weeks ago, Todd posted a haunting video on YouTube where she explains how she had been tormented by bullies online and in person, which plunged her into a major depression.

Simon Fraser University criminologist Brenda Morrison says the response to bullying needs to change and the community needs to step up to fight back.

Morrison says no one appeared to stand up for Todd when she was being bullied, and she needed a community to care for her.