West Genesee Fags

[zabazor]

So my Mom teaches at West Genesee High School. Recently there had been a group on Facebook called West Genesee Fags where the students were joining and posting pictures of people they believed were gay at school and harassing them about it. The school contacted Facebook and asked them to remove the group. Facebook refused for a long while. Eventually they removed it, but the damage had already been done. Many students names had been tarnished and harassment continues at school, face to face. This event could have been stopped when it was first created if Facebook listened to the schools request and deleted the page. Why they waited is beyond me, but it was terrible. Since then, this has been all over the local paper. I have no idea how big it has become since then, but it is bad. Do you think Facebook is in the wrong and do you think this will hurt Facebook for the future, making it the other Myspace?  

[Atrum_Anima]

I'd like to think that Facebook is wrong, because that's what my instincts are screaming, but I'm not really so sure. Although you could say "If Facebook has just taken it down, it wouldn't have been a problem," but it would be better to say, "If the group's creator had never started the group, none of this would have started." No one should make purposefully negative groups with aggressive agendas, but at the same time, my Free Speech Brain couldn't think of disallowing people from doing so. Why can't we all just get along?! gonk

As far as Facebook taking down the page after the school asked, they really should have done so immediately. Being as sluggish as they were was just unprofessional. All said and done, this happening probably won't hurt Facebook at all, but that doesn't mean that it won't end up being Myspace v.2.  

[Tarrien]

It's already Myspace. Except its harder to hook up with strangers in your area.

*sighs* I have a strong opinion on bullying. But, I'm not going to put the blame on Facebook, its really the creator of the page's fault. Does anyone know who created this page? Its not fair or right that people are bullied every day in school, especially over sexual preference, true or not. (I've gone through this, not fun, there's a reason there's a high suicide rate at this time for gay teens)

But the truth is, if it wasn't this, it would've been something else. I don't know what causes the mean streak in people, but as more and more media outlets open, the more people find ways to harass people via those outlets.  

[asteria79]

Of course facebook is wrong. The person who created is wrong too. But facebook had a duty 2 shut them down. Especially with everything that is going on now a days with bullying and kids commiting suicide. When I was young and u were getting bullied u almost always new the people and most of the time u sock em once real good & the bullying usually stops. But now with the internet and things like facebook/ my space bullying has evolved and been taken 2 a whole other level. So things such as facebook need 2 step up & not allow that sort of crap. Because by not taking it down they are promoting it and that makes them just as bad as the a**holes that create that kind of trash.  

[anime_wiccan_chick]

Unfortunately, Facebook has a point. The people that use Facebook for that stuff carry the blame. Facebook is just the medium that they used. It's absolutely horrifying, but Facebook isn't in the wrong. Also, to favor one side of something is wrong to expect from Facebook, no matter what side of the fence we're on for an issue. Facebook HAS to remain neutral. Expecting them to be up in arms as a company is unrealistic. Instead of finding blame, or asking about blame, I'd try to find some way of ending the bullying. This isn't to be mean or spiteful, just an idea that assigning blame won't fix the problem.  

[too2sweet]

While I absolutely think that bullying is wrong, and I know that it can be very upsetting to have hurtful things said about you, I also think that people need to toughen up just a bit. Words really only hurt if you let them, and if someone is talking s**t about you, the quickest way to get someone to stop is to not let it bother you. Bullies (and trolls for that matter) feed off the negative reactions that they get from people, so if you don't react, they do eventually get bored and move on to something else.

There is another component to this as well. If the world were more accepting of gays in general, then having a site dedicated to calling people gay, wouldn't be such a big deal in the first place.  

[Materu Shioni]

I'm quite surprised that a few people said that Facebook wasn't in the wrong for this. And yes, I will agree with them under the point that they weren't the ones who put up the page and they couldn't control those involved who had done it. But, it is disappointing they didn't take it down when they were requested to. Facebook is supposed to ban offensive material, such that is bullying. They are not to blame for the actions of those who were crude enough to do that but they were, per say, accomplices in the act for not immediately taking the page down. If they stuck more to their Terms of Service, then they wouldn't have been so lagging. And I have to agree in some extent to what too2sweet had said about not letting words bother you. That's how I had dealt with bullying but I understand completely that not everyone works that way. Not everybody can be as strong as others. It's hurtful to know how immature and cruel generations are to each other, tearing one another apart because of stereotypes..