Daily Brew‘Anonymous’ allies with police in responsible response to Rehtaeh Parsons’ death
When thousands of mourners gathered in downtown Halifax on Thursday evening they were there to honour the memory of Rehtaeh Parsons, a young woman who ended her life of taunts and targeted cyber-bullying after reportedly being sexually assaulted while drunk at a party.
But this time, after so many similar deaths, society might have learned something. Maybe this time the series of grief, outrage and inaction that follow such deaths will change. Maybe this time is the time we take cyber-bullying seriously.
By now the story is well known. So well known that American news channels have covered the fallout of Parsons’ death. So well known that Anonymous, the same group of online hackers that taunted North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, has threatened repercussions against those believed to be responsible for her rape.
So well known because, sadly, it so tragically echoes similar instances of suicide and cyber-bullying that left marks on us in the past. Amanda Todd, Courtney Brown, and just this week a 15-year-old girl in San Jose, Calif.
The fallout of Parsons’ death was poised to become a tragedy of its own kind, with local police wavering on whether to launch a criminal investigation, those who knew her demanding action – despite not having taken any themselves, when it could have mattered – and online hackers threatening to exact their own form of punishment.
[ Related: 'Anonymous' won't release names of Rehtaeh Parsons suspects ]
Online activists claiming to be members of the international group Anonymous announced today that they would not publicly release the name of Parsons' attackers. They had rattled the saber of online naming-and-shaming but, at the 11th hour, ceded to her family's wishes and kept the names private. For now.
The group said on Friday that they have turned over the findings of their investigation to the proper authorities – police. Those findings are said to include a confession from one of the suspects, and proof that two young men being targeted online were not involved.
The group said in an online post:
We are group of concerned citizens that have recognized an injustice in the system. We have taken it upon ourselves to point out that injustice to the public and we are asking the police to correct their incompetent handling of this case--a young girl has already died from it.
Anonymous says if police don’t take action, they could change their mind about releasing the names of those they believe participated in the attack on Parsons. But that is a strategy fraught with problems. They took that tact following the death of Amanda Todd, releasing the name of her online bully. The National Post reported, however, that the wrong person was named.
Word that Anonymous will work inside the law, as much as a group of anonymous hackers can, could be seen as a positive step. They have seen an injustice and used their talents to address it. This time, however, they are letting law and order prevail.
[ More Brew: Who failed Rehtaeh Parsons? Almost everyone ]
A decision not to press charges against those accused of Parsons’ rape has not yet been overturned by RCMP in Nova Scotia, but that doesn’t mean charges still aren’t possible. Experts are urging the police to reconsider, and the province’s justice minister is set to discuss the topic of cyber-bulling with the federal government.
“Bullying to me has a kind of connotation … of kids misbehaving. What we are dealing with in some of these circumstances is simply criminal activity,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper told reporters. Could mature, responsible changes to the way we handle such cases be coming?
It seems, just maybe, civility will win the day. It seems, perhaps, we have finally learned something from these tragic deaths of young men and taking their lives after being bullied, teased and forsaken. How we respond to these sad circumstances says a lot about us.
Today, we have some hope.
