Wisconsin Teens Claim They Stabbed Friend To Please Slenderman: Update

[Flatfrog]

The fun facts as I've come to understand it:

The girls planned this for almost a year...

They (the parents) allowed 11 to 12yr olds unsupervised access to the internet - and clearly unsupervised access to an internet browser that had no child-safety restrictions on - because I can't imagine any digi-nanny program letting kids near stuff with Slenderman or creepypasta

I allow my kids of 11 and 13 unsupervised access to the internet, because I trust them. This modern assumption that we should be micro-managing every second of our kids' lives drives me crazy.

And my daughter is hugely into Creepypasta.

 

[webkilla]

I allow my kids of 11 and 13 unsupervised access to the internet, because I trust them. This modern assumption that we should be micro-managing every second of our kids' lives drives me crazy.

And my daughter is hugely into Creepypasta.

And I'm sure you at some point went through a process where you supervised their internet use - and where you talked about what they found. What I mean is that trust is earned. I'm sure your kids have proven that they can handle themselves online.

 

[Something Amyss]

If they won't for children getting gunned down, they certainly won't do it for this.

Yes, but they will try and shut down Creepypasta sites.

 

[Lunar Templar]

They're delusional 13 year old girls. They need therapy, not to be locked away for the rest of their lives and not to have their names dragged through the mud in international news.

You know, it's that attitude of 'we need to protect the criminals rights MORE then the victim's rights' is a big part of the problem over here.

Mistaken or not about how real Slenderman isn't, they planned it out months in advance, and hesitated to go through with the attack once, and even admitted guilt to the police for attacking her, so they knew what they where doing was wrong, and still made the choice to attack and almost kill some one. Regardless the reason, those two facts stand. They knew it was wrong ahead of time, and still made the choice to commit to the attack anyway, so them getting they're names dragged through the mud by the media, meaningless, they deserve the shame for what they did.

Especially when you weigh it against what they did to their 'friend'. She was stabbed 19 times, all over her body, I would be surprised if she didn't have some kind of nerve damage as a result. Not to mention the possibility of new medical issues arising as a result of these injury's, as well as the psychological trauma this has likely caused due to being almost killed by people close to her, and that's not even bringing in the toll this, frankly, ridiculous crime is taking on her real friends and family, both emotionally and financially.

So no, I don't think its wrong these girls names are public knowledge.

 

[Eve Charm]

You know what has to be done, They need to be taken outside and told to look at the flowers by carol ((The walking dead))

They need to put them away for a long time or worst, I don't see them functioning in normal society and not doing something to become "slender man's proxies" again. Seriously where do people come up with this crap, Why not try to prove Santa is real.

 

[Roganzar]

Cue video games = murder diatribe from all the news talking heads.
Kill people in the name of a god and no one bats an eye but do it for an equally stupid reason and its all "this or that is ruining everything."
Don't even pay attention to the sane people trying to help this poor girl.

 

[Uriel_Hayabusa]

It's times like these that I understand where the NRA and other organisations with similar stances are coming from when they claim that works of fiction which romanticize wanton violence on innocent people may be the problem. I mean, that Elliot Rodger guy who went on a shooting rampage a while ago supposedly adored Game of Thrones and Hannibal, and we shouldn't forget about that guy who shot up that movie theater while claiming to be The Joker.

Some will say that these are all isolated incidents; but to me it looks like a pattern is starting to take shape, and that greatly disturbs me.

 

[Shiftygiant]

Que the Marble Hornet and Slenderman Notes guys being harassed for 'corrupting the nations youth' on TV and Creepypasta becoming the new hot topic discussion that will go along the lines that Creepypasta encourages murder, rape and satanism.

 

[Eve Charm]

Some will say that these are all isolated incidents; but to me it looks like a pattern is starting to take shape, and that greatly disturbs me.

Well lets be honest public schools even when I went like 10 years ago were the most messed up places society could offer. Now factor in all the more accessible exposure kids have today to violence, the current internet culture and bullying and being jerks to people for no reason other then it's funny. It only takes a few kids out of a thousand to outright Screw up hundreds kid's lives while they are developing into adults stuck in the same place with them or others like them for 12 years.

 

[Pedro The Hutt]

It's times like these that I understand where the NRA and other organisations with similar stances are coming from when they claim that works of fiction which romanticize wanton violence on innocent people may be the problem. I mean, that Elliot Rodger guy who went on a shooting rampage a while ago supposedly adored Game of Thrones and Hannibal, and we shouldn't forget about that guy who shot up that movie theater while claiming to be The Joker.

Some will say that these are all isolated incidents; but to me it looks like a pattern is starting to take shape, and that greatly disturbs me.

You'll first need to learn what a pattern is before stating there is one. For every one of those there are literally millions of adolescents who consume violent media and don't become the slightest bit unbalanced.

These people were simply unbalanced/disturbed to begin with.

 

[Gir]

I saw this on the news the other night. I'll say the same thing here i said aloud. Of course they're going to blame a video game character... in a world where everyone else does... WHY NOT? its embarrassing, it's disgusting, and it's going to continue to happen as long as the culture is demonized like it is.

 

[MCerberus]

Some will say that these are all isolated incidents; but to me it looks like a pattern is starting to take shape, and that greatly disturbs me.

Well lets be honest public schools even when I went like 10 years ago were the most messed up places society could offer. Now factor in all the more accessible exposure kids have today to violence, the current internet culture and bullying and being jerks to people for no reason other then it's funny. It only takes a few kids out of a thousand to outright Screw up hundreds kid's lives while they are developing into adults stuck in the same place with them or others like them for 12 years.

One of the factors nobody's talking about is the fact we're already treating kids like convicted criminals. Minimizing social interaction and physical activity in a super-ultra structured environment (that kids generally don't learn in) is what the prison model of schooling is all about.

So what do kids do? They either 1. break, become the criminals they're being treated as or 2. clique up against something, anything that promises a common enemy and outlet. Combined number 2 and social media and we get the current bullying situation. Oh, and mix in some "you're special" and we have the perfect conditions for sociopathy!

The reason the media is blamed all the time is because it's EASY. It's easier than looking seriously at our education system and ripping out structures and methods over a century old and replacing them with a fundamental shift in how we fund and operate one of the most essential government services. To give the Republicans credit, they at least tried. The voucher system and private schools are objectively wrong (no savings in price, no increase in performance, corruption rampant), but at least they tried.

 

[marioandsonic]

It's times like these that I understand where the NRA and other organisations with similar stances are coming from when they claim that works of fiction which romanticize wanton violence on innocent people may be the problem. I mean, that Elliot Rodger guy who went on a shooting rampage a while ago supposedly adored Game of Thrones and Hannibal, and we shouldn't forget about that guy who shot up that movie theater while claiming to be The Joker.

Some will say that these are all isolated incidents; but to me it looks like a pattern is starting to take shape, and that greatly disturbs me.

Charles Manson claims he was inspired by a Beatles song.

Mark David Chapman, the guy who murdered John Lennon, was seen reading The Catcher in the Rye next to Lennon's body when the authorities came.

John Hinkley Jr. tried to assassinate then-US president Ronald Reagan because he was trying to impress actress Jodie Foster.

There is pretty much no way to know what these crazy people will say inspired or influenced them until after the incident has already happened.

So no, I don't think there is a pattern here.

 

[Uriel_Hayabusa]

Charles Manson claims he was inspired by a Beatles song.

Mark David Chapman, the guy who murdered John Lennon, was seen reading The Catcher in the Rye next to Lennon's body when the authorities came.

John Hinkley Jr. tried to assassinate then-US president Ronald Reagan because he was trying to impress actress Jodie Foster.

The thing is, none of these things depict wanton violence as something "cool" or "appealing" to do. Can you tell me which Beatles song advocates murdering people? Did Jodie Foster ever issue a statement that she really wanted Hinkley to kill Reagan for her? I don't believe so. Compare that to games like inFamous or Grand Theft Auto where senseless killing is actively encouraged and rewarded, and I hope you see my reasons for thinking that your comparison doesn't hold up.

 

[fezgod]

Seeing as how well-planned and brutal this attack was, the attackers are definitely fucked in the head. If someone is planning to murder somebody for months, they have a lot more unhinged in their head beyond believing Slenderman is real.

I'm also waiting to see who the media blames for the attack. After all, there is a Slenderman videogame...

 

[marioandsonic]

Charles Manson claims he was inspired by a Beatles song.

Mark David Chapman, the guy who murdered John Lennon, was seen reading The Catcher in the Rye next to Lennon's body when the authorities came.

John Hinkley Jr. tried to assassinate then-US president Ronald Reagan because he was trying to impress actress Jodie Foster.

The thing is, none of these things depict wanton violence as something "cool" or "appealing" to do. Can you tell me which Beatles song advocates murdering people? Did Jodie Foster ever issue a statement that she really wanted Hinkley to kill Reagan for her? I don't believe so. Compare that to games like inFamous or Grand Theft Auto where is actively encouraged and rewarded, and I hope you see my reasons for thinking that your comparison doesn't hold up.

I see what you're saying, sure. But here's my counterpoint:

If you look at crime numbers across the country, (seen here: http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm ) violent crime rates have been slowly but steadily going down across since the early 1990s.

But if games like inFamous or Grand Theft Auto are really sending the message that "violence is cool", shouldn't violent crime rates be going up?

 

[Broderick]

I saw this on the news the other night. I'll say the same thing here i said aloud. Of course they're going to blame a video game character... in a world where everyone else does... WHY NOT? its embarrassing, it's disgusting, and it's going to continue to happen as long as the culture is demonized like it is.

Well I guess many people nowadays know him/her/it as a video game character, but he started as an entity from a "create your own monster" thread/contest on Something Awful forums. Creepypasta stories about slendy spread like wildfire, before turning into a game several years later.

The thing that confuses me about the whole situation is that nearly nowhere in Slenderman lore is there any sort of mention of being able to "summon" him by human sacrifice. I mean there is details about his behavior, like stalking children and people who are interested in his existence, and then there are the various ways he is said to "deal" with his victims, but nowhere in widespread slendy lore is there sacrifice. I have no idea how the girls got it in their head to do such a thing. The more I think about it, the more I want to say they are using Slenderman as an excuse for their actions, rather than the cause. Either that or they are just really misinformed 12 year olds, which is likely the case, given the ignorance of the age group.

 

[nuba km]

So what do kids do? They either 1. break, become the criminals they're being treated as or 2. clique up against something, anything that promises a common enemy and outlet. Combined number 2 and social media and we get the current bullying situation. Oh, and mix in some "you're special" and we have the perfect conditions for sociopathy!

While I agree with the statement that you have made overall, sociopathy is not something that someone develops its something people are born with. Like autism, dyslexia and many other mental disabilities. Sociopaths are born lacking the parts of the brain resbonsible for sympothy and similiar emotions, many sociopaths become normal members of society such as buissness men and women, lawyers, doctors and any job that gives them high levels of authority and/or control over other peoples lives, they may treat people well or poorly it all depends to what ever most feeds their ego or they get most enjoyment out of. Also most socipaths are really hard to spot if they are sociopaths or not, as since birth they spent most of their time learning how to behave to get the response from people they want. They are born masters of social manipulation.

 

[MCerberus]

So what do kids do? They either 1. break, become the criminals they're being treated as or 2. clique up against something, anything that promises a common enemy and outlet. Combined number 2 and social media and we get the current bullying situation. Oh, and mix in some "you're special" and we have the perfect conditions for sociopathy!

While I agree with the statement that you have made overall, sociopathy is not something that someone develops its something people are born with. Like autism, dyslexia and many other mental disabilities. Sociopaths are born lacking the parts of the brain resbonsible for sympothy and similiar emotions, many sociopaths become normal members of society such as buissness men and women, lawyers, doctors and any job that gives them high levels of authority and/or control over other peoples lives, they may treat people well or poorly it all depends to what ever most feeds their ego or they get most enjoyment out of. Also most socipaths are really hard to spot if they are sociopaths or not, as since birth they spent most of their time learning how to behave to get the response from people they want. They are born masters of social manipulation.

I thought sociopathic tendencies could be conditioned to as a survival technique or a wrong turn during the time where emotional intelligence is being gained.
In which case, my original statement was still incorrect because I used the wrong word(s).

 

[Uriel_Hayabusa]

I see what you're saying, sure. But here's my counterpoint:

If you look at crime numbers across the country, (seen here: http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm ) violent crime rates have been slowly but steadily going down across since the early 1990s.

But if games like inFamous or Grand Theft Auto are really sending the message that "violence is cool", shouldn't violent crime rates be going up?

To quote a professor who was asked the same question:

The two simplest explanations for the fact that violent crimes are decreasing are: (1) the U.S. population is getting older and older over time, and older people rarely murder, rape, assault, and rob others, and (2) the imprisonment rate is increasing over time, with many more violent people locked up behind bars.

Source: Brad Bushman - "Why do people deny violent media effects?" (comments section)