Facebook Message Got Red Haired Boy Beaten

Friday was “Kick A Ginger Day”, read a Facebook message that encouraged students to beat up redheads.

“Ginger” is an insulting label given to people with red hair. Sheriff official, Richard Erickson said that the message might have been inspired by a South Park episode about prejudice against “Gingers”.

The curse landed on a 12 year old red-haired boy in Calabasas who was beaten up by more than 14 classmates. It was also reported that there were other “gingers” who were assaulted but were too afraid to consult the school for help. Although the identified victim did not suffer from major injuries, this incident highlighted the curse of social media.

A Facebook group could gather people to stand for fairness but at the same time, trigger violence.

The LA Times quoted:

…parent, Steve Bernal, said he was told that teachers led discussions in their classrooms about discrimination. Bernal said he was upset about what had happened but glad that the school responded so quickly. He said he was concerned about how the Internet may have motivated the students involved.

“How does this happen off of Facebook?” he said. “Doesn’t Facebook monitor these groups that are being created?”

Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt said the network relies on its more than 300 million users to report problems with groups or events. Staff members then follow up to see if groups should be removed or reported to law enforcement, he said. Schnitt said he had not been made aware of this specific message or group.

“Inciting violence against any individual or group is against what we stand for and our policies,” Schnitt said.

Above 13 please

The victim’s classmates were probably around the age of twelve. While Facebook has explicitly stated that a user has to be above the age of 13, it can be easily countered by selecting an acceptable age.

Let’s face it, there is little Facebook can do. The most that can be done is for parents to monitor their child’s social media activity.