Kids beat up girl just for the YouTube value

Wed Apr 9, 2008 5:10PM EDT

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Eight Florida teenagers are in custody for beating up a defenseless girl. Not news, no, but the reason behind it is: The kids who did the deed planned to put the video on YouTube in the hopes of becoming Internet celebrities once the video was widely seen online.

Six girls did the beating (which ended with a concussion) while two boys stood lookout. In a statement after the eight were all rounded up and arrested, one of the girls' mothers said that the victim of the attacks had "provoked" it by "threatening and insulting the girls on their MySpace pages."

The video did indeed make it to YouTube but it's since been removed. You can see snippets of it here or find it by searching YouTube, but it's largely what you're expecting.

Reaction has been pretty swift, with many naturally turning their ire not just on the teens but also on YouTube and MySpace for not policing content better. Does censorship work? Is it even possible for YouTube to vet every video that's uploaded to its site? YouTube serves some 100 million videos every day. What kind of manpower would it take to monitor all of it? And how would one distinguish between a real fight and a staged melee that's part of a (fictional) short film. (Heck, even Lonelygirl15, the YouTube darling, died in her eponymous show's last episode.) Censoring one type of content (which YouTube actually does plenty of, actually) is a slippery slope.

And really, what would be the point? If not YouTube, would the teens have posted pictures or video clips on their blogs? Or simply used another hosting service? Kids have been beating each other up for centuries, since well before YouTube came along, and they'll be doing it after it's gone, too.

Your thoughts, of course, are welcome.

POLL: Is YouTube responsible? 

Comments on Kids beat up girl just for the YouTube value

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  • 6 Posted by donniescompound on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:46PM EDT Report Abuse

    if that was my kid there would not be 8 kids in jail there would be 8 funerals why should 8 kids have to jump 1 kid because they are chicken s#&t

  • 7 Posted by jairaj on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:27PM EDT Report Abuse

    I highly recommend NOT watching this video.. I watched it attached to a news article and it is very very disturbing... the seven seconds I saw was enough to upset me thoroughly, specially the viciousness of these cute teen girls. Can't imagine people who get off from such "entertainment"

  • 8 Posted by tara_8_8_9 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:56PM EDT Report Abuse

    oh crap they are being really mean! i mean making a girl deaf? how could they do it!

  • 9 Posted by wmtyrancz on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    I agree with Qwert 13_6, The problem today is kids have no fear. And thats because of bad parenting period. Parents today are just lousy. I can't stand these kids today. They have zero respect for any adult. And that mother should go to jail with them. And utube and myspace are really becoming problems with these kids. And they should be held accountable for the crap that happens on their sites. They have plenty of money to police their sites. Don't believe for a second that they can't. And its not censorship when someone gets hurt or killed because of those sites. And it starts at home. No kid should have a computer in their bedroom period. It should be in the family room.

  • 10 Posted by brendacnwy on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:12PM EDT Report Abuse

    Amen, clm_melonie! The world is rapidly coming to such a state -- an irreversible state -- that I'm actually looking forward to getting the heck out of it. Trouble is, my two innocent little grandsons, ages two and six, have a whole long life ahead of them in which they will have to deal with scum like these kids and that parent. And scum like the ones in the White House. And on Capitol Hill. And in the Congo. And on and on... My little lads are being brought up beautifully by their mom and dad. They're loving and smart and funny and kind and generous and delightful in every way. They deserve SO much better than we're handing them. Shame on all of us.

  • 11 Posted by mitigwa2001 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:22PM EDT Report Abuse

    couple of obvious conclusions here: 1. group mentality contributed to depraved indifference. 2. the younger girls will cop pleas to nail the three that have kidnapping in addition to the assault charges 3. the civil judgement will be lucrative, and the victim will likely own the house in which she was beaten in the end. 4. the primary beater (Brittini #1) could stand to look into a low-carb program.

  • 12 Posted by karharris on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:47PM EDT Report Abuse

    Those kids are sick in the head,just another example of todays GREAT population of kids and how they are raised.I hope they put them UNDER the jail. SICK SICK SICK...............

  • 13 Posted by jcboy505 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:30PM EDT Report Abuse

    SICK SICK SICK! These girls disgust me! I guess people don't know how to raise their kids anymore! It made me sick to watch the video on tv. I dont care who said what to who - the fact of the matter is, an attack like this is uncalled for. Hopefully the girl that was attacked recovers! By the way, dont blame utube and myspace! Blame belongs to those repulsive brats who committed this crime!

  • 15 Posted by kenmaze on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    As I recall, we all have freedom to react in the manner we choose. The girl made a poor choice to insult them on myspace, if she even did do this. However, the girls who beat her up made a very poor *choice*, one that is illegal and should be punished. These actions were not forced upon them by the insulter, they chose to react in an illegal manner. Mom, get a clue - stop trying to defend your little lovlies and make them take some responsibility for themselves. How do you think they got into this situation in the first place?

  • 16 Posted by lbsurfettes on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:57PM EDT Report Abuse

    Whatever happened to being responsible for your own actions? There is no need to wonder where the girls got their values from. If we raise our children like this particular mother, we'll be sure to destroy our own society. Think about it parents,these kids will someday be responsible for you and yours. Pretty scary, right.

  • 18 Posted by professor_frink_007 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:19PM EDT Report Abuse

    To be tried tried as adults! http://www.wftv.com/news/15845521/detail.html Collectively that little stunt just ruined all their lives. Hope others learn a lesson and choose to not repeat this nonsense. Parents that are looking into their kids lives DAILY would have avoided this fate for their children...now they will have felony attached to every job application they ever submit. Soapbox time: Go ahead and keep telling parents they cannot apply real consequences (like spanking) and yes, you may save a few kids from abuse, but MANY, MANY, MANY more innocent people will suffer from a total lack of respect of authority...by the time the consequences catch up to the children, THIS is what the y reap!...every last one of those girls would gratefully take tougher parents then the fate they are now unable to change. Rape, divorce, drugs abuse ect%

  • 19 Posted by gearspec on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:07PM EDT Report Abuse

    You cannot Control social networking site. No matter how much control you are in of your children or the website. Many people predicted there would be boom in social networking online services and it did. Its time for the boost to stop. Remember MS took there entire chatrooms offline forever. Same will happen soon with myspace, hi5 and many more, as more and more teenagers and stupid kids attempt different sorts of stunts for 3 seconds of fame and glory.

  • 20 Posted by kenya91571 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    Yes, those girls need to do time for what they did. All I could think about is my 16 yr old daughter, tall, cute and popular. I think what they did is despicable!

  • 21 Posted by hrabstan on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:21PM EDT Report Abuse

    So, are we going to see "Rev." Al Sharpton leading mass demonstrations to protest the treatment of these perpetrators? Or is it only racially motivated attacks by blacks on white victims that Sharpton holds to be a civil right?

  • 22 Posted by bunnyandmoi on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:15PM EDT Report Abuse

    I don't see how it can be YouTube's fault. The rate at which content is uploaded to that site makes it pretty much impossible to check every single video - that's why users have the ability to report. The faults lie with the kids who were disturbed enough to think this was in any way okay. It also seems a little fishy that suddenly after things happened like this, there's the excuse of "She started it". I'm not saying it's impossible, but it seems a bit odd that someone who had insulted and threatened girls out in the open would go over to their home when clearly they were angry. (Of course, I didn't watch the entire video - if something was clearly stated, I missed it)

  • 23 Posted by bunnyandmoi on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:15PM EDT Report Abuse

    The news videos cleared some things up - I take back the latter part of my comment.

  • 24 Posted by jtfochtxp on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:43PM EDT Report Abuse

    Some people man... Who knows what those people had planned next if those animals had not been hearded up and caged.

  • 25 Posted by rapmetal47 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:29PM EDT Report Abuse

    The girls(Who were the bullies) Their mothers should be arrested. I think that the mother had it coming for raising such snotty, spoiled sleazes!!! This country's messed up.

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