Any parent can identify with the father of Jessi Slaughter, a web-savvy 11-year-old girl who's achieved a certain renown among "Internet tween scenesters," says Alexis Madrigal at The Atlantic. A few days ago, Jessi posted a video response to her online rivals, "a foul-mouthed piece of little girl bravado" that triggered a hostile backlash. Soon, she was being harassed both online and in real life; call girls and prank pizzas showed up at the family's front door. As Jessi sobbed into her webcam, her dad stepped in. Glaring into the camera, he shouted, "This is from her father. You bunch of lying, no-good punks...you better not write one more thing or screw with my computer again. You'll be arrested. End of conversation. FROM. HER. FATHER." (Watch the video below.) But, deep down, writes Madrigal, he must know there's no way to stop "the nameless, faceless forces" that "reduced his daughter to tears." Here, an excerpt:
In the old days, dads could handle harassment of their little girls. They'd pick up the phone line and yell at prank callers. They'd show up at schools and tell some kids to back off....
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.