The Editor,
We've been teaching William Golding's Lord of the Flies in B.C. schools since the early '60s.
The original purpose, I believe, was to warn students of the thin veneer of civilization, how humans teeter on the edge of savagery even as they strive for noble heights.
In the novel, a group of English schoolboys is marooned on a tropical island and degenerate into savagery, despite initial efforts to organize themselves into some sort of community.
In the Lord (and Lady) of the Flies we are writing on our children's hearts now, we have tossed girls and boys alike onto Facebook Island.
We have been civilizing our children for years, but we have forgotten the primal drive for power and pleasure that lurks just below their skin, especially during adolescence, when their brains are still developing the brakes of maturity.
We are horrified at the potential results - harrassment, psychological distress, death.
What parent in their right mind would maroon their child on an island like this?
Yet, parents regularly help their youngsters set up accounts on Facebook, even though Facebook itself requires users to be 15 years old before they can set up an account.
We must make Facebook accountable for the harm it makes possible on its site. Facebook must require parents and guardians to be part of every minor child's "friend" group.
So far, Facebook's personality is faceless, amoral and psychopathic. If it were human, we would shun it. Only lawsuits, fines and criminal charges will force Facebook to reveal the predators and bullies that prey on our young.
Gudrun Heckerott Richmond
