How's this for a glimpse of a dystopian future?

Eight wee little lassies have been accused of beating up a 16 year old girl. And guess what? This 'joyful' bunch ranging from 14-17 years took pictures of their dastardly act and put the video on YouTube as well. Talk about mob rule; nothing can hurt us since we have power as a group. Wonder if that was their train of thought.

In case you are wondering, The Ledger featured an in-depth article about the heinous incident. And provided the names of the accused. They are:

April Cooper, 14, Britney Mayes, 17, Kayla Hassell, 15, Brittini Hardcastle, 17, Cara Murphy, 16, and Mercades Nichols, 17.

Oh and Zachary Ashley, 17, and Stephen Schumaker, 18 were the two 'guard bees' who played the sentry role during this attack.

Details of the attack itself is cold-blooded and very disconcerting, especially when you realize that the future is in the hands of mindless youth such as these.

Apparently 16 year old Victoria Lindsay was tricked into visiting one of the accused so they could all beat her. And film the attack.

Seems like her head was banged against the wall and was repeatedly pummeled.

Needless to say Lindsay suffered badly. Her father states that she was so badly beaten he didn't recognize his daughter at hospital.

Oh and later on, the crazy clique forced Lindsay into a car and sped off somewhere else. And so add kidnapping to the list.

At this point, you wonder if these kids don't know right from wrong. Surely you understand that kidnapping can land you in jail? That attacking another human being is punishable by court of law? That high school is a world in itself and that everyone is protected according to the laws of the nation? Or does the younger generation get a bit giddy with social power and honestly believe nothing can happen to them? No really, someone should figure out just what's wrong with these girls.

And hold it there, Dr. Phil McGraw seems to be thinking exactly that. Except it came across as a rating hike scheme; just a tad.

Well, according to latest news, the nasty eight will be tried as adults. And they set bail for hefty amounts, ranging from $30 000. Deservedly so; you honestly don't want those who commit heinous crimes to be out and about unless court decides otherwise.

Turns out a producer from the Dr. Phil Show posted bail for one of the teenagers. Imagine the backlash! Sure they might have been planning a show on the incident. It was still in bad taste. A social issue that shocked everyone; grabbing the perpetrators for your show will only translate as piggybacking on others misfortune for your own benefit. After all, what is it really that you want to emphasize? The caring bedside manner or the slick ambulance chaser?

As can be expected, the show is distancing itself from this debacle; they are not going to follow up this story and seems like they have told off the “rogue element”.

In the spokesperson, Terri Corigliano's, own words:

"We have helped guests and potential guests in the past when they need financial assistance to come on the show -- assisting with clothing allowance, lost wages, accommodations, travel and necessities, ... In this case, certain staff members went beyond our guidelines (re the bail being paid).

"These staff members have been spoken to and our policies reiterated. In addition, we have decided not to go forward with the story as our guidelines have been compromised."

As for the girls themselves, sounds like this bunch should have read Queen Bees and Wannabes. A fascinating book by the way, an insightful piece of work by Rosalind Wiseman about adolescent girls; self-esteem issues, school bullying, clique behavior and other aspects of growing up. Seriously, cliques and bullying seem to be getting out of hand. Or have they always been like that?