student arrested for his creative writing..

[clips]

in the wake of the virginia tech massacre, a student is arrested over his creative writing...but you gotta see what he wrote,....hard to tell if he was bein an a**hole about it or if he really has some issues, cause clearly with that virginia tech shooting happening not too long ago, why would you write something along the lines this kid did?...on second thought he deserved it..these kids today think everything is a f**kin\' joke....there were even copy cats sending bomb threats to over several universities in the days after the shooting!...this kid knew what f**k he was doin\',... he was just bein an a**hole!..........thoughts?




http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/27/student.essay.arrest.ap/index.html

That\'s really fucked up! And no, I\'m not talking about the kid, but the system. WTF? Arresting him for writing a twisted essay - that\'s just wrong.

He should get a slap on the wrist at most. Ridiculous.

EDIT: What he did was in bad taste, not doubt about it. But come on... Arresting a straight-A student (hell ANY student) is mind numbing.

I totally agree with samwise.

Haha!

Cary, Illinois is about 10 miles from me. I drive through it every day to get to work.

One of my good friends grew up there.


But back to the matter.... You had to see this kinda shit coming.

Clips i think the kid should be bitch slapped. I know we have freedom of speech but give me a break.

[clips]

Clips i think the kid should be bitch slapped. I know we have freedom of speech but give me a break.

absolutely...if nothing was done and this kid went on a rampage, then everybody would\'ve said "look at the s**t he was writing and nobody did anything about it" and of course friends and family would have stated...."i don\'t understand, he was a straight A student"..:rolleyes:....it\'s just a sign of the times...freedom of speech is one thing, but like i stated in that imus thread, if you\'re going to say something, you better be ready for the consequences....

he should not get a slap on the wrist..THAT\'S the problem... these kids know nothing harsh will happen to them for doin s**t like this...he should\'ve known better,...again if this kid would\'ve done somethin\' after the fact and nobody checked it, trust every last one of you would\'ve been sittin here sayin the same things you were sayin\' about that gunman at VT...yes it\'s a shame that in these days we have to go such extremes to save people but better safe than sorry, and it will also send a message to a**holes that want to send phony threats and disrupt other students from getting the education they deserve.

This will also stop students who really do have mental issues to be captured before they do anything related to that scenario at VT...

"Creative writing" like his doesnt imply that someone will go for rambage

There are tons of things we do and say everyday that could have been considered as bad as his. We arent criminals

edit: The real problems are in other places and no body is trying to do anything about it. For starters, they sell guns without much limitations to anyone. That gives the impression to all youngsters that they are allowed to use a gun, that it is cool, and the danger hidden behind such a tool is reduced in their mind. Combine this with the frequent use of guns in movies with bad guys(or good) that are considered cool with guns, and the viewings of the war in Iraq, with some bastards talking about war as if its just another everyday happening and you start to get the picture

GUNS BRING JUSTICE! (NOT)

Thats exactly what that kid did when he killed his fellow students. According to him he brought justice (if you have seen his taped message talking in front of a camera before he went for the killing you will know what I am talking about)

[§ôµÏG®ïñD]

well i guess people better start arresting people that write stories for books and movies that are violent and have anything to do with school shootings. :/

Why haven\'t we arrested Stephen King yet? He\'s bound to go killing a bunch of people right?

Seriously, I don\'t care what people say, freedom of speech is freedom of speech.  There shouldn\'t be a hidden clause that says its only ok to talk about things that make people feel safe.

Poor taste or not, you can\'t deny there are hundreds of books that are written in poor taste and none of them have been arrested for it.

This kid is not attempting to make phony threats and he did not disrupt others from learning.  Hell, the only person who read the assignment was the teacher.  He has the right to say whatever he wants without any consequences.  Better safe than sorry is never the route to take.  Sorry, but under no circumstance will I EVER give up the right to say and write whatever I feel like.  This isn\'t a police state.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances

Straightforward, but...

Over and over again in US supreme court rulings we\'ve seen that freedom of speech does not cover hate speech, talking about or planning crimes, espionage, incitement to crimes (for gatherings), obscenity, libel, "fighting words" (threats), or harassment.  

The supreme court has also discussed/ruled on a strong caveat to the freedom of speech.  This caveat is appropriate time, place, and manner are important for for protection of speech.  Just like you don\'t joke about a bomb in airport security before boarding a flight, I think handing a school teacher written thoughts about another school rampage (with some necrophilia thrown in) shows at best a horrible lack of judgment, and at worst is a sign of serious antisocial urges which the individual was unable to control (ie, a warning sign).

[Viper_Fujax]

and then the kid shoots up the school and everyone changes their opinions.

double edge sword, but i definitly do think being arrested is way too strict. Maybe just a talk to see if the kids messed up in the head or a douchebag. If hes a douche, then just suspend him for a bit or something. The timing of it is what makes it wrong

Straightforward, but...

Over and over again in US supreme court rulings we\'ve seen that freedom of speech does not cover hate speech, talking about or planning crimes, espionage, incitement to crimes (for gatherings), obscenity, libel, "fighting words" (threats), or harassment.  

The supreme court has also discussed/ruled on a strong caveat to the freedom of speech.  This caveat is appropriate time, place, and manner are important for for protection of speech.  Just like you don\'t joke about a bomb in airport security before boarding a flight, I think handing a school teacher written thoughts about another school rampage (with some necrophilia thrown in) shows at best a horrible lack of judgment, and at worst is a sign of serious antisocial urges which the individual was unable to control (ie, a warning sign).

So... you think arresting him is OK?

I think the people who whine about "but when he DOES shoot up a school everybody will regret it!!!". Faaaantastic logic. I guess we should just lock up everyone who looks slightly like a terrorist too, since they MIGHT be a terrorist (oops, already happening, thanks Mr. Bush).

You can NEVER EVER prevent something bad from happening. Yes hindsight is 20/20 but how much are we willing to lose just to feel \'safe\' (and you will never be 100% safe, it\'s not possible). I mean, just by driving your car to work you\'re putting yourself at much greater risk of dying than ever being at the same place at the same time of a school shooting.

I guess I\'m just one of the few who values freedom and personal rights over "OMG TERRORIST SCHOOL SHOOTING WONT SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!". I\'d rather be free and living in a world where a school shooting or terrorist attack might happen than to have my freedom stripped away in the name of "safety".

[Viper_Fujax]

its not so much that want to lock everyone up who writes something like this just because i pointed out that everyone would regret it if he shoots up the school. but all you would hear was "if we took it seriously...." just like what happened with the VT kid.

I honestly do still have a very gray line between freedom and saftey, but read the last half of my last post

[clips]

i wonder what it would be like to bomb the white house and kill president bush and rape his dead wife and have sex with his dead staff....and other kinds of bulls**t,..and then i\'d hide behind..."freedom of speech"...please..people take that s**t for granted....intstead of letting s**t like that ride you need to put the brakes on it before it even begins....Maybe arresting the kid was bein\' a bit harsh, but it will send a message...and c\'mon creative writing os one thing, but the s**t he wrote was along the lines of someone that\'s in character of going on a rampage....

fatal and viper both make some excellent points...i too think there is a grey area within that freedom of speech pledge, but i also do not want to tolerate any bulls**t from kids being a**holes and this kid should\'ve known better...


i just read the article again...so you guys mean to tell me that if a teacher told you to write something from the top of your dome you would write something along the lines of this kid? first thing i would\'ve said after reading his essay would\'ve been yo, this cat has some issues,.. don\'t give me that s**t that every last one of you would\'ve just said "nothing" and pranced along for the rest of the day...everybody would\'ve been on edge to some degree if one of your classmates wrote something disturbing like that.....

So... you think arresting him is OK?

I think the people who whine about "but when he DOES shoot up a school everybody will regret it!!!". Faaaantastic logic. I guess we should just lock up everyone who looks slightly like a terrorist too, since they MIGHT be a terrorist (oops, already happening, thanks Mr. Bush).

You can NEVER EVER prevent something bad from happening. Yes hindsight is 20/20 but how much are we willing to lose just to feel \'safe\' (and you will never be 100% safe, it\'s not possible). I mean, just by driving your car to work you\'re putting yourself at much greater risk of dying than ever being at the same place at the same time of a school shooting.

I guess I\'m just one of the few who values freedom and personal rights over "OMG TERRORIST SCHOOL SHOOTING WONT SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!". I\'d rather be free and living in a world where a school shooting or terrorist attack might happen than to have my freedom stripped away in the name of "safety".

You really shouldn\'t exaggerate your \'examples\' they make them all but useless, hyperbole in an argument is the worst thing to do.

You are welcome to want to value personal freedoms over limitations in rights for security/social reasons, but at the end of the day, you can influence the system with your vote, not necessarily your opinion.  The supreme court has been clear on this issue in a number of cases, at the end of the day, this essay showed, as I said, either incredibly poor taste and might be a sign of serious antisocial tenancies.  Either way, investigating the kid and removing him from school are warranted, and if they\'ve decided that arresting him is appropriate after examining the evidence they have, then I would support them in that too.  People don\'t joke about about bombing a plane because the first few cases were hit like a ton of bricks, and this arrest will likely send a similar message, so that they can focus in on any future occurrences which will more likely be serious.