Poor kid or needed solution?

phyco126 · Post by **phyco126** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 6:18 am

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18353425/?GT1=9246

I pick poor kid.

ilovemyguitar · Post by **ilovemyguitar** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 3:34 pm

I'm inclined to vote "poor kid" as well, although the article is obviously written with some bias. I really think one would need to read the essay to really make an accurate judgment of the situation. It does seem like an extreme reaction to the situation, though.

BattleMedic · Post by **BattleMedic** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 4:48 pm

The teacher told students: “‘Be creative; there will be no judgment and no censorship,”’ Thomas Loizzo said. “There was never any warning from the teacher that if she determined the paper to be offensive, she would then pass it along to the authorities.”

I guess the kid took those words too literally.

Wizard27 · Post by **Wizard27** » Thu May 03, 2007 12:46 am

"Poor kid" is more like delinquent idiot who shot his chance at getting in to the Armed Forces.

meg · Post by **meg** » Thu May 03, 2007 2:00 am

he wasn't a delinquent. he was an honor roll student. they posted up the text of the essay on fark. he was blowing some steam and some frustration over the -Dung Beetle- of how his school was run.

considering that they decided to have him arrested, i'd say his frustration is well-founded.

he was niave for taking the teacher at her word. and now he's learning the hard way what it means to be told to bend over by those in charge of you. the fact is, he's asian, and he wrote "don't be surprised if you inspire a shooting of your own."

which is easy to take as a threat. but understandable in the context of the complaints he listed in the writing assignment.

i live in VA. the beltway sniper passed through here. i was in high school during columbine, and 9/11 happened while i was in college, and every time something bad happens, people start wigging out and overreacting and punishing people who have the slightest resemblance to the guilty party.

again. the kid who wrote this is asian, and he was dumb enough to be perfectly honest.

phyco126 · Post by **phyco126** » Thu May 03, 2007 3:39 am

What Meg said. I was in 8th grade when Columbine happened. A couple of days later the power went out because the creek flooded horribly from several days of constant rain and washed out a tower that was in the middle of the creek. Unfortunately, it was during lunch time at school and because it was a couple of days after Columbine, the whole student body wigged out.

I just got done watching the news, and they had a section on how many students where arrested because of notes found that had faint or serious threats. They aren't going easy on anyone.

ilovemyguitar · Post by **ilovemyguitar** » Thu May 03, 2007 4:02 am

How frustrating. While these peoples' hearts are in the right place, their actions are so, so misguided. But I guess they feel this is the proper action to take, because what else can they do? And so many people want to do something so they can feel like they're helping somehow.

meg · Post by **meg** » Fri May 04, 2007 2:28 pm

and oh! more on people being completely ridiculous.

this strip got a cartoonist (matt boyd, formerly of machall) fired from his navy contractor job.

this strip got him a visit from the police for "making threats."

i hate people.

phyco126 · Post by **phyco126** » Fri May 04, 2007 9:44 pm

Wait, the police actually showed up on him? I've read Machall until they stopped and then I started reading the new strip the two do, and I recall even telling my mom about it.

Seriously though, the guy makes a valid point with his second strip. If I was fired from my job for some BS reason, especially if it was about not feeling safe, then I would be very much more likely to come back and shoot the place up than anything else.

Post by **Alunissage** » Sat May 05, 2007 1:16 am

Keep in mind that the teacher was in a really awkward position. If the student did in fact start shooting things and people up or being otherwise violent and destructive her head would've been the first on the chopping block in the eyes of the administration, the parents, and the media. She probably hadn't thought of this possible situation when she gave out the assignment, or trusted her upstanding, honor-roll students to be as upstanding on the inside as they appeared to be on the outside. I'm sure there are a bunch of people who would say that the Columbine and VT shootings could have been prevented if someone had had a document like that, etc.

And I haven't read the full essay, just the rather disgusting bit in the news story linked in the first post, but it suggests to me that he meant it as a wind-up, to see what would happen if the nice young kid wrote all this stuff. "Well, not really, but it would be funny if I did." It seems a stupid way to blow off steam, if that's what he intended, and an unsafe one. With all the fuss about atrocities associated with the military these days, do you think the recruiting Marines wanted that kind of press, that they accepted this guy after he wrote something like that? People have to take notice of this sort of thing. If it he did mean it seriously then he certainly should be examined further... and if not, it was childish of him to be deliberately graphic and offensive just because he could be.

phyco126 · Post by **phyco126** » Sat May 05, 2007 2:06 am

Yes Alunissage, but things like this make me want to write such things to, if only to purposely cause a reaction.

meg · Post by **meg** » Sat May 05, 2007 5:33 am

it was a childish essay.

but you have to remember that he IS a child. 17/18. i briefly flirted with joining the military for the sake of money, and in that time they had me stay overnight at a hotel to get up early the next day to do MEPS.

most of the other people staying there were there for the same reason--and they were all teenage boys. in the course of that night my room had five different anonymous calls from boys looking for sex, and a deliberately pulled fire alarm. and they knew we all had to be up at 4am to get prodded by doctors. these kids don't necessarily have a lot of foresight, and even now, after the fact, *I* have a hard time believing they arrested him for this BS.

i don't think at any point did his brain say "better not write that, buddy. they'll screw up your life for it."

phyco126 · Post by **phyco126** » Sat May 05, 2007 9:25 am

Meg, are you serious about the guys/kids at the hotel for MEPs? When I stayed at our hotel, we didn't have any of those problems. Besides, you're not supposed to have sex/drugs/booze/whatever before the exam or they will bar you from the military.

meg · Post by **meg** » Sat May 05, 2007 1:48 pm

yes, i'm serious. my roommate was an older woman who'd had to do MEPS before, and she said to just ignore it.

but they were running up and down halls, beating on doors, and just being complete asses. the next morning i was exhausted, and had to listen to a bus full of teenage boys crowing about last nights "conquests" in the most disgusting language.

maybe i just had an abnormal group. they had to be chewed out by the guys in charge once we reached our destination. because they couldn't stand in line quietly. you know, that thing we learned to do in kindergarten.

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