Budding Terrorists
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From Slashdot:"A student at the Houston-area Clements High School was arrested, sent to an "Alternative Education Center" and banned from graduation after school officials found he created a video game map of his school. School district police arrested the teen and searched his home where they confiscated a hammer as a 'potential weapon'. ' "They decided he was a terroristic threat," said one source close to the district's investigation.' With an upcoming May 12 school board election, this issue has quickly become political, with school board members involved in the appeal accusing each other of pandering to the Chinese community in an attempt to gain votes."
One more, two more.
Some good comments:
"I made a map of my school shortly after the Columbine thing, for Duke Nuken 3D.
I got extra credit from my Visual Arts teacher for being 'creative', and lemme tell you, I had a HELL of a lot more than a hammer for weapons at my house."
(in response)
"My Visual Arts teacher gave me an "Incomplete" for the course. I shouldn't have made my map for Duke Nukem Forever."
"Dude, you are way underestimating the seriousness of this issue. They found a hammer in this kid's house...a fucking HAMMER. He could easily have knocked one, maybe even two people unconscious with that thing before anyone could do anything about it.
What does anyone need with a hammer in their house anyway? Forget about banning him from graduation, this little mini-Osama should get sent straight to Gitmo. There is absolutely no reason to have a hammer in your home unless you intend to commit a terrorist act.
Plus, if all that weren't bad enough, this kid is ASIAN. Christ man, do you have any idea how crazy those Asians are? One of them killed a bunch of people at Virginia Tech just a short time ago. This categorically PROVES that all Asians are sociopaths just itching to shoot up a school. You can't argue with this logic, it is completely impervious.
You have no idea what we're up against here, man. This shit is SERIOUS. Don't come crying to me when your kid comes home with a big nasty bump on his head because one of these little Asian al Qaeda wannabes smacked him over the head with a mallet. You were warned."
(in response)
"I spoke with Charles Hammerton about this, and you are neglecting many aspects.
He might have had the hammer for home defence. There is nothing wrong with some sport hammering from time to time. Of course, we believe that hammers should be licensed, and background checks done before a hammer can be purchased. Training is, of course, very important, and hammers should never be left where children could harm themselves with them. If appropriate, a hammer lock can be had at any high school that teaches wrestling.
Dont forget about the constitution, and the right to bear hammers.
Responsible hammer ownership is a right, and should not be infringed by a few nut cases.
As Charles said "you can have my hammer, when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers"."
"Dont forget about the constitution, and the right to bear hammers.
People are always misquoting that amendment. It's the right to hammer bears. Which, as the supreme court affirmed in smokey v. ashcroft, means that you have the right to get a bear drunk if it's more than 18 years old."
(in response)
"He could easily have knocked one, maybe even two people unconscious with that thing before anyone could do anything about it.
As a proud, lifetime member of the National Hammer Association, I must insist that we not go too far here. It's part of our constitutional rights - the right to Arm and Hammer - to arm ourselves with hammers. This incident is merely one more reason that everyone ought to carry hamers everywhere they go - if others had been armed with hammers, this student would have had a serious disincentive to consider possibly carrying out the egregious act he was prevented from possibly committing.
Soon, crazy liberal will want to outlaw air hammers, jack hammers, Mike Hammers, pipe hammers - even Diesel hammers - you name it. Act now to preserve your hammer rights - join the NHA."
(in response)
"Hey! If we outlaw hammers, only outlaws will be able to put shelves up!
(in response)
"Don't underestimate the hammer. Remember the Blacksmith of Brandywine.
During the US revolutionary war, a blacksmith performed an errand for General Washington, only to return home and find that redcoats had murdered his family in his absence. The blacksmith took a heavy sledge from his workshop and walked onto the battlefield of Brandywine. There, before they finally brought him down, he slew 20 british soldiers. With a hammer.
No, I'm not being serious about a hammer being a viable weapon, not these days. (Although note that the Blacksmith story is true, from all references I can find.)
I just found it ironic, that the Blacksmith of Brandywine went on a murderous rampage in response to oppression from a ruthless government...and now, our government is so scared of our children that they're even taking our hammers away."
"1. It is not illegal to create game maps for a first-person shooter game.
2. It is not illegal to show maps for a first-person shooter game to someone else.
3. It is not illegal to possess five swords.
4. The board had nothing to react to in the first place.
5. The student committed no crime for which the police could legally arrest him, at least pre-PATRIOT Act.
He, an honor student, was removed from his high school and forced to attend an alternative (read: for delinquents) education center, will not be allowed to receive his diploma with the rest of his class, and will probably have difficulty, if not being accepted to, at least getting financial aid for a good college. All because he went to a school staffed and parented by a group of reactionary morons.
How should the school have handled it? There's nothing to handle. When/if parents complained, the appropriate authority figures should have repeated my response to #1: "It is not illegal to create game maps for a first-person shooter game.""
"A terrorist under every rock, and a WMD in every child's hand. When will this crap cease and common sense prevail?
Oh, that's right: never.
I'd read the article, but it's been Slashdotted."
(in response)
"Since I'm from the deep south (somewhere east of Texas and west of Mississippi) I feel qualified to say...
This is par for the course in this part of the United States. Ignorance, fear and xenophobia run rampant, white men run everything, and opportunism prevails at every turn. Police forces are treated as a paramilitary force, and zero tolerance is the rule in schools - even though it only means that more kids every year get fewer chances at straightening up and becoming successful.
Louisiana (and other population-losing red states) wonder why it's best and brightest move away as soon as they finish college - crap like this is the reason why."
"An overreaction is when you lock up someone for life when they stole a loaf of bread. This doesn't even accomplish their stated goal - to protect their school from an unbalanced and violent individual.
Let's assume for a second that they are right. The guy is violent, mentally unstable and is using his home grown CS map to practice his planned killing spree (which was apparently to be carried out with a hammer). What do they do? They merely transfer him to a different school. In no way, shape or form do any of the school's actions prevent him from entering the school again and carrying out his assumed plans. At best, they've moved the problem to a different place, and put others at risk that hadn't been at risk before. At worst, it really pisses him off, and he escalates his planned violence (pipe bombs really aren't hard to make). Any which way you look at it, the actions of the school and the police were completely irresponsible.
Factor in that the guy had none of these plans to begin with, and you're looking at a massively incompetent school administration, board and police whose only goal is to cover their ass. They don't care whether what they did solved any issues; all they wanted was to have something to point to if the student does go apeshit and the inevitable question of "who's to blame?" rolls around.
The US is going down the shitter, and attitudes like these towards kids and education are the reason why. Way to ruin your future generation."
"I died a little on the inside when I read this. :("
(in response)
"Don't worry, you'll respawn in Mrs. Crabapple's classroom for round 2."
posted by MC Froehlich at
5/02/2007 10:16:00 PM
"we live in a very different world after 9-11.. I know that the Asian community wants their children to be safe and secure in school just like all other ethnic parents whether white, brown, black, green purple… I dont care what race the child who downloaded the material was,, the other children in the school has to be safe.. Im not for violation of rights as Im not for this city becoming a nightmare like in W Va.. We hav lost some rights,, its tru,,, but we live in a different world now.. A world where your neighbor could be a terorist of a sex offender… If your child gets killed or assaulted ,, would nt you have wanted every lead, threat, suspicion to be followed up on… ????"
One thing that everyone seems to overlook: if it was not for the grace of God, I would be that killer. I have the mind and skills for much worse. Most of my friends can understand the truth of that statement. Does society restrain me? Heck no. Do movies and games compel me? Definitely not. In fact I find them rather unimaginative.
I attend an Asian church now, though I am decidedly not Asian. Specifically, a Korean church. Since the VT slaughter, people in my congregation have been harassed and their houses vandalized.
An oft neglected topic: if games are causing people to do these things, then what are the current run of movies (like The Departed) encouraging people to do? Another case of messed up priorities.
'When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.'
- James 1::13-15
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