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Ignored One
Write a Story - Go To Jail
by ignored_one 11 Replies latest social current
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Robdar
I, for one, am glad that the ACLU is fighting this case. I'd rather have too many freedoms than too few.
Go ahead, right wingers, reem me a new one. I haven't had my ass eaten in a long time now.
Robyn
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Swan
I agree. Freedom of speech is a freedom in jeopardy in this country lately. If you write dark stories and you are a teen, you go to jail. If you write dark stories and you are an adult, you get on the New York Times best sellers list.
Tammy
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czarofmischief
First, I'm a right winger.
I'd like to eat your ass anytime you say, Robdar, darling...
Second, I say that this law sucks and should be taken out before it hurts someone. The D.A. is probably doing the right thing by having it exposed in this time of relative national calm, before another burst of hysteria gets it prosecuted in circumstances that lead to a conviction.
Third, Oklahoma is the most Right-wing state in the union. They don't even have emissions tests, or inspections for their cars.
CZAR
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Simon
No, I think fiction should be fiction - when you start adding real people and real places then you are crossing a line.
Suppose I have a grudge against someone and start publishing stories of them being murdered or mutilated for instance? Should I be allowed to hide behind a claim of "but it's just a story!"
What if someone writes a story like that and no one does anything and something does happen?
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tyydyy
A story is a story. If it is meant to sound real and incite fear and panic, like yelling "FIRE" in a theater, then it's wrong. Otherwise, in my opinion, there should be no limits on what can be written. Even when it involves specific people and places. If we put those kind of restrictions on writing then how many movies do you think would get written. How many action movies depict specific places and even specific people getting destroyed? Does that make them wrong and dangerous?
TimB
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SanFranciscoJim
If it is meant to sound real and incite fear and panic, like yelling "FIRE" in a theater, then it's wrong.
Not necessarily. My grandfather was one of those people who sat out on his porch with a loaded rifle to fend off the Martians the night Orson Welles made his historical radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds.
These high school kids are no different than Welles. If they are censored for what they write, then we may find ourselves in a totalitarian society where writing is altogether banned, like the movie Fahrenheit 451.
So where does one draw the line? Encouragement to hate and kill? Surely, in today's modern society no one but the most bigoted individuals want to read literary tidbits about killing black people. But, wait a minute! That priest and pedophile Geoghan was killed in prison a couple of days ago. I didn't hear much public outcry about that. Now, hold on! What about stories encouraging the annihilation of Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network? Doesn't that count as encouragement to hate and kill? So, where does one draw the line?
My opinion? As long as we continue to live in a society where we can selectively decide who the "good guys" and who the "bad guys" are in kangaroo courts, then the issue of censorship is moot, because it is already in place. We are being told who to hate. Example: Hate the child who steals his father's gun and blows away his fellow students. OK to hate this murderer, right? Pity the poor innocent children who were killed by the gunfire, right? Let's look for a second at the killer. He was a victim of continuous bullying and teasing throughout his school years, sometimes viciously. His taunters? The "poor innocents" he blew away? Did he have a right to kill them? No. What were his alternatives, however? Suicide? Happens all too often. Therapy? A healthier choice, but does nothing to stop the cruelty of the bullies. We are taught to hate these teenaged murderers. By doing so, without knowing all the facts, we are in effect sending a message to the next generation that it is all right to bully others, because not only will you come out looking like a hero, but you may even become a martyr!
It all starts out with a cry for help which remains unheard, because it was censored by an insensitive, controlling society.
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jelly
My understanding is that if you talk about killing specific people it is a felony. Like if your teachers name is Bob you cant write a how to kill Bob story. But if it is made up of fictional characters then I cant see what the problem is.
Terry
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berylblue
OMG!!!!
This just caught my eye; you'll understand why after you finish this.
At first, I was afraid it was about my nephew.
My nephew (my sister K's son) (an national honor society student, never ever in trouble, just a quiet, nice kid) wrote a story about his principal and that the man should die. Nothing else. Just written as a joke. It was clear (according to those who saw the story) that it was a joke. Oh, he also mentioned the principal was gay. Which is true. That was it. Done in a very humourous way.
He only showed it to two others, but that was (apparently) two too many.
He was arrested and charged with terroristic threats.
He had wanted to become a law enforcement official, and was very friendly with the police in his town. They told him, "C, you know we thinkg the world of you, we don't want to do this, but we have to do it by the book; if we slide you even the slightest of breaks, we are afraid it will hurt you. " He was arrested in the car he would go riding with his police buddies in.
I don't know what bail was.
The police also told him that while a police career may be out of the question, he ought to seriously consider writing, that the story was great, and that the principal was just pissed off that word was getting around that he was gay. ("Not that there's anything wrong with it"...famous Seindfeld episode.)
Oh, C. is also being sued by the principal. C. has been working as a programmer for years (he is brilliant) and has made tens of thousands of dollars; he wanted to use it for college... Not that his parents would have let him, they are also loaded. Of course, the principal knows they have money.
But I wonder: Won't the fact that the principal is gay come out in the lawsuit trial? Not just as rumor, but as fact?
I am thinking of all the horrible things I used to say straight out about my teachers...but in the 70s, the world was different. You simply can't get away with anything like that anymore.
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berylblue
Robdar, is that you? If so....beautiful.
And GREAT haircut.