So much for freedom of speach in the US

[ASpHole]

Teen’s essay leads to arrest
After Virginia Tech, teachers are reading between the lines
By JEFF LONG and CAROLYN STARKS - Chicago Tribune


CHICAGO — Told to express emotion for a creative writing class, high-school senior Allen Lee penned an essay so disturbing to his teacher, school administrators and police that he was charged with disorderly conduct, officials said.

Lee, 18, a straight-A student at Cary-Grove High School in Cary, Ill., was arrested last week near his home and charged with the misdemeanor for an essay police described as violently disturbing but not directed toward any specific person or location.

It appears Lee’s future career options have been affected, as well.

He was on the verge of realizing a dream to become a Marine after signing enlistment papers this month. But because of the pending criminal charges, Lee’s recruiter told him Friday that the Marine Corps has discharged him from his contract, said Sgt. Luis Agostini, spokesman for the Marine Corps Recruiting Station Chicago.

The senior at suburban Cary-Grove High School was charged with two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct after the principal turned his creative writing essay over to police.

“In light of recent events (at Virginia Tech), that is part of the context of what happened that makes the reaction all the more reasonable,” said Tom Carroll, first assistant state’s attorney in McHenry County.

School officials declined to say whether Lee had any previous disciplinary problems but said he was an excellent student. Authorities said Lee had never been in trouble with the police.

The charge against Lee comes as schools across the country wrestle with how to react in the wake of the killings at Virginia Tech. Bomb threats have caused evacuations; threatening notes have been scrutinized.

The charges are a product of paranoia, following the massacre of 32 students at Virginia Tech by a social outcast who then killed himself, said Lee’s lawyer, Thomas Loizzo.

“Once the dust settles, once they look at this through clearer glasses, we think that the state will do the right thing and dismiss the charges,” Loizzo said.

The essay, written April 23, reads in part, “Blood, sex and booze. Drugs, drugs, drugs are fun. Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab ... So I had this dream last night where I went into a building, pulled out two P90s and started shooting everyone, then had sex with the dead bodies. Well, not really, but it would be funny if I did.”

The teacher told students: “‘Be creative; there will be no judgment and no censorship,’” 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.”

School district spokesman Jeff Puma declined to discuss the specifics of the essay or Lee’s future, citing privacy concerns.

“The essay was inappropriate in that it caused a question about safety,” Puma said.

Cary Police Chief Ron Delelio said the charge against Lee was appropriate even though the essay was not published or posted for public viewing. Disorderly conduct, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and a $1,500 fine, often is filed for such pranks as pulling a fire alarm or dialing 911, he said. But it also can apply when someone’s writings disturb an individual, Delelio said.

“The teacher was alarmed and disturbed by the content,” he said.

The teen’s father said he understood concerns about violence but not why a creative writing exercise resulted in charges against his son.

“I understand what happened recently at Virginia Tech,” said Albert Lee. But he added, “I don’t see how somebody can get charged by writing in their homework. The teacher asked them to express themselves, and he followed instructions.”

Some legal experts said the charges are troubling because they stem from an essay that even police admit contained no direct threats against anyone at the school. A civil rights advocate said the teacher’s reaction to an essay shouldn’t make it a crime.

“One of the elements is that some sort of disorder or disruption is created,” said Ed Yohnka, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. “When something is done in private — when a paper is handed in to a teacher — there isn’t a disruption.”

Yohnka also said it was inevitable schools would focus on potentially threatening writings in the aftermath of what happened at Virginia Tech.

Some students at the school rallied behind Lee, organizing a petition drive to have him readmitted. On walls, they posted quotes from the English teacher that encouraged students to express their emotions through writing.

Albert Lee came to the United States from China 30 years ago and has lived in Cary for 16 years. He said his son posted $75 bail and later met with a psychiatrist. The teen was not suspended or expelled but was forced to attend classes elsewhere, his father said.

He said his son, a wrestler at Cary-Grove, was “very upset” about the incident, which his father felt might have been a joke.

Seung Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech shooter, was from South Korea. Albert Lee would not say whether he thinks the fact that his son is Chinese-American had any bearing on the incident.

During a short interview at his family two-story home in a quiet Cary subdivision near the high school, Lee said he felt administrators did the right thing.

He added, however, that he does not think his son is a threat to anyone.

“I definitely think that there is some misunderstanding,” he said. “That’s my only interpretation of this.”

His son hopes to re-enlist in the Marines if the charges are cleared and he’s allowed to return to school, said his other attorney, Dane Loizzo.

Lee wrote in a statement provided by his attorney that he has completed military entrance exams, including a psychiatric evaluation.

“If I’m qualified to defend the country, I believe I’m qualified to attend school,” he wrote.

Contributing: Megan Reichgott of The Associated Press

"In Soviet Russia, we have freedom of speech like in USA."

( bold text is my emphasis, it didn't appear bold in the original piece.)

[McGiver]

is there a copy of his essay anywhere?

he is 18 years old and an adult, afterall.

[DirtDawg]

Teen’s essay leads to arrest
After Virginia Tech, teachers are reading between the lines

"In Soviet Russia, we have freedom of speech like in USA."

( bold text is my emphasis, it didn't appear bold in the original piece.)

The kid's father is Albert Lee? Cool.

This whole thing is so crazy. I'm not a proud American, right now.


Thanks for posting this, ASpHole, I had seen it, earlier, but wasn't sure if it would be taken seriously. You posting it instead of me, is a good idea.

 

[McGiver]

the teacher should be fired for breach of confidentiality.

[DirtDawg]

the teacher should be fired for breach of confidentiality.

I don't think they could be considered paid professionals in that regard. There is no confidentiality between public school lessons and the state.

[Scrapheap]

the teacher should be fired for breach of confidentiality.

The teacher should be fired for being a parinoid twunt!!

[McGiver]

the teacher should be fired for breach of confidentiality.

The teacher should be fired for being a parinoid twunt!!

twunt.

ha.

it is so much funnier coming from a yank.

[Scrapheap]

the teacher should be fired for breach of confidentiality.

The teacher should be fired for being a parinoid twunt!!

twunt.

ha.

it is so much funnier coming from a yank.

Are you calling me a Britishism Whore??

[DirtDawg]

the teacher should be fired for breach of confidentiality.

The teacher should be fired for being a parinoid twunt!!

twunt.

ha.

it is so much funnier coming from a yank.

It does!

... but I don't buy the Britishism Whore definition. I use Br-isms, specifically for the impact, esoteric meaning or silliness of them. I grew up in Texas and we said arse, but it meant an animal's butt. It was considered a bit more polite than saying, "ass".

Never heard anyone use it as a verb, though. You might say "assed", but that meant "fucked up" or "drunk"

I was so assed after that joint I couldn't drink anymore.

[purposefulinsanity]

That's fucking scary-blurring the lines between fiction and unlikely reality like that.

[duncvis]

Its official: America is now being controlled by paranoid thought police. OMG Francis E Dec wasn't mad! Could the last person out of the US turn out the lights, and bring what's left of your constitution with you? We haven't got one, and nobody seems to be using yours.

[Litigious]

This is a shame. It wouldn't even happen in Sweden. Maybe in Russia. 

[The_P]

Its official: America is now being controlled by paranoid thought police. OMG Francis E Dec wasn't mad! Could the last person out of the US turn out the lights, and bring what's left of your constitution with you? We haven't got one, and nobody seems to be using yours.

You got to agree with the fact that the UK is following suit. 

[duncvis]

I do. The current of anti-freedom in legislation and rhetoric here at present coupled with creeping surveillance makes me pretty uncomfortable. 

[Scrapheap]

I do. The current of anti-freedom in legislation and rhetoric here at present coupled with creeping surveillance makes me pretty uncomfortable. 

I hope you didn't say that near a telescreen, the thought police from the Ministry of love might be watching.