NationStates Jolt Archive

PROSSER, Benton County — Secret Service agents questioned a high-school student here about anti-war drawings he turned in to his art teacher.
One of them depicted President Bush's head on a stick.

Another pencil-and-ink drawing depicted Bush as a devil launching a missile, with a caption reading "End the war — on terrorism."

The 15-year-old boy's art teacher turned the drawings over to school administrators, who notified a police officer assigned to work with the school.

"We involve the police anytime we have a concern," Prosser Superintendent Ray Tolcacher told the Tri-City Herald.

"From our perspective, it was an incident that needed to be reported to the police on campus."

Secret Service agents interviewed the boy Friday. The student, who was not arrested, has not been identified.

The school district disciplined him, but district officials declined to say what the punishment was. Tolcacher said the boy was not suspended. Tolcacher insisted it was not a freedom-of-speech issue but a concern over the depiction of violence.

"From what I saw, (school officials) were right to be concerned," Prosser Police Chief Win Taylor said.

The artwork was apparently part of an assignment to keep a notebook of drawings, according to Kevin Cravens of Richland, who said he was a family friend of the boy who was investigated.

The drawing that drew the most attention showed a man in what appeared to be Middle Eastern-style clothing, holding a rifle. He also was holding a stick with the oversize head of President Bush on it. The student said the head was enlarged because it was intended to be an effigy, Cravens said. The caption called for an end to the war in Iraq.

The boy's mother declined to talk with The Seattle Times last night. The Secret Service did not return the Herald's calls for comment, and a message left by The Associated Press with an after-hours duty officer in Washington, D.C., was not immediately returned yesterday.

"If this 15-year-old kid in Prosser is perceived as a threat to the president, then we are living in '1984.' " Cravens said.

More importantly, 1983 like the John mayer song.

Viva La Red Arrow!

Honestly... we're talking about schools where it's illegal to draw ANY weapons... and in seattle... a region with alot of teenage Jihad sympathizers... it's best to watch your back.

Why must you blame Bush for this? It's called concerned parenting, not to mention police.

Viva La Red Arrow!

Honestly... we're talking about schools where it's illegal to draw ANY weapons... and in seattle... a region with alot of teenage Jihad sympathizers... it's best to watch your back.

Why must you blame Bush for this? It's called concerned parenting, not to mention police.

Ha! Hardly The Red Arrow. Besides, who said anything about blaming Bush?
You are the one who drew the connection based on a title and a post.

Maybe he made it look like he wishes to assasinate the President? There are things that are covered up as we all know.

probably just conservative Principals

Viva La Red Arrow!

Honestly... we're talking about schools where it's illegal to draw ANY weapons... and in seattle... a region with alot of teenage Jihad sympathizers... it's best to watch your back.

Why must you blame Bush for this? It's called concerned parenting, not to mention police.

Red Arrow??? Red Arrow posted stuff from dubious sources at best.
This article comes from a newspaper: The Seattle Times. I know it's not "The Watchtower" and therefore must be communist propaganda in your eyes...But most others see it as an ordinary newspaper.

Who was blaming Bush?
Maybe you should read the article...

I remember a news story where an American kid wrote a story about a high school massacre for an English assignment, and he was expelled. The Guardian reprinted the story in full, and I have to say, it was pretty well-written.

I think that people in the US have basically lost all sense of proportionality.

I remember a news story where an American kid wrote a story about a high school massacre for an English assignment, and he was expelled. The Guardian reprinted the story in full, and I have to say, it was pretty well-written.

I think that people in the US have basically lost all sense of proportionality.After Columbine, you doubt this because....?

I wish we were living in 1984. President Reagan would be sitting at the helm of America, telling the USSR to shove it, we'd be making great headways with the economy, and you democrats would lose 49 states!

I wish we were living in 1984. President Reagan would be sitting at the helm of America, telling the USSR to shove it, we'd be making great headways with the economy, and you democrats would lose 49 states!RIGHT ON!

You know, except for the whole 80's music thing... :P

probably just conservative Principals

hahahahahahahaha

they all died off in the early 60's

I wish we were living in 1984. President Reagan would be sitting at the helm of America, telling the USSR to shove it, we'd be making great headways with the economy, and you democrats would lose 49 states!RIGHT ON!

You know, except for the whole 80's music thing... :P

hella yeah

probably just conservative Principals

hahahahahahahaha

they all died off in the early 60'syeah, from secondhand pot :P

I remember a news story where an American kid wrote a story about a high school massacre for an English assignment, and he was expelled. The Guardian reprinted the story in full, and I have to say, it was pretty well-written.

I think that people in the US have basically lost all sense of proportionality.After Columbine, you doubt this because....?

I think that guy Steven Hawking is up to something...He keeps writing about black holes.

After Columbine, you doubt this because....?
I think that guy Steven Hawking is up to something...He keeps writing about black holes.
:shock: You're right! He's obviously another dangerous nihilist! Persecute!!!

How DARE this kid use such a dangerous medium as ART to entice the masses?
Whats next...protesting in the streets?!

We should lock this kid away in Gitmo and throw away the key.
He obviously is a COMMIE and a terrorist sympathizer!

Better yet!
Lets remove all art from schools so that no one else will develop the ability to express free thought!

Someone PLEASE think of the children!

Crazy, I just saw a play on something almost just like this. I'll have to let the playwright know he's on to something...

One of them depicted President Bush's head on a stick.


The drawing that drew the most attention showed a man in what appeared to be Middle Eastern-style clothing, holding a rifle. He also was holding a stick with the oversize head of President Bush on it. The student said the head was enlarged because it was intended to be an effigy, Cravens said. The caption called for an end to the war in Iraq.

hate to break it to all the people who are raising such a stink over this, but its against the law to make threats against the president (this includes songs, movies, drawings, etc.) the stupid bastard should have known better :roll:

How DARE this kid use such a dangerous medium as ART to entice the masses?
Whats next...protesting in the streets?!
He'd damn well keep to the Free Speech Zones! Filthy anarchist! :x

http://homepage.mac.com/leperous/.Pictures/freespeechzone.jpg

How DARE this kid use such a dangerous medium as ART to entice the masses?
Whats next...protesting in the streets?!

We should lock this kid away in Gitmo and throw away the key.
He obviously is a COMMIE and a terrorist sympathizer!

Better yet!
Lets remove all art from schools so that no one else will develop the ability to express free thought!

Someone PLEASE think of the children!...OK, what SHOULD we be suspiscious of? Especially in a nation of crazy people, school shootings, neo nazis and jihad sympathizers?

How DARE this kid use such a dangerous medium as ART to entice the masses?
Whats next...protesting in the streets?!

We should lock this kid away in Gitmo and throw away the key.
He obviously is a COMMIE and a terrorist sympathizer!

Better yet!
Lets remove all art from schools so that no one else will develop the ability to express free thought!

Someone PLEASE think of the children!

oh, yes lets encourage our impressionable youth to break federal law :roll:

(see my previous post)

How DARE this kid use such a dangerous medium as ART to entice the masses?
Whats next...protesting in the streets?!

We should lock this kid away in Gitmo and throw away the key.
He obviously is a COMMIE and a terrorist sympathizer!

Better yet!
Lets remove all art from schools so that no one else will develop the ability to express free thought!

Someone PLEASE think of the children!

oh, yes lets encourage our impressionable youth to break federal law :roll:

(see my previous post)

what was it hurting?

How was this any different from any political cartoon?

How DARE this kid use such a dangerous medium as ART to entice the masses?
Whats next...protesting in the streets?!

We should lock this kid away in Gitmo and throw away the key.
He obviously is a COMMIE and a terrorist sympathizer!

Better yet!
Lets remove all art from schools so that no one else will develop the ability to express free thought!

Someone PLEASE think of the children!

oh, yes lets encourage our impressionable youth to break federal law :roll:

(see my previous post)

what was it hurting?

How was this any different from any political cartoon?


this morning when i read the paper i didnt see any cartoons with bush's head on a stick

(read my post, it's against the law)

Right, and who exactly is this hurting?

Right, and who exactly is this hurting?

it doesnt matter if its hurting anyone, this kid could have been planning an assination. its against the law, period

I remember a news story where an American kid wrote a story about a high school massacre for an English assignment, and he was expelled. The Guardian reprinted the story in full, and I have to say, it was pretty well-written.

I think that people in the US have basically lost all sense of proportionality.

Generalizations generally generate reptilian responses. I'll try to be the exception.

There is much of the American experience those who live outside America cannot relate to.

On it's face, this report would appear to suggest an extreme response. Perhaps it was. I am not familiar with the political stance taken by The Seattle Times (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001913678_prosser27m.html) or how they select their topics. So I'll leave that alone.

I do not know the boy. It could be symptomatic of larger issues perceived by those adults he is in contact with that the report was made at all. Let's assume the school administration kicked it up to the cops 'just in case.'

I do not know the police chief or mayor of Prosser, WA. It may be that they are a wee bit affected by being somewhat proximate to the Port of Seattle. It is about a three hour drive to the north-west of them.

They may be under instructions to report anything even slightly terrorist related to the state authorities who then in turn would, as a matter of course, report it to the Feds.

So the Feds send out a 'look see' team rather than blandly assume anything. They look, they leave, and nothing but an interview has taken place. The report is filed and that is that.

Why go through all this? Who killed John Lennon? Who shot President Reagan? Who does these whacky things? Whackos. So you have to look at them, just in case there is something there.

So we "have lost all sense of proportionality?" Not according to our lights. The boy was not arrested, jailed or even suspended from school. He was questioned. Hardly a lost sense of proportion given the threats that are real for us.

:shock:

Right, and who exactly is this hurting?

it doesnt matter if its hurting anyone, this kid could have been planning an assination. its against the law, period

There was no threat to the President anywhere in those drawings. We know that it's against the law to threaten the President's life. However, you actually have to threaten the President's life. He did no such thing. He drew a picture of Bush launching a cruise missile, and an Arab terrorist holding an effigy of Bush's head on a stick.

And you know what? Just because something is against the law doesn't mean it's right. The law is not always correct. However, in this case, it's beside the point. He broke no law. He threatened no President. He drew political cartoons.

Right, and who exactly is this hurting?

it doesnt matter if its hurting anyone, this kid could have been planning an assination. its against the law, period

Right....a High school kid in an art class, who meant that drawing as anti violence statement was plotting an assassination of the President.

Please.

Right, and who exactly is this hurting?

it doesnt matter if its hurting anyone, this kid could have been planning an assination. its against the law, period

There was no threat to the President anywhere in those drawings. We know that it's against the law to threaten the President's life. However, you actually have to threaten the President's life. He did no such thing. He drew a picture of Bush launching a cruise missile, and an Arab terrorist holding an effigy of Bush's head on a stick.

And you know what? Just because something is against the law doesn't mean it's right. The law is not always correct. However, in this case, it's beside the point. He broke no law. He threatened no President. He drew political cartoons.

so if i drew a picture of myself shooting the president that would not be threatening?

I wish we were living in 1984. President Reagan would be sitting at the helm of America, telling the USSR to shove it, we'd be making great headways with the economy, and you democrats would lose 49 states!RIGHT ON!

You know, except for the whole 80's music thing... :P

Hey, now. When a republican president won 49 out of the 50 states, he was impeached. coughNixoncough. I do have a question, though. When Ronald Reagan got Alzheimer's Disease, how could anybody tell?

Don't diss all 80's music. I mean, some good stuff came from the 80's. I mean, the best Metallica music was in the 80's, and Ozzy Osbourne was in the 80's.

Right, and who exactly is this hurting?

it doesnt matter if its hurting anyone, this kid could have been planning an assination. its against the law, period

There was no threat to the President anywhere in those drawings. We know that it's against the law to threaten the President's life. However, you actually have to threaten the President's life. He did no such thing. He drew a picture of Bush launching a cruise missile, and an Arab terrorist holding an effigy of Bush's head on a stick.

And you know what? Just because something is against the law doesn't mean it's right. The law is not always correct. However, in this case, it's beside the point. He broke no law. He threatened no President. He drew political cartoons.

so if i drew a picture of myself shooting the president that would not be threatening?

I could draw a picture of the president getting sodomized..that doesnt mean that its anymore likely to happen, OR that I wish to see it happen.

Right, and who exactly is this hurting?

it doesnt matter if its hurting anyone, this kid could have been planning an assination. its against the law, period

There was no threat to the President anywhere in those drawings. We know that it's against the law to threaten the President's life. However, you actually have to threaten the President's life. He did no such thing. He drew a picture of Bush launching a cruise missile, and an Arab terrorist holding an effigy of Bush's head on a stick.

And you know what? Just because something is against the law doesn't mean it's right. The law is not always correct. However, in this case, it's beside the point. He broke no law. He threatened no President. He drew political cartoons.

so if i drew a picture of myself shooting the president that would not be threatening?

That might be threatening the President, if you disseminated it for public view. A picture of you shooting the President would indeed be just cause for concern, since you are the agent in the picture.

Right, and who exactly is this hurting?

it doesnt matter if its hurting anyone, this kid could have been planning an assination. its against the law, period

There was no threat to the President anywhere in those drawings. We know that it's against the law to threaten the President's life. However, you actually have to threaten the President's life. He did no such thing. He drew a picture of Bush launching a cruise missile, and an Arab terrorist holding an effigy of Bush's head on a stick.

And you know what? Just because something is against the law doesn't mean it's right. The law is not always correct. However, in this case, it's beside the point. He broke no law. He threatened no President. He drew political cartoons.

so if i drew a picture of myself shooting the president that would not be threatening?

I could draw a picture of the president getting sodomized..that doesnt mean that its anymore likely to happen, OR that I wish to see it happen.



but you all are missing the point entirely, it showed the president dead, with head on a stick. would you have rather had the art teacher said,"good job!!, now lets go burn a flag to protest this bullshit republican war!! fuck authority!!" well, maybe i got carried away.

Right, and who exactly is this hurting?

it doesnt matter if its hurting anyone, this kid could have been planning an assination. its against the law, period

Right....a High school kid in an art class, who meant that drawing as anti violence statement was plotting an assassination of the President.

Please.

One point missing, the boy was not arrested, jailed or even suspended from school. He was questioned.

If he was anything like me at 15, it would hardly disuade him from holding his beliefs. I am not even sure he was doing anything more than exploring the alternate view point from an artistic position. Maybe he is an anarchist. So what. He was not imprisoned for it, was he?

:shock:

http://homepage.mac.com/leperous/.Pictures/eyeballs%20copy.jpg

Right, and who exactly is this hurting?

it doesnt matter if its hurting anyone, this kid could have been planning an assination. its against the law, period

There was no threat to the President anywhere in those drawings. We know that it's against the law to threaten the President's life. However, you actually have to threaten the President's life. He did no such thing. He drew a picture of Bush launching a cruise missile, and an Arab terrorist holding an effigy of Bush's head on a stick.

And you know what? Just because something is against the law doesn't mean it's right. The law is not always correct. However, in this case, it's beside the point. He broke no law. He threatened no President. He drew political cartoons.

so if i drew a picture of myself shooting the president that would not be threatening?

I could draw a picture of the president getting sodomized..that doesnt mean that its anymore likely to happen, OR that I wish to see it happen.



but you all are missing the point entirely, it showed the president dead, with head on a stick. would you have rather had the art teacher said,"good job!!, now lets go burn a flag to protest this bullshit republican war!! f--- authority!!" well, maybe i got carried away.

First, yes, you've gotten very carried away and you're missing the point entirely.

Second, personally, I'd rather the teacher didn't. I'd rather he/she said, "You know, I don't like the content of this image, but it's art, and you're trying to convey a political message. We have freedom of speech in this country, and you're exercising it. Therefore, I'm going to grade your assignment fairly and accurately, and ask you to please be a little bit more sensitive."

Third, the head was significantly enlarged, according to the source story, indicating that it was an effigy and not an actual head.

Fourth, even if it did show the President's head on a stick and not just an effigy, which is a time-honored form of political protest, that's no business of the Secret Service and the school administration had no business enforcing its own political views on the boy. It's art, and it's nonthreatening.

grace! great picture.

Right, and who exactly is this hurting?

it doesnt matter if its hurting anyone, this kid could have been planning an assination. its against the law, period

There was no threat to the President anywhere in those drawings. We know that it's against the law to threaten the President's life. However, you actually have to threaten the President's life. He did no such thing. He drew a picture of Bush launching a cruise missile, and an Arab terrorist holding an effigy of Bush's head on a stick.

And you know what? Just because something is against the law doesn't mean it's right. The law is not always correct. However, in this case, it's beside the point. He broke no law. He threatened no President. He drew political cartoons.

so if i drew a picture of myself shooting the president that would not be threatening?

I could draw a picture of the president getting sodomized..that doesnt mean that its anymore likely to happen, OR that I wish to see it happen.



but you all are missing the point entirely, it showed the president dead, with head on a stick. would you have rather had the art teacher said,"good job!!, now lets go burn a flag to protest this bullshit republican war!! f--- authority!!" well, maybe i got carried away.

No Sir.
I say its YOU who are missing the point.
The point is it wasnt hurting anyone..the drawing was made as an anti-violence statement, and if anything the kid should be coongratulated on having his own mind.
Perhaps a mild warning on the subject matter, but thats about it.

what part of "freedom of expression" makes you so nervous?

Right, and who exactly is this hurting?

it doesnt matter if its hurting anyone, this kid could have been planning an assination. its against the law, period

Right....a High school kid in an art class, who meant that drawing as anti violence statement was plotting an assassination of the President.

Please.

One point missing, the boy was not arrested, jailed or even suspended from school. He was questioned.

If he was anything like me at 15, it would hardly disuade him from holding his beliefs. I am not even sure he was doing anything more than exploring the alternate view point from an artistic position. Maybe he is an anarchist. So what. He was not imprisoned for it, was he?

:shock:

He wasn't, no, which is a good thing. He was, however, disciplined, which, no matter to what degree, is a bad thing. The kid was exercising his freedom of speech, a right held sacrosanct by the founders of this good country. Unless he was trying to incite violence against the President or actively threatening his life, which he wasn't, the school system and the Secret Service should have stayed the hell out of his business.

grace! great picture.
Kernel! [Hugs] :)

What is it with people wanting to congratulate (sp) people on things that are against the law?

The AWOL US soldiers in Canada "Let's give em a medal for having their own mind!"

The kid;s drawing of a dead President "Lets congrat him for having a mind!"

Listen, the kid has a freedom to express himself. It's when it gets this far that it becomes illegal. He's basically saying "Let's kill the President!"

grace! great picture.
Kernel! [Hugs] :)

*hugs times 5*

What is it with people wanting to congratulate (sp) people on things that are against the law?

The AWOL US soldiers in Canada "Let's give em a medal for having their own mind!"

The kid;s drawing of a dead President "Lets congrat him for having a mind!"

Listen, the kid has a freedom to express himself. It's when it gets this far that it becomes illegal. He's basically saying "Let's kill the President!"

No he wasnt.
The picture was an anti-violence statement.
Read it again.

Kernel! [Hugs] :)
*hugs times 5*
A contrasting moment of affection, in a thread so hostile. :)

c'mon kids, spread the love!

What is it with people wanting to congratulate (sp) people on things that are against the law?

The AWOL US soldiers in Canada "Let's give em a medal for having their own mind!"

The kid;s drawing of a dead President "Lets congrat him for having a mind!"

Listen, the kid has a freedom to express himself. It's when it gets this far that it becomes illegal. He's basically saying "Let's kill the President!"

No he wasnt.
The picture was an anti-violence statement.
Read it again.

It may be anti-violent

Then again, I could make a picture with a bully's head on a silver platter at school and say it's an "anti-bully" statement

Would that make you feel comfortable?

I wish we were living in 1984. President Reagan would be sitting at the helm of America, telling the USSR to shove it, we'd be making great headways with the economy, and you democrats would lose 49 states!

And I'd be reborn forever! :shock:

What is it with people wanting to congratulate (sp) people on things that are against the law?

The AWOL US soldiers in Canada "Let's give em a medal for having their own mind!"

The kid;s drawing of a dead President "Lets congrat him for having a mind!"

Listen, the kid has a freedom to express himself. It's when it gets this far that it becomes illegal. He's basically saying "Let's kill the President!"

No, he isn't! He drew a picture of Bush launching a cruise missile, and an Arab terrorist holding an effigy of Bush. There's a difference between drawing a political cartoon and inciting people to treason. Unfortunately, however, in this age of zero-tolerance and unthinking jingoism, we've lost the ability to see that distinction.

Were I in a position to observe this incident as it happened, I would have expected this outcome. It's almost a foregone conclusion in this political climate. That doesn't mean I like it.

well, grace, i gotta go to bed...i have my ap physics test tomorrow. bye! *hugs*

What is it with people wanting to congratulate (sp) people on things that are against the law?

The AWOL US soldiers in Canada "Let's give em a medal for having their own mind!"

The kid;s drawing of a dead President "Lets congrat him for having a mind!"

Listen, the kid has a freedom to express himself. It's when it gets this far that it becomes illegal. He's basically saying "Let's kill the President!"

No he wasnt.
The picture was an anti-violence statement.
Read it again.

I'd say it's violence-neutral. On the one hand, it's for the end of the war in Iraq. On the other hand, he drew a picture of an Arab terrorist (if I read this and other stories correctly), which is a violent image. I'd say, if anything, it was designed to stir up discussion on whether violent means are appropriate to a nonviolent end, and to culturally attack a President many see as unjustifiably violent.

well, grace, i gotta go to bed...i have my ap physics test tomorrow. bye! *hugs*
Goodnight. Good luck! :)

I think the picture did go over the limit a bit, but the secret service? What the hell kind of assassin draws a picture of what he's going to do so all can see it?

I think the picture did go over the limit a bit, but the secret service? What the hell kind of assassin draws a picture of what he's going to do so all can see it?

A stupid one. Sadly, there have been some stupid assassins who have tried to attack the President. I wouldn't exactly call Sirhan Sirhan the brightest bulb in the building, if you know what I mean. I don't necessarily blame the Secret Service for investigating this; they are, after all, professionals, and I've heard that they're very fair and polite when they conduct their mandatory investigations. I do, however, very much blame the administration for disciplining this student.

One point missing, the boy was not arrested, jailed or even suspended from school. He was questioned.

If he was anything like me at 15, it would hardly disuade him from holding his beliefs. I am not even sure he was doing anything more than exploring the alternate view point from an artistic position. Maybe he is an anarchist. So what. He was not imprisoned for it, was he?

:shock:

He wasn't, no, which is a good thing. He was, however, disciplined, which, no matter to what degree, is a bad thing. The kid was exercising his freedom of speech, a right held sacrosanct by the founders of this good country. Unless he was trying to incite violence against the President or actively threatening his life, which he wasn't, the school system and the Secret Service should have stayed the hell out of his business.

You have the right walk around your house naked but you have no right to stand at the window in public view that way. Just as there is a limit between those two, free speech is not an unlimited right. By presenting the material in school, a public forum, the privacy issue is moot.

Next we are talking about a minor. The school has the responsibility to act in loco parentus. Again, I am not aware of the boy's character or how he is perceived by others. What I am suggesting is that there are facts regarding this that may have a bearing on the response.

:shock:

Right, and who exactly is this hurting?

it doesnt matter if its hurting anyone, this kid could have been planning an assination. its against the law, period

Not that I have a lot of experience in this area, but I think that usually when you plan an assassination, it's probably not smart to go telling everyone about it in your drawings, especially those that you turn in for an assignment.

People! There's a big difference between INTENDING to do something and depicting it in a drawing, or even wishing it would happen. Can any of you honestly say you wouldn't be in prison if you were arrested wishing for things?

Right, and who exactly is this hurting?

it doesnt matter if its hurting anyone, this kid could have been planning an assination. its against the law, period

Not that I have a lot of experience in this area, but I think that usually when you plan an assassination, it's probably not smart to go telling everyone about it in your drawings, especially those that you turn in for an assignment.

People! There's a big difference between INTENDING to do something and depicting it in a drawing, or even wishing it would happen. Can any of you honestly say you wouldn't be in prison if you were arrested wishing for things?

Hmmm . . . Who's in prison?

:shock:

One point missing, the boy was not arrested, jailed or even suspended from school. He was questioned.

If he was anything like me at 15, it would hardly disuade him from holding his beliefs. I am not even sure he was doing anything more than exploring the alternate view point from an artistic position. Maybe he is an anarchist. So what. He was not imprisoned for it, was he?

:shock:

He wasn't, no, which is a good thing. He was, however, disciplined, which, no matter to what degree, is a bad thing. The kid was exercising his freedom of speech, a right held sacrosanct by the founders of this good country. Unless he was trying to incite violence against the President or actively threatening his life, which he wasn't, the school system and the Secret Service should have stayed the hell out of his business.

You have the right walk around your house naked but you have no right to stand at the window in public view that way. Just as there is a limit between those two, free speech is not an unlimited right. By presenting the material in school, a public forum, the privacy issue is moot.

Yes, a public forum, paid for by United States tax dollars. In a private school they can do whatever the hell they want, but in a public school they have a responsibility to respect his freedom to speak, so long as his speech is not directly threatening to public safety or obscene.

Next we are talking about a minor. The school has the responsibility to act in loco parentus. Again, I am not aware of the boy's character or how he is perceived by others. What I am suggesting is that there are facts regarding this that may have a bearing on the response.

Yes, we're talking about a minor. We're also talking about a citizen of the United States. He was disciplined unjustly for the content of his art; that is a grievous offense against freedom of speech.

Right, and who exactly is this hurting?

it doesnt matter if its hurting anyone, this kid could have been planning an assination. its against the law, period

Not that I have a lot of experience in this area, but I think that usually when you plan an assassination, it's probably not smart to go telling everyone about it in your drawings, especially those that you turn in for an assignment.

People! There's a big difference between INTENDING to do something and depicting it in a drawing, or even wishing it would happen. Can any of you honestly say you wouldn't be in prison if you were arrested wishing for things?

Hmmm . . . Who's in prison?

:shock:

Nobody, thankfully. However, he has been disciplined. Even if the discipline was minor, it was still uncalled for.

Hmmm . . . Who's in prison?

:shock:

Yeah, sometimes it is difficult to pick up on the hypothetical, eh? :roll:

c'mon kids, spread the love!

GROUP HUG, GROUP HUG!!!!

http://www.edgequest.com/billhatfield/images/hearts.jpg

:shock:

Oh, but if it was the Principal I'm sure you all would be wondering what the need for this thread was!

Oh, but if it was the Principal I'm sure you all would be wondering what the need for this thread was!

Pardon me, it's late and I'm working on a paper due tomorrow at 2:00 P.M. that I haven't even started. Please explain.

Hmmm . . . Who's in prison?

:shock:

Yeah, sometimes it is difficult to pick up on the hypothetical, eh? :roll:

LOL! No, but hypothetical scenarios should have some bearing on the facts at hand. I think it would be grand if 100 or so of his classmates creatively commented on this by walking down the street wearing sandwich boards with similar art on it.

I do maintain though that at that point it would be pointless to investigate the kids. Their intent would be apparent to even me. :lol:

But seriously, there is a case to be made for the response in this event we are discussing. I don't doubt that the SS agents drove away hacking at the locals for making them drive the 3 hours out and 3 back to Seattle though. But ya never know until you examine something. :wink:

:shock: <- The Slap Happy Lunatics Mascot

One of them depicted President Bush's head on a stick.


The drawing that drew the most attention showed a man in what appeared to be Middle Eastern-style clothing, holding a rifle. He also was holding a stick with the oversize head of President Bush on it. The student said the head was enlarged because it was intended to be an effigy, Cravens said. The caption called for an end to the war in Iraq.

hate to break it to all the people who are raising such a stink over this, but its against the law to make threats against the president (this includes songs, movies, drawings, etc.) the stupid bastard should have known better :roll:

So how many hollywood movies are there about plots to kidnap or assassinate the president? Why aren't those directors and actors being questioned by the police?
These movies reach more people than a 15 year olds drawing ever would...

And Tom Clancy!!! That evil bastard wrote about flying planes into the Capitol Building. Why hasn't he been hypocritically killed yet?

And Tom Clancy!!! That evil bastard wrote about flying planes into the Capitol Building. Why hasn't he been hypocritically killed yet?
That's different, because he killed a fictional President.

And Tom Clancy!!! That evil bastard wrote about flying planes into the Capitol Building. Why hasn't he been hypocritically killed yet?
That's different, because he killed a fictional President.

But it might give all these militant 15 year-olds ideas....anydangways, I was being sarcastic.

And Tom Clancy!!! That evil bastard wrote about flying planes into the Capitol Building. Why hasn't he been hypocritically killed yet?
That's different, because he killed a fictional President.

Some would say Bush wasn't officially elected, and therefore fictionally president... :wink:

And Tom Clancy!!! That evil bastard wrote about flying planes into the Capitol Building. Why hasn't he been hypocritically killed yet?
That's different, because he killed a fictional President.

But it might give all these militant 15 year-olds ideas....anydangways, I was being sarcastic.

We fly bombs into buildings every day. I'm sure that gives 'militant' 15-year-olds ideas...

And Tom Clancy!!! That evil bastard wrote about flying planes into the Capitol Building. Why hasn't he been hypocritically killed yet?

He's writing a story about a possible killing of a non-existant President


geez...