For the people who think that this kind of direct threat needs a punishment: what would be suitable?
A mandatory field trip to Sandy Hook and a sit-down with one of the parents would be nice.
The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
71–80 of 356 posts
Re: The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd agree that his timing was a bit off, and he didn't land his punchline. But being a failed comedian and telling off-color jokes is, luckily, not a crime. Look at all of those dead baby jokes. So yeah, making a joke about a bomb or something might ruffle some feathers. But how many terrorists tell a plane full of people that they have a bomb BEFORE the people actually get on the plane? None of them. Because that's…
I don't even know how to respond if you don't understand the difference between making a joking threat while on stage at a comedy club, and making one when stepping onto a plane. Again given his previous comments and the picture of his personality given from his profile, it sounds like it might have been believable. It's at least not as clear cut as you're making it seem. I mean, otherwise we can extend this just jok…
There's a difference between a guy who went through a body scanner and a fleet of sniffer dogs and a guy who sends a package that goes through essentially no security (though you would think these guys would employ better security simply as they are higher profile people who get lots of threats).
And I'm not saying that threats shouldn't be investigated, or even that exercising your freedom of speech doesn't have consequences (it does and should).
But after they looked into his home life. Spoke to his friends. Tossed his room and spoke with teachers. And still found no actual evidence of a plan to commit a crime. The next step is get into contact with Facebook and get that thread. It wouldn't be hard and I'd assume FB gets this sort of request all the time. They probably have a protocol in place.
I'm saying that just saying that you're going to commit a crime is not the same as doing it. And that an idiot kid who says something on Facebook is not and should not be considered, the same as a billionaire-backed, militarily trained terrorist.
Do some disturbed people make threats on Facebook and then carry them out? Yes they do. And so yes, these things should be investigated thoroughly. But the case here was not investigated, it was rushed and sloppy.
Did the police go get the thread themselves? No. Did the police get the kid a psych eval? Not that I've seen here anyway. Did the police do any real investigation? No.
Innocent until proven guilty. That's the way it's supposed to be.
Re: The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
I stand corrected. Achmed the dead terrorist was hilarious!
Anything can be funny. If you want a perfect example (regarding rape, something widely held to be not funny) look up the George Carlin rape bit. It doesn't matter what the subject is. Anything can be funny.
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Re: The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
That didn't stop the original European settlers now did it? ;D
Yep, they sure liked it. The above is an expression we use a lot in my own country (Romania): "Our country is great, too bad it's inhabited". It can easily be extended to any country, imho. :)
I've heard the expression (in Spanish), but referring to the particular people living there (and other countries). "America is great, too bad it's full of Americans" (change to any country that you want to mock)
Re: The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
#75> Until that point, his only brush with the law was a temporary restraining order two years earlier. > "He started threatening me, saying that he would kill me. ... I told the school officers, [and] they started watching him really closely. He would say that he would shoot up the school." So I'll start by playing Devil's Advocate very briefly. It's interesting how facts can be shaped with different language ("his onl…
> So I'll start by playing Devil's Advocate very briefly. It's interesting how facts can be shaped with different language ("his only brush with the law"): it appears the restraining order from two years prior related to similar threats to those alleged in the Facebook comments (although in a remarkably different context).
IANAL but I'm reasonably confident that a restraining order he received as a minor would not be admissible as evidence in this case, and thus should be irrelevant to the prosecution.
Re: The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
#76For the people who think that this kind of direct threat needs a punishment: what would be suitable?
I'd rate "being a dumbass insensitive asshat" as "about 20 hours of community service".
Re: The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
#77This headline is sickening. Comal County criminal prosecutors ruined this man's life.
Re: The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd agree that his timing was a bit off, and he didn't land his punchline. But being a failed comedian and telling off-color jokes is, luckily, not a crime. Look at all of those dead baby jokes. So yeah, making a joke about a bomb or something might ruffle some feathers. But how many terrorists tell a plane full of people that they have a bomb BEFORE the people actually get on the plane? None of them. Because that's…
I don't even know how to respond if you don't understand the difference between making a joking threat while on stage at a comedy club, and making one when stepping onto a plane. Again given his previous comments and the picture of his personality given from his profile, it sounds like it might have been believable. It's at least not as clear cut as you're making it seem. I mean, otherwise we can extend this just jok…
I don't even know how to respond if you don't understand the difference between making a joking threat while on stage at a comedy club, and making one when stepping onto a plane.
While there are obviously differences, I think the joke is fine in both contexts. I think part of the problem is that you are talking about a "joking threat". The point is, the way most people express those jokes, they are clearly not a threat.
Joking about terrorists at airports should be a common thing because it's a natural human reaction to the excesses of airport security. They treat you like a terrorist, so many people joke that they really are terrorists. There's always a big wink-wink that is implied. It is really very sad that so many people feel threatened into restricting their totally harmless and healthy human instincts.
Perhaps part of the reason we're having this discussion at all is that the original story is about a comment on the internet, and it is well known that subtle communicative clues do not convey well over the internet.
So when we evaluate jokes like "Hey, I'm packing a bomb into my suitcase now", I would argue that there is (or should be) no difference between doing that on stage vs. doing that in real life, but there may be a difference when you post it online. Putting a ;-) might be a good idea...
Re: The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
#79 «Flanary believes it's paramount that if someone is
criminally charged on the basis of his words, a jury needs
to see all the words.»
Re: The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
#80Wow, I didn't realise US police were that bad. After reading this I don't think I could ever feel safe enough to visit the US. Sounds like you'd have a better chance of getting justice in an African dictatorship where at least the dont-rape-me bribe would be affordable. Tourists really should be warned about this, because it's not the image the US tourist boards present to us at all.
This is not an isolated case either. I don't mean facebook-comment-wise, but rather wtf-wise. From Internet, through airports and car stops to interacting with random strangers. Lot's of horrific stories where you end up in the justice system, while done absolutely nothing that breaks the law or would endanger someone in any way. But maybe because the US is so big it's bound to happen sometimes? I don't know, but USA…
On the other hand, you are most welcome to Pakistan :) I assure you things are more sane here contrary to what you usually hear on TV.