Two children arrested for threatening drawings (1 Viewer)

[Marko Berg]

Link to CNN



(Emphasis mine.) Call it splitting hairs if you want to, but I think a couple of children making a drawing is quite different from someone writing down a deliberate threat to kill another person.

Someone should sit down with the kids and talk about their behaviour but taking the incident this far is overreacting.

 

[WillG]

Holy Minority Report.

While the incident is disturbing, there does not seem to be any real indication that the kid intends to act on what is in the drawings. Certainly, the kid needs counseling but I'm not sure this warrants a felony charge.

 

[RichP]

Land of the Free



...indeed.

 

[MarkHastings]

But what circumstances would make a child do something like this? I hardly consider this an "innocent" act. Hell yeah I'd overreact...If my child was threatened like this, damn be to all who get in my way.

Maybe these kids will think twice before doing something like this again? I doubt it.

 

[Jason Seaver]

You're confusing a "freedom" with a "right" or an "expectation".

 

[SethH]

How quickly we forget:

http://columbine.free2host.net/reb.html
(website with drawings from the journal of one of the Columbine shooters)

However, I do think that counseling would likely be a better option at this point than felony charges.

 

[Greg_R]

Has anyone seen what the typical 8-10 year old male draws? Everything is exploding bodies and violence. I guess it's time to round up all the other 8-10 year olds in the U.S...

 

[SethH]

Well sure, but this was specifically a drawing of them killing a classmate. That's a little different than just drawing random "exploding bodies". As I said earlier, I think the felony thing is a little ridiculous, but counseling may need to be considered.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I wonder where they get that from? Perhaps they are just spreading freedom. I agree that there is a pretty substantial difference between depicting the violence kids grow up with in the media and movies, and singling out and intimidating a classmate with death threats.

Perhaps the kids should get an early start in boot camp.

 

[Malcolm R]

What if your child was the "threatener"? You would have no issues with him being handcuffed and charged?

 

[SethH]

Wow, if you want the thread closed, why don't you just ask?

 

[Holadem]

--
H

 

[WillG]

The thing about this whole thing is that I don't think this kind of thing is all that unusual. I'm sure many of us here has fantisized about inflicting some sort of violence against another person (probably not murder, I'm sure, but at least hitting or punching someone who bothered you for whatever reason) But there is a difference between fantasy and reality. Like I said, I would definately say the kids should have to undergo couseling, but a felony charge for an indirect threat seems to be a bit excessive, especially for a such a young age.

What would drive a kid to such a fantasy? Hard to say for sure, but I would point out that schoolchildren can be mercilessly cruel to each other. There were always those who would be tortured and ridiculed on a regular basis. Maybe the person who was the subject of the fantasy was a tormentor/bully. Maybe not, but the possibility should be explored. It seems that there is a trend in the media to sidestep around this kind of thing, I found it somewhat frustrating that Columbine seemed to largely ignore this concept choosing to focus on "What music were they listening to?" "What video games were they playing?" Obviously, those kids did have a few screws loose to say the least and I would never condone that kind of violence. But I can sometimes understand the reasons why kids may harbor these types of violent fantasies against others.

Maybe they are just crazy, but the fact that is was two kids who made the drawings and not just one individual leads me to believe that is more to the story.

 

[Chris]

I drew GI Joe, Transformer action like crazy as a little kid.

But it's slightly different then drawing a depiction of a fellow classmate being killed.

The kids didn't need to be arrested.. *laugh* when I was in elementary school, they would have just went to the principal's office, and then the parents would have taken them home and made them write an apology letter or something similar.. (or, there are other alternatives I won't go into here..)

But nothing like "let's arrest them!" What a fundamental waste of time :frowning:

 

[Robert_Gaither]

My friends and I drew pictures of violence and sexual nature of one another all the time as a joke to each other all thru out school (and we laughed and joked about it in a Southpark kind of way) nothing every came about out of it. I think a lot of parents over-react about a lot of these situation and if all parents were really serious then they'd put CCD cameras in schools like they do in child care nurserys (this also raises other questions of concern about society). I could understand if the kid stuck it in another kids locker, mailed it to them, or had someone pass it to them in a hostile manner but if it's a form of trash talking during art time I see nothing wrong with it and might actual be a way that kids conduct business without violence.

 

[Eric Peterson]

Very well stated. I was very preturbed by the media's total lack of investigative reporting after Columbine. This situation almost always is a follow up to to another situation usually involving a bully, but nobody every handles the bully situation. I know when I was in school, situations happened almost daily where a jock would beat the crap out of some other kid and when the teachers broke it up, guess who went to the office? (Hint: It wasn't the Jock). Then when something bad happens, it must be that the kid was listening to Ozzy or Marilyn Manson.

The idea of arresting 10 year olds is absolutely insane, and embarasses me that my taxes help to support this kind of action. These kids are scarred for life now. Yes, it shouldn't have been done, yes they needed to be punished, and yes they need counseling, but now they're going to need counseling for the rest of their lives. Can you imagine how much these kids are going to be pointed at and picked on for the rest of their school years?

 

[Colton]

I used to draw scary pictures when I was a kid. Now, as an adult, I think I turned out okay - at least, my parole officer thinks so.

- Colton

 

[MarkHastings]

I assume that most children, who make death threats, have some more serious issues at home then we realize. If it were MY kid, then hopefully someone would intervene because I apparently am not doing something right.

"Normal" kids do not do this kind of stuff. As was mentioned, kids do draw violent catroons, but death threats are a little bit different than violent cartoons.

Also, not everyone turns out "ok".

 

[Cees Alons]

They didn't actually make death threats, if I understand it well.
They made a terrible drawing, which then was legally construed as a written death threat.

Some people on this forum look at terrible horror movies (and like them). We all now that that sort of things are safety valves for dark and fearsome feelings, but most of the time not even close to the real thing.

It never happened, but suppose I did forbid my children (when they were still 9 or ten) something they eagerly wanted, and suppose my son would have cried "Dad, I'm going to kill you". Would I have reported him for a real death threat (which it really sounds like), or would I have laughed (secretly) - and talked to him about it?

Yes. And someone should sit down at talk with some of the grown-ups involved too. Especially policemen who take away 9-10 year old children in handcuffs. Afraid they would kill them and escape? Perhaps using the police car?


Cees

 

[dany]

Maybe if somebody scares the crap out of them they will get it. Kids know how to work it and they dam well know when they get away with something. Here in LB,there were a few "Kids" that killed some fish including a stingray and didnt get caught. They came back for somemore with another friend but got caught. Now its tears and i'm sorry and grownups saying,oh the poor kids.