This is another instance of four things that piss me off. First of all, she made this statement on her own time, not school time, so I don't see how this is the school's business. If anything, perhaps it's time to construe these types of internet violations as something akin to illegally recording a phone call. The LoTD comment ultimately makes mention of a "reasonable expectation of privacy" and that ought to be codified in law thus making it a crime to report something seen on the internet that was not intended to be seen by you the equivalent of a warrantless search. Oh wait, that is a Federal law. It's the Fourth Amendment. What needs to be done then is to extend Fourth Amendment rights to instances like this as well. Secondly, the parent who reported this to the school violated a basic social compact by not going to that child's parents. That parent failed to respect the social chain-of-command and should be publicly shamed for doing so. Thirdly, the principal of this school failed to use discretion in this case. Suspending a student for five days over this is beyond ridiculous. The principal should have understood this to be an instance of hyperbole (because no one's ever said, "Oh God! I wish I were dead!" ever before and actually wanted it to happen. No one's ever wished death upon someone over a perceived injustice and actually wanted that to happen. Assholes...) and used it as a teachable moment for online postings that this girl be more careful in the future as it should now be plain to her that there are people out there with agendas and that you could very easily become a victim of one if you are not careful. And fourthly, can we get a fucking comedy version of the Miranda Warning please already?!
Seriously, it is well past time that we have an actual honest-to-God Federal regulation declaring that all seemingly controversial statements must be considered acts of hyperbole, sarcasm, and/or satire until, and only unless, it can be demonstrated to be otherwise. I am fucking tired of these overreactionary shitheads (which I guess I am now one of albeit from the opposing side). The comments section in the linked article is a joy and frustration to read. There are many worthy comments to post, but I shall focus on this one by lancehubner:
She said she wished Osama "had killed" her teacher, not that he would kill her teacher from beyond the grave. She said it in private (or what she thought was private) and it's not worded as a threat--obviously a hyperbolic joke from a frustrated kid, not to mention being in the past tense.
This vice principal needs to get his head out of his ass. And the parent who reported this is a hysterical dong.
This vice principal needs to get his head out of his ass. And the parent who reported this is a hysterical dong.
to which iphone_myphone responded:
If its on fb, its not really private anymore. If she mentioned the teachers name, it becomes a threat.
to which lancehubner responded (and this would be the LoTD):
No, it doesn't. To be a threat you have to threaten someone.
If I write "I wish Osama had killed iphone_myphone" on a piece of paper and put it in a drawer, I didn't threaten you because I didn't say it TO YOU. If I whisper it to a friend it's still not a threat, for the same reason.
She had privacy settings on. She reasonably expected nobody to read it outside her circle of friends, and certainly not the teacher she hates. Ergo, not a threat.
Also not a threat because it doesn't say: I am going to kill you! It says: I wish a person who is now dead had already killed this guy I don't like. How is that a threat? If I say, "I wish Donald Trump had died in a hairspray accident 10 years ago," am I threatening to kill him? Ridiculous!
If I write "I wish Osama had killed iphone_myphone" on a piece of paper and put it in a drawer, I didn't threaten you because I didn't say it TO YOU. If I whisper it to a friend it's still not a threat, for the same reason.
She had privacy settings on. She reasonably expected nobody to read it outside her circle of friends, and certainly not the teacher she hates. Ergo, not a threat.
Also not a threat because it doesn't say: I am going to kill you! It says: I wish a person who is now dead had already killed this guy I don't like. How is that a threat? If I say, "I wish Donald Trump had died in a hairspray accident 10 years ago," am I threatening to kill him? Ridiculous!
Just a minor point with the above comment. "Had killed" in the use described would actually be the past tense in the subjunctive mood.
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