Rant of the Day

It's time for me to stir things up. I know you all love it when I do this. I'm sure I'll get some interesting rants & raves from this one, but I must speak what is on my mind.

 

In my last blog I informed you all of a guy at my school who was arrested for making "threats" on myspace. These threats were seen by a professor, reported to campus police, and the calvary was sent out. The kid remains in jail on a $1 million bond. Now, I dont know this kid, and let me say that if he was really planning on coming and shooting us up to smitherenes, I would be the first to say to lock him up and throw away the key. However, most of the information reguarding the "threats" have not been disclosed and things are starting to look alittle fishy.

 

In keeping up with the lovely case, I have read what this kids friends on myspace say are the bulletins that got him arrested. The worst thing in the bulletins are quotes from the Columbine killers. I believe that the kid was trying to make a point though, I dont think he was actually agreeing with what the Columbine guys said. I think he was pointing to the ways the nutso kids think after the trajedy at VT. On his myspace page, the young man has a couple of stories - some alittle violent, but mostly silly and immature and nothing that threatens anyone. He has posted rants on a couple of issues and used language thats pretty vulgar and says things that are offensive to many people....but still no direct threats. If you can go to jail for being a complete moron, this kid shouldve been locked up long ago. Apparently, when his home (that he shares with his grandmother) was searched, many weapons were found, but none were illegal and he had owned most of them for a long time.

 

When asked by local reporters why he had the weapons, the kid responded "I collect guns, I havent threatened anyone. This is a huge misunderstanding."

 

Heres where I am going to upset some people. I dont want this to seem like I am taking up for a would-be murderer, I just havent seen anything that warrants his arrest. I certainly wouldnt take up for someone who could have riddled me with bullets, but I dont think this kid was going to hurt anyone. If he did threaten someone on the internet, that is a felony in our state, but police have not offered up any evidence thus far to prove that was the case. Everyone on his friends list that saw what he posted said that nothing was aimed at anyone, the kid likes to get people rialed up, and police have obviously misunderstood some of his statements.

 

With what I have seen so far, this case makes me really afraid to post online....which I obviously do quite often. If the police here read my blog, I'd probably be locked up in an institution for the rest of my years. Maybe its the liberal in me coming out (which doesnt always go over well where I am from), but I am afraid that our civil liberties are slowly being taken away. Freedom of Speech is something we all take for granted. I can come here and call the president a dumbass, or my school a shithole, and its cool....for now. When did it become a crime to rant about things? If every psychopath online that posts sick fantasies about death or sex or whatever was arrested, we wouldnt have enough jails. So this kid has guns. Last time I checked, that isnt a crime.

 

If you go online and say, "I hate ____, I'm going to shoot them with my gun"...then, yes-crime.

 

If you go online and say things that make people uncomfortable, things that piss people off, things that shock people....well, if they arrest you, you should be in the same cell as Rob Zombie, Stephen King, and whoever made those stupid Saw movies. God forbid you do all of that AND own guns. Youre screwed when big bro comes knocking on your door because you said you didnt like your teacher on myspace.

 

I dont have guns....for various reasons. Mainly because I am likely to fall into some deep depression at some point and use the damn thing on myself. If someone breaks in my house, I will have to rely on my ninja skills and my baseball bat. I am not in the NRA. I think Charleston Heston is a nutcase. But - I believe if there is a law on the books that says you have the right to bear arms, then you should have the right to bear arms as long as you follow the law.

 

I just dont want to live in a place that polices people before they commit a crime. They look suspicious, they lock them up. They say something off the wall, they lock them up. This could be dangerous for us ALL...as citizens first, as writers, as artist, as bloggers. Ever seen Minority Report? If you havent - rent it. I hate Tom Cruise, but the movie is really good. The world could honestly become like that, where people are put in prison because they "might" commit a crime. This becomes even more realistic as genetics are figured out...have too much of a chemical that causes violence when youre born? Locked Up. Its a possibility we should all be aware of....especially those of us with mental illness.

 

I hate to seem like a weirdo conspiracy theorist, because I am really not. I just think its important that we stand up for our rights and we dont let people get run over that dont deserve it.