Take This Post More Seriously as I Say, “Virginia Tech”
An Associated Press article on the News 4 of Dothan, Alabama website discusses a 13-year-old arrested for threatening a teacher and using the words, “Virginia Tech,” in the threat. From the article:
The student was arrested Tuesday - a day after Houston County Sheriff Andy Hughes enacted a zero tolerance policy against using the words “Virginia Tech” in reference to threats against students and teachers. The student, whose name is being withheld because he’s a juvenile, was charged with making a terrorist[ic] threat.
(As an aside, did I call it or what, providing an explanation of the difference between terroristic threats and terrorism?)
Sheriff Hughes is being ridiculous. A zero-tolerance policy against threats that contain particular words? Does this mean that the threat, “I’ll kill you, just like at Virginia Tech!” is worse than, “I’ll kill you!”? I have the same problem with this as I do with hate-crime legislation. It implies that a crime committed by a person of one group against a person of another group is different depending on the groups involved. Again, I’m no lawyer, but this seems to run smack into the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The kid either threatened the teacher or did not. What words he used were irrelevant beyond the scope of what constitutes a threat. Giving greater weight to references to the celebrity crime of the month simply attaches greater fame and glory to the criminal that committed it. What we need is fair, equitable, and intelligent enforcement, not knee-jerk reaction.
Good point, but the kid was obviously trying to get the threat taken more seriously by purposely mentioning Virginia Tech.
The article doesn’t state that he said he was going to copy or emulate the Vtech shootings, it just says he “made a reference to Virginia Tech.” so……..maybe we need more info.
-And this line of the article says it all: “The student was arrested Tuesday - a day after Houston County Sheriff Andy Hughes enacted a zero tolerance policy against using the words “Virginia Tech” in reference to threats against students and teachers.
They must be having a real big problem with kids saying “Virginia Tech” to students and teachers in threats. (actually, they must be having a heck of a problem with plain old bomb threats and such.)
I’ll agree with you. Crime is crime. lets dump the “hate” crime crap.
Because until this was identified, it was confusing to separate them from “love” crimes.
First of all, the threat is more serious, as the child’s threat was meant to be more threatening than saying “I’ll kill you.” So YES! It must be taken just as seriously. Have you read the news, or watched it lately?? Every other week, there is some new violence at school.
I live close to the Red Lake district. If you pay attention to the news, you will know what I am talking about, as it was the worst school shooting since Columbine.
If a student were to threaten the staff in the high school that I then attended with an “I’ll kill you, just like at Red Lake.” I sure as heck hope they would have arrested the student.
Given the pain and delicacy over that situation then, yes. The threat does indeed become more of a threat, by tacking on a reference to a time and place.