7 ms·

"He’s been incarcerated since March without trial." That's the problem. A jury of his peers would throw this out no questions asked.

Ma8ee 13y ago
Like the concerned woman who reported him to the police?
- willvarfar 13y ago
  Actually, if you saw that posted, would you not consider whether to tell the police? The proper thing to do - as said in the article - is for the police to investigate if he was serious. And you or I would - depending on lots of context on whether we thought it a remotely credible threat I guess - report it for them to investigate? The problem seems to be on the police end, not the concerned citizen (of another country) end.
  - cdash 13y ago
    No, I would not consider it for one moment.
  - dizzystar 13y ago
    >> Actually, if you saw that posted, would you not consider whether to tell the police? No. Not at all. Have you not read what is commonly spouted on the internet? You have to be 100% illiterate to not understand that this was tasteless sarcasm. This doesn't mean I think it is funny or that I agree with it, but calling the police over a joke is pointless and irresponsible.
  - cgag 13y ago
    How could you think that's a remotely credible threat?
  - xauronx 13y ago
    I definitely would. I'm not sure what the rest of these people are talking about. If some angst-ridden teenager is posting something like that on facebook, they probably need to speak with a psychologist/councilor. In today's America, you can't take that shit lightly. However, this is like putting out a candle with a fire hose.
    - Volpe 13y ago
      So it's only if an american says this that you'd report it?
    - kristopolous 13y ago
      Have you ever been to 4chan? Just scroll through: http://boards.4chan.org/b/ http://boards.4chan.org/b/ ... things like this can be considered the norm depending on what sites you go to.
      - xauronx 13y ago
        That's just the thing though. Context matters a lot. Are you so excited to have something to be outraged about that you don't think about this? I mean, if I yell "I'm going to rape you" in a video game that's the equivalent of "Good game buddy", and quite innocent. I wouldn't however yell that in a public arcade at a 12 year old. The inability to discern the difference hints at mental issues that need to be discussed with someone, even a parent would do.
        phaus 13y ago
        Yet, kids do scream such things in public at one another. Constantly.
        joesb 13y ago
        And, in this context, he was replying to his friend with whom he played video games with on a facebook page, and adding "lol" and "jk" to the joke. Do you consider that equivalent of an adult yelling "I'm going to rape you" to a 12 yo in a public arcade? To me, it looks like the inability to discern the differences is not with Justin.
  - thret 13y ago
    I've seen worse, heard worse, said worse, and am ashamed for you. Nothing anyone says on an online game should be taken seriously.
  - kristopolous 13y ago
    No. I may respond with "lol". That's it.
  - adventured 13y ago
    Wander around most any part of Reddit for 5 minutes, and you'll see things that are far worse said in twisted jest. And that's a mainstream site. By these standards, you'd have to arrest every teenager in America eventually. That isn't an exaggeration.
  - Confusion 13y ago
    We have provided people with easy ways to voice their thoughts and we are now confronted with what everyone should already have known: that people have a lot of 'bad' thoughts. Every teen has at one occasion thought: I feel like killing [everyone in school, my team, my so-called friends, my brother, my ...]. Writing such a thought down gives it extra power and a screen doesn't confront you with a person and make it easy to misjudge whether you can press 'send'. Monitoring that speech and acting on it, directly by the government or indirectly via 'concerned citizens': that way lies police state insanity. So the answer is emphatically, decisively: no. You should not want to report this.
- wavesounds 13y ago
  I'd think one of his peers would know what 'lol' and 'jk' stand for, which a middle aged women might not.
asperous 13y ago
To be specific, here are a list of constitutional issues being called into question: > Congress shall make no law [...] abridging the freedom of speech > Excessive bail shall not be required > In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial Okay, so the speedy trial clause has been adapted de facto to mean six months, but maybe if he forms a law suite for free speech and excessive bail and wins he could be set for life.
- baddox 13y ago
  Unfortunately for anyone who appeals to the Constitution, the government it establishes is also the government to which it awards the authority to interpret its meaning. In other words, the government can only make laws which the government decides don't abridge the freedom of speech, the government cannot require bail which the government decides is excessive, and the government must provide a trial which the government considers speedy.
rayiner 13y ago
I wouldn't count on it. It was some uptight woman who saw the comment and told the police in the first place, and you can bet its the fear of uptight parents that's causing the prosecution. Can you imagine how the shit would hit the fan if the kid had said something like that, the police had been notified, and the police had done nothing, and the kid had shot up some school?
- javajosh 13y ago
  You mean like the uproar and lawsuits that occurred when it turned out the FBI was tracking the 9/11 hijackers for months before they attacked?
- blisterpeanuts 13y ago
  But that's exactly the problem -- some fearful little officials saying, "But what if he meant it?" An intelligent chief of police and prosecutor should have looked at the kid's background, maybe dropped by his house, and said, OK there's no "there" there. Unless there's a history of violence, or record of mental illness, or sociopathic behavior officially noted, etc. Which as far as I know, there isn't in this case. Just pure blind, stupid bureaucratic grinding an individual with their jackboots, simply because they have the power.
  - rayiner 13y ago
    I don't know if you remember high school, or more specifically other peoples' parents, but it doesn't ring true to me to blame the bureaucracy with their "jackboots." Parents are fucking nuts, suburban parents doubly so. This is some town outside of San Antonio--you think these police officials are acting out of step with what most of the local parents want?
    - blisterpeanuts 13y ago
      See my earlier comment :)
  - epochwolf 13y ago
    It's the suburban soccer moms wearing the jackboots. The police are just their messengers.
Zigurd 13y ago
Don't be so sure. I was on a jury recently, and the deference given to the government position is alarming. Your fellow Americans are ready to send you to jail.

Ma8ee 13y ago

Like the concerned woman who reported him to the police?

willvarfar 13y ago
Actually, if you saw that posted, would you not consider whether to tell the police? The proper thing to do - as said in the article - is for the police to investigate if he was serious. And you or I would - depending on lots of context on whether we thought it a remotely credible threat I guess - report it for them to investigate? The problem seems to be on the police end, not the concerned citizen (of another country) end.
- cdash 13y ago
  No, I would not consider it for one moment.
- dizzystar 13y ago
  >> Actually, if you saw that posted, would you not consider whether to tell the police? No. Not at all. Have you not read what is commonly spouted on the internet? You have to be 100% illiterate to not understand that this was tasteless sarcasm. This doesn't mean I think it is funny or that I agree with it, but calling the police over a joke is pointless and irresponsible.
- cgag 13y ago
  How could you think that's a remotely credible threat?
- xauronx 13y ago
  I definitely would. I'm not sure what the rest of these people are talking about. If some angst-ridden teenager is posting something like that on facebook, they probably need to speak with a psychologist/councilor. In today's America, you can't take that shit lightly. However, this is like putting out a candle with a fire hose.
  - Volpe 13y ago
    So it's only if an american says this that you'd report it?
  - kristopolous 13y ago
    Have you ever been to 4chan? Just scroll through: http://boards.4chan.org/b/ http://boards.4chan.org/b/ ... things like this can be considered the norm depending on what sites you go to.
    - xauronx 13y ago
      That's just the thing though. Context matters a lot. Are you so excited to have something to be outraged about that you don't think about this? I mean, if I yell "I'm going to rape you" in a video game that's the equivalent of "Good game buddy", and quite innocent. I wouldn't however yell that in a public arcade at a 12 year old. The inability to discern the difference hints at mental issues that need to be discussed with someone, even a parent would do.
      - phaus 13y ago
        Yet, kids do scream such things in public at one another. Constantly.
      - joesb 13y ago
        And, in this context, he was replying to his friend with whom he played video games with on a facebook page, and adding "lol" and "jk" to the joke. Do you consider that equivalent of an adult yelling "I'm going to rape you" to a 12 yo in a public arcade? To me, it looks like the inability to discern the differences is not with Justin.
- thret 13y ago
  I've seen worse, heard worse, said worse, and am ashamed for you. Nothing anyone says on an online game should be taken seriously.
- kristopolous 13y ago
  No. I may respond with "lol". That's it.
- adventured 13y ago
  Wander around most any part of Reddit for 5 minutes, and you'll see things that are far worse said in twisted jest. And that's a mainstream site. By these standards, you'd have to arrest every teenager in America eventually. That isn't an exaggeration.
- Confusion 13y ago
  We have provided people with easy ways to voice their thoughts and we are now confronted with what everyone should already have known: that people have a lot of 'bad' thoughts. Every teen has at one occasion thought: I feel like killing [everyone in school, my team, my so-called friends, my brother, my ...]. Writing such a thought down gives it extra power and a screen doesn't confront you with a person and make it easy to misjudge whether you can press 'send'. Monitoring that speech and acting on it, directly by the government or indirectly via 'concerned citizens': that way lies police state insanity. So the answer is emphatically, decisively: no. You should not want to report this.
wavesounds 13y ago
I'd think one of his peers would know what 'lol' and 'jk' stand for, which a middle aged women might not.

asperous 13y ago

To be specific, here are a list of constitutional issues being called into question: > Congress shall make no law [...] abridging the freedom of speech > Excessive bail shall not be required > In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial Okay, so the speedy trial clause has been adapted de facto to mean six months, but maybe if he forms a law suite for free speech and excessive bail and wins he could be set for life.

baddox 13y ago
Unfortunately for anyone who appeals to the Constitution, the government it establishes is also the government to which it awards the authority to interpret its meaning. In other words, the government can only make laws which the government decides don't abridge the freedom of speech, the government cannot require bail which the government decides is excessive, and the government must provide a trial which the government considers speedy.

rayiner 13y ago

I wouldn't count on it. It was some uptight woman who saw the comment and told the police in the first place, and you can bet its the fear of uptight parents that's causing the prosecution. Can you imagine how the shit would hit the fan if the kid had said something like that, the police had been notified, and the police had done nothing, and the kid had shot up some school?

javajosh 13y ago
You mean like the uproar and lawsuits that occurred when it turned out the FBI was tracking the 9/11 hijackers for months before they attacked?
blisterpeanuts 13y ago
But that's exactly the problem -- some fearful little officials saying, "But what if he meant it?" An intelligent chief of police and prosecutor should have looked at the kid's background, maybe dropped by his house, and said, OK there's no "there" there. Unless there's a history of violence, or record of mental illness, or sociopathic behavior officially noted, etc. Which as far as I know, there isn't in this case. Just pure blind, stupid bureaucratic grinding an individual with their jackboots, simply because they have the power.
- rayiner 13y ago
  I don't know if you remember high school, or more specifically other peoples' parents, but it doesn't ring true to me to blame the bureaucracy with their "jackboots." Parents are fucking nuts, suburban parents doubly so. This is some town outside of San Antonio--you think these police officials are acting out of step with what most of the local parents want?
  - blisterpeanuts 13y ago
    See my earlier comment :)
- epochwolf 13y ago
  It's the suburban soccer moms wearing the jackboots. The police are just their messengers.

Zigurd 13y ago

Don't be so sure. I was on a jury recently, and the deference given to the government position is alarming. Your fellow Americans are ready to send you to jail.