Virginia Tech fallout

So a straight A kid at Cary-Grove high school got in trouble for a creative writing assignment that apparently was a bit dark for the school administration. I understand the cloud of paranoia the country rests in after the Virginia Tech shootings, but I wonder how far we will let this go. Anytime there is a disaster I worry what new civil right will be in danger of becoming a fond, obscure memory. This seems to happen after a school shooting where we take a closer look at kids. But then we seem to forget after a few weeks and another tragedy happens and then we pay attention again. Perhaps the key here is to pay attention all the time. I do not advocate stifling someone's creativity no matter how dark. I'm sure Stephen King seemed like a possible serial killer when he wrote things in high school, but nobody suspended him. The question then becomes when do we intervene? If we don't figure this out, we are in danger of sliding into a minority-report like scenario where we punish people for possible crimes they are going to commit.

Virginia Tech shootings

Most people have commented on the tragedy and the social ills of life that are associated with this horrible massacre. Working at a university definitely gives you a different perspective. It's frightening to think that there was a student who was so unhappy, that he or she felt the only way to deal with it was to take human lives. We see students everyday and it is true they are frustrated by life sometimes, but so is everyone. People are questioning whether the university acted appropriately. I can only imagine what I would do if in the same situation. Oh wait, I can't because no one could unless they were in that situation. Let's hope none of us ever are.

Imus implications

My friends and I were discussing all the brouhaha with Don Imus. It's interesting how two different friends can have very different views of this controversy. It all comes down to stereotypes, a topic we are discussing in class. Communication is the crux of the himan being and how we communicate is very much based on our culture and envrionment. Those Rutgers players were offended. Imus was fired. Did he go to far? I think so, but it also brings up our beloved First Amendment. What speech is protected? Is there speech that should not be protected even if it is hateful? It's a fine line that likely will never be fully drawn to society's specifications since we are all so diffewrent. There is also the concept of stereotypes. Are all sterotypes negative. I have my students discuss this and the conversations often times become heated. But it is often a good discussion that allows students to hear different viewpoints. I suppose in understanding societies, we need to hear all viewpoints.

Stifling blogs?

A proposed code of conduct for bloggers has been suggested. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

A proposed code of conduct for bloggers, aimed at discouraging personal
attacks, has been met with intense criticism by many of the Internet
denizens it would supposedly affect.
Tim O'Reilly, chief of O'Reilly Media Inc., a book publisher and
conference promoter who is a central figure in the Web 2.0 world, posted
recommendations Sunday that he hoped would insure civility online.
The guidelines, which call for banning anonymous comments and deleting
abusive posts, were almost immediately denounced by many in the
blogosphere, a cacophony of online journals filled with opinion,
thoughtful essays and rants. They described O'Reilly's guidelines as
excessive, unworkable and an open door to censorship.

As a rather new medium, one of the best aspects of the internet is the ability for people to speak their minds. An open public space, it would be a shame to curtail the freedom of bloggers. We count on bloggers as yet another check and balance for the media. Bloggers often publish information that traditional media is afraid to print. Although there are those who abuse the medium, that reflects society as we know it. There will always be people who abuse the system, but we need to consider whether the ends justifies the means. In this case, I think the freedom of the internet and the content contained within it should be left alone. Don;t try to fix something that is not broken.