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Internet foils high school censors...maybe
ctucker writes "According to this article at MSNBC, students working on school newspapers are using the internet to publish stories that are too uncomfortable for their school administrators to allow to appear in the paper." I'm skeptical of these claims. There's a big difference between being able to put up a webpage which some students might see sometime and being able to publish something in a paper distributed in school. One is not really a direct substitute for the other. Plus I've seen plenty of students get "in trouble" at school for things done entirely on their own time.
Unforutnately, it doesn't seem that any schools have learned the lesson so clearly pointed out in the parent comment.
Humans are violent creatures. Anyone who doubts that can leave now and get a job in a burger joint (if you're lucky). What makes us "civilized" is the ability to redirect our violent tendencies into actions and channels that use up the energy without actually having to physically harm anyone. You start plugging these outlets up one by one, and you are going to increase the chance that someone flips out and resorts to a gun -- you sure as hell are not going to stop it.
We've gone back to holding our under 18's responsible for their actions (more and more trials as adults, etc.), but we've forgotten to give back their priviledges. Would this be an issue if an employee at a business had a personal/non-profit website? Would we even bother to argue this point? Not a chance. This violates the First Amendment is so many ways it's scary that it gets any consideration at all; yet here we are, having to speak up just to defend a right that is so innate in this country.
Sadly, this entire issue boils down to a familiar theme, and it has nothing to do with the First Amendment: it's discrimination. We're questioning the RIGHT of this group to be defended by our Constitution. We're uncertain as to whether or not they QUALIFY as people. No wonder so many children are growing up fucked; try treating them like a HUMAN BEING. You might be surprised.
The problem isn't "those darn kids" v's "Grown-ups", the problem is with people in a position of power making up arbitrary rules simply to advantage them or disadvantage those below. Arbitrary rules are usually poorly defined and easy to work around. Enforcing them becomes a game of whack-the-mole. The problem comes when those in power at a place with a high percentage of unexperienced people go off on a power trip, or overreact to a natural or predictable decision.
- Students: We want to say this
- Teachers: We will stop you
- S: We will say it somewhere else
- T: We will have you arrested and your stuff confiscated
Woah, hold on there. Who's displaying their ignorance now? Children are just proto-adults -- treat them as equals on each issue until they prove themselves to be something else.