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Student Arrested For Using Phone App To 'Shoot' Classmates
New submitter Lord_Breetai sends word that a Louisiana high school student has been arrested for using a mobile app to simulate shooting his classmates. The app overlays an FPS-style gun and UI over a real background seen through the device's camera. The student tried it out and then unwisely posted a video of it on YouTube. Another student's parent saw the video and reported it to authorities. Major Wolfe of the local police said, "You can't ignore it. We don't know at what time that game becomes reality. He said it was a result of him being frustrated and tired of being bullied. He said that he had no intentions of hurting anybody. We have to take all threats seriously and we have no way of knowing that without investigating and getting to the bottom of it. With all the school shooting we've had in the United States, it's just not a very good game to be playing at this time." The boy is now facing criminal charges for terrorizing and interference of the operation of a school.
If they'd discovered his Whip-App, he would have been accused of racism too.
Not to mention the beer app, since he's under 21.
Zero tolerance, complete risk avoidance, and neopuritanism while half the country cares more about what happens after you die than the encroaching totalitarianism.
He said it was a result of him being frustrated and tired of being bullied.
and what a better way to deal with this than let the police and justice system bully him instead
So they don't think it's a problem if he's bullied, but if he plays a game where he does something about it (because no one else will ever do anything) he becomes the bad guy? And they still wonder why they have school shootings?
We have to take all threats seriously [...]
Of course you have to but no, an app is not a threat.
Stop with the stupid "right to bear arms" crap and stuff like this will not bother anyone. It's just a game on a display.
And I'd say that 99% of the school shootings are due to people being harassed and bullied by groups, so teaching kids to be better persons and tolerate others would do a much better job than trying to catch oppressed people in the last stage of "I don't know what the fuck I'm supposed to do to get out of this situation anymore".
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I think all his classmates should download the app, make similar videos and upload them to youtube just to show how ridiculous this is. They can't arrest them all.
The guy is facing CRIMINAL CHARGES for fucks sake!
No you don't. You should use your brain first.
Isn't there an app so simulate arresting him? That sounds like it would have been more appropriate.
It's a damned shame his life has to be ruined for something so stupid. Scare him, maybe. Charge him, definitely not.
Are you unable to discern when computer games have become reality?
Here's some helpful signs for our boys in blue:
Scenario 1: It's quite dark, there are men wearing suits with bright flouro stripes. Jeff Bridges is there. COMPUTER GAME HAS BECOME REALITY.
Scenario 2: You like to play starfighter. You have just beaten the high score, and a man in a hat is inviting you to go for a ride in his car that can fly. YOUR GAME IS ABOUT TO BECOME REALITY.
Scenario 3: You are hacked into a computer. Is it calling itself joshua? Is it seemingly reluctant to play Thermonuclear War? YOUR GAME IS ABOUT TO BECOME REALITY.
Scenario 4: Your life doesn't resemble Scenarios 1 - 3? You life is not a computer game.
Sorry.
Play Again (Y/N)?
"The boy is charged with terrorizing and interference with the operation of a school."
What's next? Arresting pre-schoolers who point a finger and go 'Bang Bang!!" ???
Maybe if guns weren't so fucking easy to come by the US wouldn't have to arrest kids for being kids.
Fucking idiots.
blindly antisocialist = antisocial
who the fuck was harmed? no one. interfering with school ops? when? how?
The US has become a nation of fucking pussies. Thankfully it seems that a lot of under 25's are rejecting the fucked up views of their parents and grandparents. The late babyboom and near postboom generations have been a disaster in just about every way possible.
America is a country which values the right to have high capacity magazines for assault weapons over the freedom of speech.
It it more important to ensure the blind can carry a concealed firearm than it is to ensure the children of the country are properly educated.
It is more important to spend nearly 5% of the GDP on a military, not counting the illegal wars than to allow your fellow countrymen access to affordable health care.
That is the very definition of a morally corrupted system.
It is simply a fact. Most of the people simply do not care about what is going on in America as long as their personal situation is OK. As long as they can buy an iPhone 10s for 1$ on a 5 year contract.
There is only one possible outcome here. America has been on this road since the 70's. Some argue since the end of WW2. It is only now, as things have progressed so far that the visible signs are escalating.
I do not say that Americans are bad people, because I believe that they are, on the average "just folk". Just trying to get by. They are, unfortunately, a product of the system which produced them. That system, just didn't have their interests in mind.
Your post is also an unbelievable display of stupidity. Your solution to what is clearly now a pervasive problem in this country is to ignore it and "move along." Seriously? Sure, there is a lot of idiocy in this whole scenario, but when idiocy results in the harmless posting of a video on youtube that is one thing. The idiocy of arresting the kid is quite another. The first was a commission of error by a high school student and nobody lost their freedom. The second is an actual crime. A grown man in a position of authority has used that authority to take away the freedom of a youth to cover his own ass and appear "tough on crime." I fully intended to post contact information to this idiot so that we all could send him a note telling him what a criminal he truly is, but The Terrebone Parish Website (administration info in link, presumably) is down at the moment, so at least not everyone is irresponsible enough to see this and shrug it off with an air of irresponsibility.
Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
i.e. assaulting other students, not just making "threats" but actually doing things, they let that slide. But pretending to shoot other students is an arrest-able offense.
There is noting unwise about posting videos of a game on youtube. What was unwise was assuming the adults in the school - the people that are suppose to be educating these students, and who are basically raising them, since they are with them more waking hours than their parents - have half a brain between them.
Imagine if he had been the kind of psychopath that would image -- and even trivialize -- crushing people's skulls.
Stop-Prism.org: Opt Out of Surveillance
Seriously, what do you mean will be? They are fucked up. This, and the last generation have such an unbelievable sense of entitlement it is shocking.
I am sure some of you have had the misfortune to interview some of today recent grads for a position. Most seem to expect 6 figures and to run the company in 2 years regardless of the fact that they have no useable skills or problem solving ability.
There is a reason why there is so much pressure to increase the foreign work visas.
When I was last working in the US, our company hired mainly engineer from Germany. We paid them more than they could get in Germany and they were happy for it. Our recent grad American applicants were asking for nearly 50% more.
We don't know at what time that game becomes reality.
That's a good question. To the end of answering it, I'd like to be the kid's defense attorney for this case, because I've played through all of the Ace Attorney games, and I'm looking forward to the new one coming out soon in English.
This proposal is a simple one. If I am not allowed to defend the kid in court based on my experience with law video games, then they can't use video games to call him a murderer, so the prosecution has no case on those grounds. If I am allowed to defend him just because I've played some law video games, then we are unlikely to be able to make a decent defense case (but these are criminal charges, so reasonable doubt is a thing).
If the kid can be a murderer because of a mobile game, then I should be able to be his attorney because of Phoenix Wright.
Let q be a radix > 1. I am in ur base-q, killing 10 d00ds.
He said it was a result of him being frustrated and tired of being bullied.
Sue the school district. That's how you shut a bureaucrat up - lawsuits. Because HIS boss will be scared shitless of HIS job. And his boss more than likely reports to a politician.
Kids, that IS how to deal with it. Don't suck it up. Don't get violent. Becuase sucking it up or getting violent just hurts you and allows the bullies to get away with it. (And for all of you who think that bullying made yo a better person, you are full of shit: you either weren't truly bullied, you are in denial or you had some incredible support from friends and family at the time (you were around Saints!) I was told that is was part of growing up and to suck it up - very bad mistake.
Get a lawyer and go to college for FREE and have money left over for a nice house - all paid for by taxes of the bullies parents and everyone else. After all, bullying IS a society problem and what better way to get back at society than lawsuits against what ends up being the taxpayer.
Vengence is green backed up by a court order and sheriff's deputies!
With all the school shooting we've had in the United States, it's just not a very good game to be playing at this time." The boy is now facing criminal charges for terrorizing and interference of the operation of a school.
So, instead of just counseling the lad, and maybe talking to teachers and investigating the bullying, we're not going to fix the situation, but make an example out of the kid for doing the equivalent of making a "gun" with his finger and saying "bang". In fact, the over-reaction by the school will just ensure that the very kind of people who actually DO shoot up schools will not go to the grownups for help for fear of being jailed as a terrorist for their thoughtcrimes.
Will you scared little fuckers actually do anything I want if I drum up threats of your woman and children being harmed? Of course you will. School Bus Drivers kill more kids in accidents than school shootings do. You Fucking morons are so easy to control. Keep the environment, make more examples to make the environment worse and thus gain more control through fear. We've got you to acclimate children to not walking home without supervision, despite child predator numbers being at an all time low, and acclimated to wearing RFID tags and getting retinal scans for no good reason.
1984's big brother is OK so long as he's "protecting" kids from harm, not oppressing adults? Proitp: Your indoctrination starts when you're yet young. The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. Soon we'll have you implanting microchips in babies that ping a wireless network, so they don't get lost... And brining your kids up to be the model dystopian citizens. Fools.
I think this article is a telling display of a society moving in the wrong direction. A boy was being bullied and his cry for help (the video) has now lead to his arrest, putting him in an even worse situation. In a sane society, it would have lead to him getting help to tackle the bullying and get on with his life.
The truth may be out there, but lies are inside your head
Well, if you would send a letter to someone saying they will die, then that it is most obviously a threat. If instead, you would send a drawing, showing them dying, it would still be a threat. If you publicly or in a way that at least can bee seen by the persons depicted, post a video of them getting shot, that is still a threat. Now, I am not familiar with this app, and it might be that it does such an unrealistic job as to it not being something that can be taken seriously, but if it does a good job, and somebody decides to post it or send it so that it gets the attention of the people in the film, well then it is a threat. Think like this: If "three fingers Joe" of the mob posted the same video, I think it would be pretty clear to see that it is a threat.
Yes it needs action as you say and the action is called counselling, listening, fixing the bullying problem. You Americans live in a fucked society. There, I've said it again. Damn, I'll lose karma.
work in progress
A 7 year old was arrested for terroristic actions after tossing an airplane across the classroom and it hit the wall, knocking a "teacher of the year" plaque slightly askew. The stunt reportedly tossed the airplane without any reaction from classmates. When one of the students relayed the story to her parents they decided to call the police to warn of the anti-social behavior. When asked, Police Chief Marny Logan said "We had to take it seriously, you never when he'll switch from paper airplanes to real ones. We can't teach kids that it is okay to fly aircraft in to buildings."
In other news: using chalk to draw in the street is found to increase the risk of future graffiti crime by 43%. Children who stick objects in their nose will one day use a straw and accidentally snort cocaine.
Article X: The powers not delegated... by the Constitution...are reserved...to the people
I'd like to see this go to trial and see if they can really get a conviction. It would be very cool if they fail and then get sued for damages and compensation.
-Xen
While i disagree with the topic being a crime, being underage does not somehow magically exclude you from being a criminal. Criminal behavior has no boundaries.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
At the very least, the posting of the video constitutes a death threat, which demands justice.
No it does not constitute a death threat. A death threat is, "I'm going to kill you now, AC". A video game is just a video game now matter what the pixels may or may not look like.
Let me say that again. AC, I am going to murder you sometime very soon. I own a gun. An assault rifle. I am going to kill you with it. This IS going to happen. So you might want to prepare a will or something. Perhaps flee whatever country you live in as well. Just to be safe.
The only problem is that I have no idea who you are and no way to find out and I don't actually own a gun. Do you see why threats are required to be credible and why the person making the threat is expected to have some realistic means of carrying it out?
Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.
Sure, it's hell to live in these backwater countries of European Union... we are obviously afraid to go out in the streets because you know guns are outlawed here so everyone is shooting everyone else around because of that, oh the humanity!
Maybe address the cause of all the anger and frustration?
I blame the complete lack of tolerance for violence in schools. Ask someone who graduated in the last ten years about the fights they got into at school. Now ask someone 20 or even just 10 years older than that the same question. It was a relatively rapid change where occasional fights were the norm, to being unthinkable. I don't know if it was us applying rules that made sense for schools where kids brought shivs, to schools that didn't have anything more than normal scuffles, or just the general risk aversion society has developed. Parents teaching their children to always walk away from a fight didn't help. In an adult life that makes sense. If someone is violent you get out of there. You will probably never see that person again and it doesn't matter what impression you make. School is a lot more like prison. If your kid walks (or worse runs) away from a bully, he will see that bully again tommorow, now having the left the impression of weakness. My parents taught me it was ok to defend yourself, and I figured out on my own that the best method for deterring a bully is hyperescalation. From k-12 I can count on one hand the number of times it was necessary, but today I would have been expelled. So today we are forced to tell our children to take the beating or to continually run and hide, because of the intelerance of our schools for violence.
refactor the law, its bloated, confusing and unmaintainable.
You cannot compare America to 1st world countries. That is not a fair metric.
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
The real problem in our cultures is the total abdication of responsibility by the authorities for the criminal violence perpetrated daily in our educational institutions.
Every child learns that they can either get away with committing acts of violence against others or that society will tie itself in knots to avoid protecting them from criminal violence.
Is it any wonder the victims of violence take the law into their own hands when our most important laws are actively ignored by those who ought to be enforcing them and protecting the rest of us from those that would break them.
Almost every problem our societies have can be traced back to acts of violence that are being tolerated by those that should know better and are committed by those that have been trained by our educational establishments to believe are acceptable.
Assault is a crime.
An extremely serious crime that we should never tolerate. Effectively enforce that one law and almost all the other serious crimes would disappear overnight.
Trust The Computer, The Computer is your friend.
I'm thinking that posting the thing was a bad idea. Maybe some kind of warning was defintely in order. Talk to him and explain that his response to the bullying was in it's own way just as bad. Jail? You're fucking crazy. Talk about over reaction. What the hell ever happened to common sense. I remember when I was a kid and we did bad stuff my Dad told me where I went wrong and backed it up with a belt. Nowadays this is called child abuse and instead we throw them in jail or trank them on drugs. Big improvement....not.
But this used augmented reality and a cell phone so it's just like the real thing. It's a good thing he didn't virtually teabag anyone he "shot" or he'd be charged with rape also.
I don't know how long ago you deal with a bully that way, but these days you might be arrested and jailed for assault for intentionally giving someone a concussion in school.
He hit me first, sort of teasingly, the way bullies start, measuring you to see if you'll take it or tell or whatever. So I knocked him down hard, and his head took a bad bounce on the floor.
Also, maybe nobody messed with you, but did you lose out on other relationships that you will never know about based on people's perceptions of you? (Maybe not in many schools, but consider what the implications would be in the workplace...)
In the workplace? I'd quit, sue, and retire. Bullying is either sexual harassment or assault. Either taking place in a workplace is not tolerated one bit. But both are allowed, and in fact encouraged, in school.
Nothing works for every situation. For example, Izzy Kalman says his approach requires the "bully" to be reasonable emotionally stable -- which is almost always the case, but not 100% of the time.
I'm curious why you are supporting that approach so much. I've been bullied, and the approach you advocate doesn't work. The truly sociopathic can't feel (or even understand) the victim's emotional state, so "don't be bothered" is not going to help.
Nothing works for every situation. For example, Izzy Kalman says his approach requires the "bully" to be reasonable emotionally stable -- which is almost always the case, but not 100% of the time.
Right. And I've been bullied by the "catch and mutilate cats" bullies that are budding serial killers. They aren't in a reasonable emotional state. Most bullies I've encountered aren't. The *only* thing I've found that worked was to beat them up. Yes, it can get me in trouble, but no bully would ever report their own beating. Even when I was the one in the wrong (yes, I sucker-punched one once - and it worked to stop the abuse).
You don't have to be strong to take them down. Just go for the groin (even works on girls, they have the pelvic bone and lots of nerves in the same area, not quite as effective, but still works).
My sister saw what bullying did to me, and she saw someone getting bullied in 6th or 7th grade, and beat up 4 large guys. There were hundreds of witnesses, and the teachers said "they deserved it". Cut down on their bullying after, too.
His method doesn't work. I tried variations multiple times, and it didn't work. He's assuming "teasing" is bullying. Bullying includes much more than that. Much like actual rape victims are offended by Julian Assange's charge of "rape" for lying for sex (one woman I know who was offended by the definition, as it reduces the meaning of rape everywhere broke bones fighting off her attacker, oh no, Julian "raped" someone by promising monogamy, and not delivering), calling getting teased as "four eyes" bullying is funny, and pretty sad. Getting your underwear ripped off on a regular basis through weggies isn't quite the same thing. The bullied got together, and I remember telling the guy that was getting the weggie targets to cut his underwear. When pre-cut, the underwear would rip before bearing load, so it wasn't nearly as funny, and looked more like a hollywood weggie, not a bloody-from-friction-burns weggie that leaves scars.
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