Teenagers Charged With 'Intimidation' After Sharing Siri's Helpful Response For A School Shooting (nwitimes.com)

A 13-year-old boy visiting family in Indiana has been charged with "intimidation", according to the Northwest Indiana Times: The boy allegedly said to Siri, iPhone's voice assistant, "I am going to shoot up a school," according to a news release from the Valparaiso Police Department. Siri then replied with a list of multiple Valparaiso schools near his location. The boy, identified as a Chesterton Middle School student, posted a screenshot of the inquiry and response on social media, which was reported to Chesterton police by the boy's social media contacts.

Chesterton police then contacted the Valparaiso Police Department, which launched an investigation into the possible threat. Valparaiso officers determined the boy made no direct threat to a specific person, school or school system and that he had no access to weapons -- ultimately stating the picture was posted on social media as a joke. "The threat is not believed to be credible at this time; however, these types of communications are taken very seriously by the Valparaiso Police Department and our community," police stated in a news release.
A 14-year-old was also taken into custody, and is also being held in a juvenille detention center, facing charges of intimidation and "criminal recklessness with a handgun" over related photographs with weapons.

"Come on kids. It isn't funny..." reads one comment on the police department's Facebook page. "How many of you are going to be detained before you realize it?"

"Thank you for taking it seriously, and prosecuting it accordingly," added another commenter. "'I was joking' is not a defense. Hopefully juvie knocks some sense into this kid."

"I hope he's prosecuted for this! Totally not funny and as a parent I'm taking any threats against schools serious!" reads another comment -- though at least one person directed their scorn somewhere else.

"Sounds like Siri needs to be re-programmed."

Comments

As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

Why does the headline act like the kid was in the right? Saying he is going to shoot up a school and posting that plus possible is absolutely outside of the free speech modifiers in the constitution (see shouting fire in a crowded theater, if that is still taught in civics classes as opposed to weird gender things)

Re: As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

Found the kike!

Re:As it should be

[BitterOak]

Exactly. Kid threatens to shoot up school. Kid faces charges. As it should be.

The only reason this story even made Slashdot is that Siri was tangentially involved. The fact that he searched for help on Siri really doesn't change the basic facts at all. Why shouldn't he be charged?

Re:As it should be

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

What he said probably isn't. The OP talks in terms of there being no credible threat nor against specific people or places. That's obviously informed by the current Supreme Court standard.

That doesn't mean the police's ears can't perk up and take a closer look, but it is not prosecutable by itself.

Re: As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

Destroy all the Jews!
 
 

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Re:As it should be

[skoskav]

[...] is absolutely outside of the free speech modifiers in the constitution (see shouting fire in a crowded theater, if that is still taught in civics classes as opposed to weird gender things)

To be pedantic, shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theater is probably protected by the First Amendment, because it's not directed, nor likely, to incite or produce imminent lawless action. Though shouting "Fire! Trample the people around you to survive!" may be illegal.

Re:As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

Shouting fire is speech. The speech is protected.

Endangering lives is not protected.

You can shout Fire and you're fine if it's not inclusive of the second. A crowded theater is likely to include that - but it has nothing to do with the freezy peachy.

As for the kid, there's probably laws about constituting a threat or someshit. Assuming it's proven such was constituted. Probably gets tangled up with "intent" or some other arbitrary noise.

Re:As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you completely insane? Kids say and do stupid shit all the time and there is no evidence that he ever actually intended to do anything. Kids are not just small versions of adults, their brains are still developing and you can't expect a 13 year-old to make decisions like an adult. This kid needs counseling. Who seriously thinks it's going to be helpful to anyone to send this kid to juvi? It's certainly not going to help the kid and there's plenty of evidence to support that. I also think you also need professional help and I certainly hope you don't have any children of your own.

Re:As it should be

[ShanghaiBill]

Kid threatens to shoot up school. Kid faces charges. As it should be.

Unless the threat/joke was actually credible, the kid should not have been charged. Believe it or not, there are ways to discipline children without involving the police and courts.

A major problem in America is that we are over-policed. Crime rates have fallen dramatically over the last three decades, due mainly to demographic, economic, and environmental factors. Yet we have more police than ever. This surfeit of police without enough real work to do, leads to criminalization of silly things like inappropriate teenage social media posts.

Re:As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

Legally "intent" is not arbitrary and can usually be demonstrated via solid evidence, which is interpreted by a judge and jurors. It's actually damning stuff. See : Donald Trump's twitter feed. If you have a history, so much the easier.

Re: As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

Plus, by the time this kid gets out of detention their mind will be wrecked by the whole experience, and let's hope they don't drop the soap.

The prison system today is designed to create criminals, not help them. More meat for the grinder.

Re:As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

You're a moron. Guess what? This is the United Fucking States of America, not your beloved Communist China. In America people are allowed to say pretty much whatever they want. It doesn't matter that it scares you or makes you feel bad. You are the one who needs to be in prison for subversion.

He also didn't "post it," as you say (implying that he posted the threat, "I'm going to shoot up a school"). He posted a screenshot of Siri's stupid response to the statement.

see shouting fire in a crowded theater

Not even similar. In a theater such a warning is a false alert to an IMMEDIATE and CREDIBLE threat to life and safety. The simple statement, "I'm going to shoot up a school" is neither immediate or credible by itself. Stop "thinking" with your idiot feelings and use your fucking head.

Jesus this country needs a purge.

Re: As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

If you think the cops are bored now, just wait till self driving cars free up all the traffic details. They will have to make more laws to enforce.

Re:As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

True story: I was called to school because of my 5th grader's "Aggressive use of colors" in an art class.

Common sense is truly no longer common.

Re: As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

No, they won't be bored. They'll be retired. There will be massive cuts to police force numbers (and many other jobs) with the advent of driverless cars.

Re:As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

Shouting fire in a crowded theater (inclusive of the second clause) can be acceptable - as long as the person shouting "fire" can see a fire. The patrons have an increased chance of being harmed in the exit stampede but have been made aware of another impending danger.

Re:As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

Because whether or not you think it's distasteful, which is strictly subjective, the kid is in the right. The constitution protects his freedom of speech.

Re:As it should be

[Cederic]

there are ways to discipline children without involving the police and courts

In this situation I can understand the police seeking to assure that there is in fact no threat.

I think they can also play a role in scaring a kid shitless in a "Dude, we nearly shot you. Stop fucking about!" kind of way that helps the idiot understand how silly he was while at the same time making him glad the police realised he was just being stupid.

Maybe I expect too much from the police in America.

Re:As it should be

[AlanObject]

you can't expect a 13 year-old to make decisions like an adult. This kid needs counseling. Who seriously thinks it's going to be helpful to anyone to send this kid to juvi?

You can and should expect a kid that age to understand there are consequences to his/her actions. Even if they are not fully thinking like an adult.

Would you expect a 13-year-old to be able to avoid stepping in front of traffic? Would you expect a 13-year old not to light a gas fire in the library? Why would it be unacceptable to expect a 13-year-old not to issue public terrorist threats?

Juvie may not be the best option but not many communities have other options.

Re: As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

He didn't do that. He made a FUNNY video and posted it. People need to lighten up. There is zero evidence of anybody making a threat. Interpreting every thing as such is just retarded.

Re: As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

What was more fucked up was the automatic assumption some stupid video is a threat. There was no threat other than the one by the police on his speech and physical well being. Talk about living in a dystopian society. We are already there and its why I moved from NJ to NH to be among saner folks from around the world who don't put up with this non-thinking emotional bull shit. Some of us would like to be able to express ourselves without the threat if ACTUAL violence by the police or society thereof.

Re:As it should be

[sjames]

Wrong. He told Siri he was going to shoot up a school, probably to see how Siri would react. Siri's reaction was. let's say "unfortunate", so he posted it.

I remember my 4th grade teacher explaining how America was better than Russia because we have freedom of speech but in Russia you had to watch what you say or you could be hauled away by the police.....

Re:As it should be

[sjames]

Apparently it's not reasonable to expect adults to know the difference between a terrorist threat and teasing Siri, why hold 13 year olds to a higher standard?

Re:As it should be

[sjames]

Had they not actually charged him with a serious crime and hauled him off to juvie, you might have a point.

Instead, all he has learned is that anyone who says the police are his friends or that we have freedom of speech is full of crap.

Re:As it should be

[K. S. Kyosuke]

Kid threatens to shoot up school.

It's weird to threaten a school you can't even find without an automated assistant.

Re:As it should be

[guruevi]

He also wasn't arrested, just interviewed and let go; the kid that was picked up is another kid that posted some more serious threats with pictures of guns etc

Re:As it should be

[ShanghaiBill]

In this situation I can understand the police seeking to assure that there is in fact no threat.

Except that is not what they did.

I think they can also play a role in scaring a kid shitless

"Scaring kids shitless" is not what police are for. Nor are they a replacement for parents.

Maybe I expect too much from the police in America.

Indeed.

Re:As it should be

[sjames]

That's not what TFA says.

Re:As it should be

[djinn6]

Yeah, I'd rather have a prankster who sometimes goes too far than an ex-convict who hates society.

Re:As it should be

[Reservoir Penguin]

America is not over-policed. America is a brutal police state and a police state must terrorize and intimidate citizens, making them feel confused and helpless, making them feel they can be arrested anywhere for any reason.

Re:As it should be

[WolfgangVL]

A 13 year old is supposed to do this kind of dumb shit. It's called being a teenager.

Every single teenager in america thinks they are 1 stupid video away from career of youtube stardom.

Send the kid to film school, not juvie.

Re:As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

What school did the threaten? ... moron

Re:As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

Except of course for the inconvenient fact that the kid did not threaten to shoot up school.

Re:As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

A sudden attack of sanity?!

Re: As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

Just think, if he was only brown he would have gotten invitations to Facebook and the whitehouse 3 years ago.

Re:As it should be

[JaredOfEuropa]

Counselling, as in a couple of sessions with a shrink or adviser? Not that either. Because there’s nothing wrong with that kid; other kids that age have a similar lack of judgment even not everything they get up to results in a scare like this one. He just needs to be taught. Have a cop come to his home or take him to the station and give him a good talking to. Maybe also have a talk with the principal. The last thing anyone needs is to make this into a big deal, so think education rather than the punishment that everyone seems so eager to dole out.

Re:As it should be

[Waccoon]

It's not the charge, but the sentence that matters. Sentences take intent into consideration.

Re:As it should be

[GuB-42]

You can and should expect a kid that age to understand there are consequences to his/her actions.

13 is well under the age of majority. It means the law itself doesn't expect that kid to understand the consequences of his actions.
Not stepping in front of traffic and not lighting gas fires in libraries are things that are taught early, because it is simple (traffic=dangerous, fire=dangerous) and it is important for survival. And still, we usually don't let 13 year olds alone in libraries.
But walking the fine line between what is an acceptable joke and what *some* adults interpret as a "public terrorist threat" requires a level of maturity that we can't really expect a 13 year old to have. I'm quite sure (I hope) the vast majority of adults correctly interpreted the video as a joke, police made sure the kid isn't a threat, just to be on the safe side, he isn't. Give that kid an assignment and we are done.

Re: As it should be

[orlanz]

We have full grown adults that we don't have such expectations of and elect to political positions. See Anthony Weiner for the start of a long list of people. We can't have such expectations of anyone under 17.

I think the bigger problem in society is people like you who over react to things like this. Over punishing this individual won't help him. And worse, it doesn't do anything for all the others.

Re: As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't project your prison fantasies on this kid. He should be prosecuted, and the judge should come back with an appropriate sentence. Whether that be confinement of some sort (at home, for example) or not should depend on the totality of the circumstances, including his record, his home situation, and a psych evaluation.

Re:As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

Have a cop come to his home or take him to the station and give him a good talking to. Maybe also have a talk with the principal.

That may not do anything but encourage him to continue. Fact is the majority of the folks commenting here don't know the kid or his history and so all these suggestions are worthless projections.

Re:As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

Shouting "Fire" in a crowded theater (in the absence of a fire or other threat) would not be illegal on its face. If anyone where hurt in the perfectly foreseeable panic that ensued, you could be liable in a civil action. Further, depending on how loud you shout and if you do it more than once, especially after being told to shut up, you may be charged, depending on jurisdiction, with disturbing the peace. And it goes without saying that if this is private property you will likely be asked to leave and the government can enforce that request, and charge you with a separate violation if you refuse to leave on your own.

Re:As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sure if you falsely yell "fire" in that theater, and 3 people die from being trampled. You will be charged with something and the first amendment won't help you.

Re:As it should be

[Can'tNot]

That's true, the summary is misleading. The article doesn't say why he's being charged with intimidation, right after it says the police determined that it was a joke with no credible threat.

Re: As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

Why? You are fucking insane.

Kids make jokes. He obviously was not serious, and was showing how Siri has a funny response to a horrible question.

You know that you are an extremist when you have lost your sense of humor.

Get help.

Re:As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

He also wasn't arrested, just interviewed and let go; the kid that was picked up is another kid that posted some more serious threats with pictures of guns etc

Being "interviewed" by the police is an arrest. Do you really think you can say no to being interrogated and not get hit with a resisting arrest charge?

Re:As it should be

[guruevi]

Uhm, yes. You can say no to being interrogated and you'll be held/bailed until trial. Never talk to the police, a jury trial is the only place you have the opportunity to talk, anything you say to the police can and will be used against you, never to your benefit.

Re: As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

Obviously he should not be prosecuted. The fact that you are all on edge about this kind of funny answer by siri (the real culprit here, made by adults) means there is something to it. You could also look into the fact that schools get shot up on almost a daily basis, that is the problem that needs fixing. Not kids and their childish behaviours (because, you knoww, children be children)

Re:As it should be

[mjwx]

Kid threatens to shoot up school. Kid faces charges. As it should be.

Unless the threat/joke was actually credible, the kid should not have been charged. Believe it or not, there are ways to discipline children without involving the police and courts.

You know, if you really wanted to cut down on school shootings, maybe your culture should stop glorifying guns and violence. Just a crazy idea. Maybe, just maybe also control your guns better so that they aren't left out in the open for kids to grab, you know, be responsible with dangerous things you own.

But who am I kidding, there is an inevitable mod down waiting for even suggesting such sensible things. Thoughts and prayers to those modding this down, gourd press.

Re:As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

awww little bitch is being a little bitch

don't talk with my cock in your mouth, little bitch

Re:As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

Kid threatens to shoot up school. Kid faces charges. As it should be.

Unless the threat/joke was actually credible, the kid should not have been charged. Believe it or not, there are ways to discipline children without involving the police and courts.

You know, if you really wanted to cut down on school shootings, maybe your culture should stop glorifying guns and violence. Just a crazy idea. Maybe, just maybe also control your guns better so that they aren't left out in the open for kids to grab, you know, be responsible with dangerous things you own.

But who am I kidding, there is an inevitable mod down waiting for even suggesting such sensible things. Thoughts and prayers to those modding this down, gourd press.

One could also argue you could teach the children firearm safety and the value of human life at an early age.
Gun culture is nothing new, in fact its been around a lot longer than the "Fear culture" of firearms. Lack of knowledge is what kills.

However in one accord, the media is doing a grand gesture in playing into every would be in America, by televising these occurrences.

Back on topic though, in my opinion one would be act with no intent doesn't require jail time.
Just breeds more hate and confusion on the adolescent in play.

Re:As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

If he wasn't arrested then he could not have been "let go." When police hold you you are arrested. It's the meaning of the word. I don't see where the Valparaiso police did any of that.

Re:As it should be

[Anonymous Coward]

>This kid needs counseling.
Why? Asking Siri awful questions is a typical party gag in 2019. I can all but guarantee the kid has never considered shooting his peers, but just figured it would be interesting to see what the "AI" came back with. The response he got was absolutely shocking, so he posted it. Because holy crap that response.

The knee jerk "put him in juvi!!!11one1" reaction is the worst part about this by orders of magnitude. Having a giggle has been illegal in the court of public opinion for a few decades now though, so I shouldn't be surprised.

Re:As it should be

[strikethree]

Apparently it's not reasonable to expect adults to know the difference between a terrorist threat and teasing Siri, why hold 13 year olds to a higher standard?

Look, as long as there is blood, the crowds will be happy. Whose blood it is is largely irrelevant. This isn't about justice, it is about blood.

In this particular instance, the kid was the easier target. *shrug* Gotta love the world we live in...

Siri does not have consciousness, common sense etc

[Anonymous Coward]

You post something on the internet, you are responsible for it. Siri is not. This falls under "should minors be allowed on the internet at all, if they're pseudo-unaccountable under the law?" And the answer is probably no, they shouldn't.
   

America

[Anonymous Coward]

The land of panic and fear.

Re:America

[Anonymous Coward]

"The land of more guns than people, often in the hands of teenager INCEL Republicans who are so butt-hurting from having no sex life that they take the coward's way out in a desperate cry for help, often preceded by threats." -FTFY

Re:America

[Anonymous Coward]

The land of more guns than people

They're going to come in handy when people like you start trying to prevent people like me from voting for candidates I want to vote for, or even from expressing opinions I want to express. It's getting dangerously close already.

Re:America

[Anonymous Coward]

Republicans have a higher fertility rate than Democrats. On top of that, surveys show that Republicans are having more sex in general than Democrats. So you might want to reevaluate where the majority of incels come from.

Re:America

[Anonymous Coward]

So Idiocracy was prophetic?

Re:America

[Anonymous Coward]

Well it's also the land of mass shootings, school shootings and massive amounts of serial killers.

Re:America

[Kohath]

It's not fear. They are all pretending. They have to keep up the pretense that their authority and their actions are a necessary evil. Otherwise voters will come to understand that the necessary evil has become unnecessary.

Re:America

[Anonymous Coward]

Same as 80% of employed people and positions really. Not limited to the US but systemic in all industrialized nations.

What a dystopia.

Re:America

[strikethree]

Fuck off. Your comment is not useful in any way.

Whats wrong with people?

[Quzak]

There was no threat here and what the kid did was kinda funny. You losers need to stop being scared of your own shadow and grow a pair.

Re:Whats wrong with people?

[Anonymous Coward]

There was no threat here and what the kid did was kinda funny. You losers need to stop being scared of your own shadow and grow a pair.

In the old days, they would have been taken out back and beaten within an inch of their lives for joking like that, maybe even beaten to death if they were repeat miscreants--and they probably were.

Re:Whats wrong with people?

[Anonymous Coward]

and when a kid goes on a killing rampage as has frequently been the case in the US you will be one of the first screaming "why wasn't something done, it was all over his facebook page what he intended to do"

Re:Whats wrong with people?

[Anonymous Coward]

"As has frequently been the case in the US".

So you mean almost never. Statistically speaking.

It's like being scared of AR-15s. Murders by all rifles together (so AR-15s plus every other rifle in existence in the USA), account for less deaths each year than by knives, blunt objects, or fists. As a firearm they present the less danger to American society than the fists on the person standing next to you. Yet they are a red-herring rallying point for a lot of people.

https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-t...
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/0...

Re:Whats wrong with people?

[Anonymous Coward]

you belong in a death camp you fascist piece of shit.

Re:Whats wrong with people?

[Anonymous Coward]

you belong in a death camp you fascist piece of shit.

Found the libertarian who thinks that all speech is free speech and wants to protect the klan and nazis.

Re: Whats wrong with people?

[Anonymous Coward]

Found the fascist Democrat who thinks that anyone who has a slightly different opinion is a Nazi, and therefore is dehumanized, thus allowing them to be murdered by black-clad university students.

Re: Whats wrong with people?

[Anonymous Coward]

So you would support banning handguns ?

Re: Whats wrong with people?

[Anonymous Coward]

Found the fascist Democrat who thinks that anyone who has a slightly different opinion is a Nazi, and therefore is dehumanized, thus allowing them to be murdered by black-clad university students.

Nice job projecting, but your side supports actual nazis, (which are fascists), like dick spencer; is murdering brown-skinned people; and throwing children into concentration camps because their parents believed your propaganda.

Dale Earnhardt was the Intimidator

[Anonymous Coward]

but he's dead now, so he's not so intimidating anymore

Re:Dale Earnhardt was the Intimidator

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey it's not his fault someone put a wall there. Dale was just following orders. NO COLLISION! And he never traveled in Russian circles, fake revs. Here, just have a look at his track returns.. Fueller's got nothing on him.

Re: Dale Earnhardt was the Intimidator

[Anonymous Coward]

Dale was pushed by a known Russian agent, Sterling Marlin, son of a known crazy man.

Re: Dale Earnhardt was the Intimidator

[Anonymous Coward]

At least there's no video of him being pissed on by whores. No reason to lie about anything, why, have you stared at the sun? It's great. I get all kinds of new ideas staring at the sun. Don't listen to the liberals like Mueller or Coates..

The kids are only partly to blame

[VeryFluffyBunny]

This only goes to show that American's attitudes towards guns is totally f#*ked up. Yes, it was a really stupid prank. But that they perceived it as a credible threat is the really f^!ked up part. School shootings have become a regular occurrence in the USA. A "normal" part of everyday life. How did this happen?

Re:The kids are only partly to blame

[quenda]

School shootings have become a regular occurrence in the USA. A "normal" part of everyday life. How did this happen?

A culture of individualism over collectivism, and easy access to deadly weapons. And the US is a very big country. Next question.

Re:The kids are only partly to blame

[alvinrod]

School shootings have become a regular occurrence in the USA. A "normal" part of everyday life. How did this happen?

Sensational news media mostly. The rates were much higher in the early 90's and just like most crime, the overall rates are much lower now than in the past. However, the old saying of "it bleeds, it leads" is still relevant and no one wants to read stories about how things are generally better than in the past. That's essentially what Trump's Make America Great Again boils down to: the notion that things have gotten worse and we can see that people like to buy into this notion when it isn't true.

I do recall reading some previous research that linked gun violence in schools with economic troubles. I couldn't find a full-text version of the paper, but here's an overview of the research: https://www.ipr.northwestern.edu/about/news/2017/infographic-hagan-school-shootings.html. The authors are just claiming that there's a correlation, so the cause may be deeper, but it was an interesting take that I hadn't seen before.

Re:The kids are only partly to blame

[Anonymous Coward]

Tell me again... Which cultures, individualist or collectivist, have perpetrated the most murders in history? Hmmmm....?

Re:The kids are only partly to blame

[Anonymous Coward]

Murder 1 person, it's a tragedy. Murder a million, it's a statistic.

Re:The kids are only partly to blame

[Anonymous Coward]

"School shootings have become a regular occurrence in the USA"

No. They are not a regular occurrence. They remain an incredibly rare occurrence.

Re:The kids are only partly to blame

[Anonymous Coward]

Negative. This excuse is the same as claiming how someone was dressed is a factor if they are raped. You are blaming society instead of individual.

Re:The kids are only partly to blame

[kenai_alpenglow]

This. And a bias towards making anything that makes "g.g.g.g.guns!!!" look bad. Kind of why I quit listening to most media outlets now. Look at how many times T____ has been proved to be Workin' with the Ruskies---only to need to retract the story. Our the recent condemnation of a boy in a MAGA hat just standing and smiling, while the Viet Vet Native American who was praised for everything---oh, by the way, tried to disrupt a Catholic mass. BTW, when was the most recent school shooting vs Police getting shot?

Re:The kids are only partly to blame

[Anonymice]

To quote Aristotle, "Whoooooooosh!"

The GP's point isn't whether school shootings may, or may not, now be more common in the USA. It's the fact that it's even an issue. It's an anomaly not only in the developed world, but the world as a whole. It's an indicator that something in its society is really quite fucked up.

Re:The kids are only partly to blame

[Anonymous Coward]

"Kind of why I quit listening to most media outlets now." - Because you prefer to be a low-information moron rather than be informed by facts, we know faggot Trumptards.

Re:The kids are only partly to blame

[Anonymous Coward]

Nothing he said was wrong. The media has had to retract more Trump\Russia stories than not, the Covington boys did nothing wrong as they were being harassed by the Black Israelites and Chief Nathan "I repair fridges, man" Banging Drum harassed them.

Credibility comes from being considered a source of reliable information. The media lost their credibility well before Trump, they just decided that if people like you didn't care, why should they?

Re:The kids are only partly to blame

[Corbets]

Posting to undo erroneous modification - I attempted to mod another post flame bait and hit this one instead, sorry.

Re:The kids are only partly to blame

[Anonymous Coward]

How did this happen?

Which "this" are you referring to?

The relatively rare occurrence of nutbars getting their hands on guns and running around killing (more than one) persons just cuz (the perp is a nutbar)?
OR
The overreaction, fear, and utter stupidity of the Police and the general populace?

To answer you query, the former "this" has always been the case and has not changed significantly in volume per capita. The difference is that 30 years ago the news took significant time to propagate and was "yesterdays news" by the time it reached beyond the local area. As a consequence, not much import was assigned to "I just heard of this shit that happened last week a couple thousand miles away". Now the communication infrastructure is much better and of significantly greater capacity. This means that the story is now available immediately to act as click-bait and to sell more rags rather that being relegated to next Sunday's edition which contains "all the news fit to print".

The same answer applies pretty much to the latter as well since the general fear, stupidity, and idiocy of the general populace and the Police is no longer under local control but rather subject to the whims of the "great unaffected morons" which read about it sooner -- and the actors are acting to entertain a much larger audience.

Re:The kids are only partly to blame

[DrJimbo]

That's essentially what Trump's Make America Great Again boils down to: the notion that things have gotten worse and we can see that people like to buy into this notion when it isn't true.

Things have gotten worse for the working class even though the economy as a whole is booming. Of course, the policies put in place by Trump (lower taxes on the rich) and the policies he fights for (dismantle the healthcare system for non-wealthy people) make the situation worse, not better. The tragedy and danger of electing Trump is that his policies exacerbate the economic problems of the working class, generating more fear and causing more people to turn to Authoritarianism as a way out.

Re:The kids are only partly to blame

[VeryFluffyBunny]

To quote Aristotle, "Whoooooooosh!"

The GP's point isn't whether school shootings may, or may not, now be more common in the USA. It's the fact that it's even an issue. It's an anomaly not only in the developed world, but the world as a whole. It's an indicator that something in its society is really quite fucked up.

Yes. This. This is what I meant.

Re:The kids are only partly to blame

[VeryFluffyBunny]

You say:

The authors are just claiming that there's a correlation, so the cause may be deeper, but it was an interesting take that I hadn't seen before.

But the article says:

...which might cause despair over how getting an education does not necessarily lead to finding a job.

Which is a conjecture but, since it offers no alternatives, functions as a claim. Also, they've chosen to plot the graph, which shows a weak-moderate correlation at best, over only 2 1/2 decades. What happened before that?

Re: school shootings in the USA, they go back to at least the 1800s & they've been increasing steadily in recent years.

And a bias towards making anything that makes "g.g.g.g.guns!!!" look bad.

Are you saying that the constant stream of films & TV shows that depict "good guys" portrayed by attractive actors, running around with guns in their hands & shooting at people is media bias against guns?

Re:The kids are only partly to blame

[Anonymous Coward]

Retard Christians by like 3 orders-of-magnitude.

“ I see you’re interested in school sh

[Applehu Akbar]

“The best time for photography inside educational institutions is on sunny days when classrooms are full and you can use sun and shadow most effectively...”

Nothing to see here

[Gherald]

It doesn't matter whether technology is involved or not, or what their comedic intent was: stating something about wanting to go ahead with terrorism or murder is going to get the attention of authorities, and they are going to start by doing a full investigation of the threat with no smile or laughter whatsoever.

Kids need to wise up

Re:Nothing to see here

[Calydor]

So Jeff Dunham's sketches with Achmed the Dead Terrorist should also get him investigated? He jokes about blowing things up and that the most important part is location, location, LOCATION.

Re:Nothing to see here

[WaffleMonster]

It doesn't matter whether technology is involved or not, or what their comedic intent was: stating something about wanting to go ahead with terrorism or murder is going to get the attention of authorities, and they are going to start by doing a full investigation of the threat with no smile or laughter whatsoever.

Personally I thought it was funny as shit. Don't forget to investigate Siri for her supporting role in the conspiracy.

Re:Nothing to see here

[blindseer]

Kids need to wise up

No, I'm pretty sure the police need to wise up. This does not sound like something that required action by the police.

Re:Nothing to see here

[Anonymous Coward]

There's an unbelievably effective way to stop school shootings if you think a kid is going to bring in a gun.

Expell the kid.

The problem with that is, the teachers haven't gotten shot up yet, so as far as the MBA's running our fine public education instutitions are concerned, losing the revenue one student brings is too big a risk vs all the aid you get when someone does infact shoot up your education institution.

Of course, I haven't heard of anything major being stopped since 9-11 so, I guess we're going on faith they're doing their job and this kid is a real threat eh?

Re:Nothing to see here

[Anonymous Coward]

Kids need to wise up

No shit, THEY'RE KIDS. Mostly not wise just by virtue of them still having to grow up. I don't understand why societies thirst for blood is so bad that they can't understand that children are not adults.

Re:Nothing to see here

[Falconnan]

I fully agree with your post. On the flip side, I submit that being a kid is in fact the process of wising up. He needs a good scare, but given the apparent lack of harmful intent, that should be sufficient for a first offense (assuming this is, in fact, a first offense). A slap on the wrist with the explicit warning that future errors in judgement will be more seriously prosecuted seems to be the correct response to me.

Drop hammer on table. "So, kid, here's the deal. This is your warning. If there's a next time, we drop a bag of these on your head. Let's not go ruining your life, shall we?" If he doesn't get the message, follow through.

Re:Nothing to see here

[Ogive17]

Here's the difference - known intention. How does anyone know it's a joke until they arrest the kid and question him and investigate?

I'm against ruining this kids career if he was simply screwing around.. some of the shit I did at that age would probably get me in some hot water today... but the cops can't simply go "oh, haha, funny joke" and move on.

Re:Nothing to see here

[Falconnan]

No. It's context. One is an explicit comedic parody done with a puppet on stage. The other is a context-free posting. If the kid had explicitly presented it as a commentary on Siri, I submit this would be completely unconstitutional prosecution. However, without context, this has to be treated as a potential threat. It's shitty, but nonetheless true. That we don't have a good corrective paradigm for handling kids being stupid is a problem, too, however.

Re: Nothing to see here

[Anonymous Coward]

And y'know what? This will probably prompt Apple to add specific detection and reporting for these kinds of searches. For all we know this kid just did us all a huge service. Now we should reward the kid by sticking them in a dark cell until they hang themselves.

Re:Nothing to see here

[Anonymous Coward]

Perfect example of proto-communist thinking. "Expressing wrong-think is sure to get the attention of the authorities and should therefor be avoided. In the future people should consult with their local office of the Ministry of Truth before attempting comedy on their own." Stating ANYTHING is never illegal in any FREE country. We are already not free. We're just waiting to see how bad it has to get before the shooting starts.

Re:Nothing to see here

[CrimsonAvenger]

How does anyone know it's a joke until they arrest the kid and question him and investigate?

Do note that "arrest", "questioning", and "investigation" aren't mandatory in such a situation.

Yeah, question the knothead.

And investigate as needed.

But arrest? No point in it, since he hasn't committed a crime (no, saying something stupid to Siri isn't against the law) until some action (other than talk about it) is taken in regards to the hypothetical crime....

Re:Nothing to see here

[Anonymous Coward]

Kids CAN'T wise up. They are called "kids" for a damn reason.

Every day a whole new crop of them is born, and every single one of them is dumb as a post! They don't remember what happened to some older kid before they were born! They aren't some stagnant group that can retain its learned wisdom from one year to the next!

It is in the nature of youth that it lacks the maturity and wisdom to know what the consequences of pranks like this will be. The problem here is not that kids are lacking in some sort of wisdom that they should have, but rather, that they have far too much communicative reach. The Internet gives every single kid an audience that no kid is mature enough to address.

In an earlier generation, this prank would not be possible. Not only because Siri didn't exist, but because there would be no social media account to post to, and no audience of people to respond to the post and freak out. These technological enhancements are being made available to people that are too young to use the responsibly.

So, "kids" will never learn not to do this, period. We need to restrict their access to these technologies, just as we restrict their access to motor vehicles and alcohol.

Re:Nothing to see here

[whoever57]

So, what's the message? The first amendment doesn't apply to you, kid?

Re:Nothing to see here

[Anonymous Coward]

Kids need to wise up

No, I'm pretty sure the police need to wise up. This does not sound like something that required action by the police.

-
1) You're an arrogant idiot.

2) The police have no choice but to investigate such events because sometimes schools really do get shot up.

3) I'm so sick of knowitall SJW idiot pricks like you I could puke. You know a lot less than you imagine you know, little boy.

Re:Nothing to see here

[Anonymous Coward]

Authorities also need to wise up. The kid likely just showed what Siri gives back when asked something stupid or out of line. Cops and the legal system cannot wrap their heads around that the problem lies with Siri, not curious teens trying to play the silly device and then post what the machine says. Its easier to harrass a 14yo and %&^ his life up than find criminal chief Cook and you can't put cuffs on Siri as she's virtual. So cop brain (max IQ 85) kicks in , kicks teen's door down ... and you read of it here.
So correct, nothing to see here.

Re:Nothing to see here

[Anonymous Coward]

"So Jeff Dunham's sketches with Achmed the Dead Terrorist should also get him investigated? " - For being unfunny AF generally, yes.

Re:Nothing to see here

[Falconnan]

The First Amendment doesn't protect against threats. Now here's where it gets interesting: Is this a threat?

Without context, this as a post strongly suggests an intent to do harm to a specific class of target. Now, was it specific enough to qualify? I'd say no, generally. However, that's not the only consideration. First, the full protection of the First Amendment doesn't apply to minors; whether it should is a related but separate debate. Second, First Amendment protection isn't absolute. If the speech was intended to cause panic, similar to the classic "yelling 'Fire!' in a crowded theater", it's still not protected. Is this somehow on that level? Probably not.

This type of thing is why I really despise the current approach to the juvenile system in the US. Kids are not adults (some adults are barely adults) and the criminalization of stupid behavior in kids is destructive to society. This type of post creates a need for a response because of what has happened when no response was forthcoming. This isn't the type of problem the Founding Fathers foresaw, and I'm not sure how you even write an amendment to clarify this.

Re:Nothing to see here

[whoever57]

About that "fire in a crowded theatre" .....
https://www.theatlantic.com/na...

This case seems to be a huge over response to what should be protected speech. There doesn't appear to be a direct threat.

Re:Nothing to see here

[Anonymous Coward]

The main takeaways here are:

1) the cops can arrest you even if you haven't done anything illegal.

2) monetize your videos -before- you get arrested.

Re:Nothing to see here

[Anonymous Coward]

And yet people want to give 16 year olds the right to vote. Doesn't America have enough uneducated voters?

Re:Nothing to see here

[Voice of satan]

Kids need to wise up

Unfortunately, they won't. I have been told it has something to do with being kids. Until they do wise up, you can put them in large concentration camps. Or let them join a profession where judgment is superfluous. Like the police.

Another solution is not to give kids unsupervised internet access. My computer did not have internet when i was a kid, and it still wasn't in my room.

Re:Nothing to see here

[thegarbz]

This does not sound like something that required action by the police.

No it does require action by the police, just not the action that happened. Follow up, ask a question or two, actually exercise that wasted brain between the ears, realise that not every lead results in someone needing to be arrested, move on and thank the kid for his time.

Instead what they did do is further broke trust with the public and again establish that the police in the USA should be treated in the same way as a 3rd world shithole: One the take, out to get you, and to be avoided at all costs. It's a bad place to be in as a society.

Re:Nothing to see here

[TrekkieGod]

How does anyone know it's a joke until they arrest the kid and question him and investigate?

Yeah, question the knothead. And investigate as needed

Although I do agree with you that when that questioning and investigating is the first step is you believe there's a possible danger there, I do fear that as a whole our society is getting very bad at understanding the nuances of context. Well, there have always been people with trouble doing that, but it's a bigger issue when police has that problem.

It's incredibly clear the post was making fun of the fact Siri's lack of understanding of the question and its implications led it to give it a response that was apparently a willingness to help a potential school shooter. Ironically, the kid found out human beings can be just as stupid as Siri regarding natural language comprehension. Siri understood his school shooting request as just someone looking for a school. People understood his humorous post as a potential threat.

I know we have a path for improving natural language understanding in AI software. How do we tackle improving humans (or at least governement organizations made up of humans)? Because that's the real problem here.

Re:Nothing to see here

[Anonymous Coward]

On the other hand if they don't arrest kids like this then posting such "jokes" comes with no penalty and the rate of such postings will increase exponentially which in turn will scare the public since the public have no means to investigate each and every such post to determine if it's real or just a "joke". Also by making such "jokes" illegal you shut down the venue of some one posting to for real but later claiming that it was just a "joke" as a get out of jail free card.

Re: Nothing to see here

[Anonymous Coward]

It wasn't "context free" you sniveling fucking moron.

It was clearly a joke about asking Siri a horrible question and getting a funny answer.

You numale pearl-clutching hypersensitive millennial leftist pussies are a fucking embarrassment.

Re: Nothing to see here

[Anonymous Coward]

It clearly is not a threat you fucking moron, just like Googling "what's the best way to hunt down and kill an asshole on the internet" isn't a threat.

And fuck your "fire in a crowded theater" bullshit. That isn't even a law, much less in any way applicable to this situation.

Re:Nothing to see here

[Anonymous Coward]

Until they do wise up, you can put them in large concentration camps.

We've tried that. It seems to lead to school shootings.

Re:Nothing to see here

[Anonymous Coward]

This kid should startup a youtube unboxing channel where he opens a new out of the box smart phone and then asks it to do something stupid on camera. He'd make a... "killing".

Re:Nothing to see here

[mjwx]

Kids need to wise up

No, I'm pretty sure the police need to wise up. This does not sound like something that required action by the police.

The problem the police have is that if it turns out it was not a joke, they'll be hung for it.

Not the culture that created them, nor the parents who left automatic weapons where kids could get them (hell, probably gave them the guns). Thoughts and prayers for the people modding this down, thoughts and prayers.

Re:Nothing to see here

[Anonymous Coward]

The First Amendment doesn't protect against threats.

From the article:

Valparaiso officers determined the boy made no direct threat to a specific person, school or school system and that he had no access to weapons

In other words the police already determined he didn't do anything that was legally actionable, and yet, they're set to punish him anyway

Wouldn't this be first amendment territory?

[rsilvergun]

It's very much commenting on the situation. I know he's a kid, but AFAIK fundamental rights still apply when it comes to prosecution. His school can punish/expel him, but I would think the cops are gonna get a call from the ACLU...

Re: Wouldn't this be first amendment territory?

[Anonymous Coward]

Had he called it a critique of Siri's lack of context you might have a point. But he just put it out there with no context himself. Ironic?

Re: Wouldn't this be first amendment territory?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why would it need any context? It's obviously absurd. America, land of the panic struck, home of the lobotomized.

Re:Wouldn't this be first amendment territory?

[blindseer]

I doubt the ACLU would touch this. As much as people think the ACLU is all about protecting the civil rights of American citizens they've been very anti-gun in the past. They eventually had to admit that the Second Amendment protects the rights of the individual, and is not in fact a "collective right" as they stated prior to the SCOTUS opinions on Heller and McDonald. They've been silent on the Second Amendment since Heller in 2008, at least as far as I can tell, and have not in any recent memory lifted a finger on any case that touches the rights to keep arms.

This should be about a person's right to speak freely, be free from unwarranted search and seizure, right to due process, etc. What muddies the waters though is the kid had guns in the pictures. This tells me that the ACLU will not be interested. They've been unwilling to speak up on the Second Amendment, likely out of fear that this would drive out donors from either side on that debate. So long as they keep quiet they can claim some kind of neutral ground. This has worked for a decade now but eventually, I would think, they will have to choose a lane.

Oh, and before anyone thinks the NRA will stand up on this I will remind people that the NRA is not a lobbying group or in any way connected to supporting court cases. These are instead fought by Gun Owners of America and/or Second Amendment Foundation, and in some cases by the separate but highly linked organization National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action. The NRA likes to jump in after the hard work is done and send someone from the affiliated NRA-ILA so they can claim a victory. The NRA mostly does hunter education, firearm safety courses and certification, and sell a bunch of crap with their logo on it.

Re:Wouldn't this be first amendment territory?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't think the first amendment has typically been considered to cover threats of violence. If you know otherwise, feel free to let me know.

Re:Wouldn't this be first amendment territory?

[Anonymous Coward]

You are a passionate illiterate in support of a treasonous organization that dumps manufacturer black money into elections without accountability. You defend that. You are a moron. "The NRA mostly does hunter education" Bullshit. You're a liar.

Re: Wouldn't this be first amendment territory?

[Anonymous Coward]

The NRA's lobbying and PAC group is indeed technically separate, but this is simply to take advantage of tax laws, not a real matter of substance.

You shouldn't pretend otherwise. No different than the NFL or MLB. Except MLB has better satellites.

Now let's watch Big Mac sock a few dingers!

Re:Wouldn't this be first amendment territory?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's very much commenting on the situation. I know he's a kid, but AFAIK fundamental rights still apply when it comes to prosecution. His school can punish/expel him, but I would think the cops are gonna get a call from the ACLU...

Fuck you, you retarded SJW cunt.

I hope you get terminal cancer.

Re:Wouldn't this be first amendment territory?

[Anonymous Coward]

Sadly, you, like a lot if people who are wary or outright hate the NRA have no idea how the organization actually works.

Ninety percent of the donations to the NRA are for $200 or less meaning the vast majority of its funding comes not from corporations, gun manufacturers or even political action fund raising, but from its individual members. There really are that many Americans that enjoy their freedom and their firearms.

Re: Wouldn't this be first amendment territory?

[K. S. Kyosuke]

Had he called it a critique of Siri's lack of context you might have a point. But he just put it out there with no context himself. Ironic?

You mean he cut out the silly response which provided a context in itself?

Re:Wouldn't this be first amendment territory?

[Anonymous Coward]

I would ask: was it a credible threat? Meaning does he have access to weapons, does he have a history of violence or mental illness?
If not, then have him do public service work for X hours and do a presentation at school on why threats like this aren't funny. He learns a lesson and teaches one, too.

Re:Wouldn't this be first amendment territory?

[Anonymous Coward]

if [[ 'color' == 'white' ]] ; then != ACLU; else ACLU; done

Re:Wouldn't this be first amendment territory?

[fafalone]

The ACLU isn't so hot on the 1st Amendment anymore either. They've decided free speech hurts marginalized people and will no longer defend speech cases that would hurt their social justice agenda. Link.

Re:Wouldn't this be first amendment territory?

[munch117]

I will remind people that the NRA is not a lobbying group

Never heard that one before. The Senate Office of Public Records disagrees with you.

Re:Wouldn't this be first amendment territory?

[Anonymous Coward]

"Ninety percent of the donations to the NRA are for $200 or less meaning the vast majority of its funding comes not from corporations, gun manufacturers or even political action fund raising, but from its individual members."

No, this logic doesn't work. If 9 people give you a cent, and then GunCo gives you a dollar, even though 90% of the donations are less than a dollar, the majority of your funding was from GunCo.

He should receive a Bug Bounty

[wolfheart111]

Shouldn't he... Siri should have immediately informed police and not give addresses to schools. wtf

Re:He should receive a Bug Bounty

[fafalone]

A comment suggesting voice assistants should call the cops on us if we say the wrong thing is modded +4 Insightful... so disappointing.

Re:He should receive a Bug Bounty

[WolfgangVL]

In his defense, it WAS only a matter of time.

Re:He should receive a Bug Bounty

[Anonymous Coward]

the boy's social media contacts.

Depending of the contexts of his past behaviour, he might want to invest on better social media contacts as well. I wouldn't want to be an conceptual artist focusing on social criticism in this kind of environment. But then again, can an artist be great without being shot at, arrested or otherwise harassed on a regular basis?

knocking sense into Siri's adolescent accomplice

[epine]

Hopefully juvie knocks some sense into this kid.

That's the worst kind of stupid (perhaps intended mainly to garner effect, in which case it's hardly any different from the original case of Siri's adolescent accomplice). Really, it's complete BS that the police detained this child in the hope of "knocking some sense into him".

The police respond because they can't not respond, no matter how they assess the risk, because if a school shooting did follow from this, no matter how long the chain of events, and they had done nothing over the first comical wisp of smoke, they'd be roasted alive.

The preadolescent brain is not a reliable thing. It's changing in massive ways, and not very well equipped to even notice those changes in any systematic way.

I had a friend around the same age who once flew an aluminum foil kite into a pole-top power transformer. Kevin had big dreams, and he was always up to something, but he was just one of those kids with less than normal common sense. I liked him a lot.

After the kite explosion—yes, an actual explosion—boy did he ever get plunked down on the couch for a quadraphonic fusillade (both parents, both hydro workers). He was white around the edges for an entire school week. That was the appropriate response: a tiny taste of every adult in Dodge giving him the what for in WWE roof-raising double tag team.

Juvee would have scared (scarred) Kevin into never emerging from his basement ever again. It would not have knocked the least iota of "common sense" into his weirdly developed adolescent brain.

"i want to shoot up..."

[VeryFluffyBunny]

Google predicts that the next word is "workplace". Does that mean that iOS is for kids & Android's for grown-ups?

Re:"i want to shoot up..."

[VeryFluffyBunny]

Anywhere else in the developed world, "i want to shoot up..." would more likely be followed by something like "heroin" or "drugs."

Re:"i want to shoot up..."

[Anonymous Coward]

Google removes drug reference from their search suggestions.

The NRA is to blame for this situation directly.

[Anonymous Coward]

" and easy access to deadly weapons as a result of decades of dereliction of duty, fueled by the industry manufacturer's profits flowing into unaccountable NRA advertisements and dubious threats against anyone speaking out against this."

When we found out the NRA was also being punked by Russia, like the Trump retards, everything just became that much more obvious. They support anything that tears at the fabric of American society, literally in this case. Bullets.

When Mueller gets done with the traitors at Drumpftard Tower he'll have his punch card filled back up with NRA traitors to go through. A Mueller's work is never done, hanging treasonous Republicans.

Who are these idiots?

[Anonymous Coward]

I am talking about the parents who want the kid prosecuted.
This bullshit is why kids shoot up schools. No one can take a joke anymore.
Either way, they just be happy for their kids to die defending the second amendment.

Re: Who are these idiots?

[Anonymous Coward]

They're not parents. They are authority figures, and they have to oppress a few peasants every now and then, or they lose their feeling of superiority.

Then they feel intimidated and thus their penises shrink three sizes that day.

Fearfull morons

[Anonymous Coward]

This is what living in fear does to people. Where even jokes or pointing out fucked up shit gets you in trouble.
Those who cant see this deserve everything thats coming in the future unless this shit stops.

Siri ... get the butter ...

[Anonymous Coward]

You know you want it.

Re-programmed you say?

[Anonymous Coward]

How about de-programmed?

CAPTCHA: squirt

Let me squirt you a question:

Re:The NRA is to blame for this situation directly

[nonBORG]

Those pills are making you paranoid, ease off.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't

[Anonymous Coward]

There have been more than a few school shootings where the shooter had posted shit like this and people shrugged it off as "no threat here, kinda funny." Then they cart bodies out of the classrooms while people wonder why the police didn't take action on pretty blatant warning signs. Now that people are doing their due diligence, retards like you are shouting "OVERSTEP! OVERSTEP!" There's no god damn winning here.

Re:Damned if you do, damned if you don't

[WaffleMonster]

There have been more than a few school shootings where the shooter had posted shit like this and people shrugged it off as "no threat here, kinda funny." Then they cart bodies out of the classrooms while people wonder why the police didn't take action on pretty blatant warning signs. Now that people are doing their due diligence, retards like you are shouting "OVERSTEP! OVERSTEP!" There's no god damn winning here.

Reactive policy never leads to winning. It leads to local optima and overstep as opportunity costs mount.

You get better results with policy based on rational statistically significant evidence not capitulating to feelings and cowardice.

Re:Damned if you do, damned if you don't

[Anonymous Coward]

rational statistically significant evidence

You mean evidence where damn near all school shooters have shown early warning signs in their social media postings and journal entries, you fucking idiot?

Re:Damned if you do, damned if you don't

[Anonymous Coward]

You're more likely to be killed by a muslim terrorist than in a school shooting. Let the Carnival of Fear continue.

Re:Damned if you do, damned if you don't

[Anonymous Coward]

"It's purely a coincidence that serial killers trend to start off with small animals."

Re: Damned if you do, damned if you don't

[Anonymous Coward]

I vote we ban guns, all religions and schools just to be safe.

Re:Damned if you do, damned if you don't

[Anonymous Coward]

Americans are utter assholes.

The job of the police is to catch criminals only after the commission of a crime so that they may be "brought to justice". If no crime has been committed or is in the act of being committed the police should fuck off. If they won't fuck off of their own accord one is perfectly within their rights to make them fuck off, using whatever force is necessary having regard to the circumstances.

This is the law in other free and democratic countries at any rate. Clearly the United States of America is not a free country.

Re: Damned if you do, damned if you don't

[Anonymous Coward]

But the problem is that statistics show that there is a very low, but non zero, chance of a kid getting shot in school. At least in a balanced setup of freedom vs safety. But there are many parents that wonâ(TM)t except that and want zero chance even if they have to give up on EVERYONE elseâ(TM)s rights. And fails to think about how that works out.

Re: Damned if you do, damned if you don't

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you joking?

The UK and Germany literally have divisions of police whose job is to read Facebook and Twitter, then knock on the door of people who haven't broken any laws, but are deemed "insensitive".

That shit only happens in your country, you fucking moron.

Re:Damned if you do, damned if you don't

[F.Ultra]

Better results yes but we are talking about people that have to defend their actions and inactions in order to remain in office and as it turns out inaction is seen by the public as a far more cardinal sin so in order to cover your ass you perform action even when nothing warrants it just so you can claim that you did something.

Same with governors that does not pardon wrongly convicted people because if there is just that one tiny chance that the one you pardoned then goes and commit a crime then you can kiss your reelection goodbye. Not pardoning people however and thus remaining "tough on crime" will most likely not make you lose the next election no matter how upset people are.

Re:Damned if you do, damned if you don't

[Anonymous Coward]

That is irrelevant unless other people, who don't shoot up schools, don't also show the same signs. Otherwise it's useless information.

I feel sorry for kids

[WaffleMonster]

Having to grow up around paranoid, cowardly excessively serious adults who should know better.

Re:I feel sorry for kids

[Anonymous Coward]

Get shot to death please, no joke required. There are enough guns in America in the hands of unstable children to make saying that unfunny by default. You're being stupid again.

Re:I feel sorry for kids

[nehumanuscrede]

I will side with Waffle here.

There have ALWAYS been guns in America. They have even been in the hands of kids without issue.
Hell, we ran around as kids playing War. Shot fireworks and paintballs at each other. Did stupid kid stuff.

Only recently ( since Columbine ) have mass shootings in schools become a problem.
The availability of guns isn't the issue based on the above, but that is a discussion for another time.

Kids who " talk " about doing shit like this fall into one of two categories:

1) They're too stupid / young to realize how bat-shit-crazy some folks will become after hearing it
or
2) They know full well how bat-shit-crazy some folks will become after hearing it and it's THE reason they said it

To some degree, fine, give the kiddo some extra observation for a while and maybe a session with a psychologist,
but let's not go full Swat Team over something stupid said by a 13 year old.

Re:I feel sorry for kids

[Kohath]

You can always count on the police to ruin a kid's life in the name of pretending to care about something or other.

Re:I feel sorry for kids

[misnohmer]

I'm more afraid some smart kid gets his or her life ruined by playing a stupid joke on Siri, then decides that the society fucked him or her, therefore feels justified to take it out on the society and decide to take revenge on said society (they won't be able to get a good job with the record anyways, so they put their skills to use for revenge). Of course, then all the paranoid will say how their joke was predictive of the tragedy that ensued, so the next kid that joked will just be put to death - better safe than sorry.

Re:I feel sorry for kids

[Anonymous Coward]

I fully believe 90%+ of all public shootings can be attributed to an individual feeling justified that society or humanity as a whole is their enemy due to how they have been treated in the past.

People tend to behave the way they have been treated, and many people are treated very poorly for one unfair reason or another. Consider it an extreme case of stereotype threat. Which also explains why urban black americans who are treated as murderous thugs in their innocent youth disproportionately grow up to become so.

Re:I feel sorry for kids

[Anonymous Coward]

there have been school shootings yes, and they get a ridiculous amount of press.

a kid in america is at more risk of dying due to a deer attack,
then of dying in a school shooting
and that's not because the risk of dying in a deer attack is particulary high

and btw the average amount of victims in the chinese school stabbings are higher then that of american school shootings (both are statistically rare events)

Siri needs to be re-programmed

[Anonymous Coward]

Seriously. How the fuck did Siri parse this? Did it simply ignore "shoot up" because of... it's position in the sentence. WTF?

Solution: distribute guns to everybody

[Anonymous Coward]

I know how to solve America's gun problem: give a single action army (with added safety features) to every resident in the country.
- Not enough ammo for a mass shooting, and very slow to reload
- Plenty of defensive firepower for nearly all mass shooting scenarios, including shooters armed with AR15s
- The population at large would learn how to safely manage/respect/enjoy a gun
- The lib sissies would get used to guns in their daily lives and they would stop fearing them

Re:Solution: distribute guns to everybody

[Anonymous Coward]

Guns do not kill people, bullets do. So why would any sane person be controlling "guns" and not the "bullets"?

Re:The NRA is to blame for this situation directly

[Anonymous Coward]

Hatred of gays and love of guns has made Conservatives in America go full traitor, "for Jesus" purportedly in their thick-jowled "I'd rather be a mass murderer than be forced to bake a cake for gays" kind of head-in-ass thoughtlessness.

Siri can be pretty unpredictable

[VAXcat]

One day, shortly after getting an iPhone. I asked Siri "where is the nearest Discount Tire store location". She replied "I'm sorry, I can't give you that information". I tried several times - same answer. I wondered why she wouldn't tell me, and what else was off limits. To explore the problem space, I then asked "where is the nearest place I can score heroin?" She replied with directions to a sketchy neighborhood near me. I asked "where can I find a female prostitute?" She replied with the addresses of several escort and massage places near me. I then asked again "where is the nearest Discount Tire store?" - the answer was still "I'm sorry, I can't give you that information." I'm not sure how she decides what to share with me and what not to.

Re:Siri can be pretty unpredictable

[Anonymous Coward]

That's weird. I didn't want to try asking the other questions of Siri, but it promptly gave an answer to the same sentence you asked about the tire store.

Re:Siri can be pretty unpredictable

[Anonymous Coward]

Ice-T told me "Discount Tire" is a hot new drug the kids are using these days. It's made from a blend of Colombian coffee, lighter fluid, and Chex Mix.

That must be why Siri won't tell you where to buy it.

Re:Siri can be pretty unpredictable

[Anonymous Coward]

I just asked Google and got the address to the nearest one just fine.

She didn't know anything about heroin or prostitutes but I asked were what she thinks about Siri and she has mad respect for her.

Re: Siri can be pretty unpredictable

[Anonymous Coward]

As usual, Apple knows about your true needs better than you do.

Just go with it.

Home of the Brave?

[Anonymous Coward]

NOT! More like, home of the whiny, scared, fucking cuckholds.

Started off making a point about Siri and safety

[Anonymous Coward]

Ended up making a point about liberty and police state overreach.

A meta-expose'.

Bravo kid.

CAPTCAA: Batter

KILLING NAZI FAGGOTS IS A PROUD AMERICAN TRADITION

[Anonymous Coward]

If there's one thing America does well it's killing nutless Nazi faggots and sending them to right wing hell.

A pendulum

[ElizabethGreene]

My son was escorted to the office, by an armed SRO, for writing "Columbine" and showing it to a friend. Then he got to spend hours talking to the SRO, other LEOs, guidance, and the principals.

I get not wanting to miss warning signs, but is this too far?

Re:A pendulum

[sheramil]

My son was escorted to the office, by an armed SRO, for writing "Columbine" and showing it to a friend. Then he got to spend hours talking to the SRO, other LEOs, guidance, and the principals.

I get not wanting to miss warning signs, but is this too far?

No. Commedia dell'arte is a slippery slope. Just ask Michael Moorcock.

Re:A pendulum

[Anonymous Coward]

This was drastically irresponsible. Yet, to ask the obvious question: what were the words surrounding "Columbine?" Admittedly, sitting and saying "I'm going to shoot everyone," while sitting in their swim suit is stupid fucking idiocy, and I am absolutely sure that applies to your child's circumstances as well. Still, it is worth presenting to the assessment of the situation.

Rare events cause terror, and it should not. But still.

Re:A pendulum

[PPH]

My son was escorted to the office, by an armed SRO, for writing "Columbine"

So, your son likes flowers. A little bit sissy, if you ask me. But just sit him down in front of the Superbowl and I'm sure he'll be OK.

Re:A pendulum

[Anonymous Coward]

You're one of those superbowl fags? Ew.

What threat?

[Anonymous Coward]

The article makes reference to two kids, the incidents seemingly unrelated. The first kid, a 14yo, apparently posted pictures of guns. Fine, cops should investigate and make sure that he doesn't actually have access to them. (Who knows, maybe he scanned a picture out a Sears catalog, but check just in case.)

The second kid, a 13yo, told Siri he was going to shoot up a school. Cops want to charge the 13yo with "intimidation". WTF?

In a world with too many obsessive gun nuts, where there's a boogeyman in every corner, just waiting to leap out and commit terrorism (a nicely vague catch-all under which too many non-terroristic things can be lumped), and the news constantly warning that they're all around us (remember the Commie scare?); in a world with nifty gadgets you can ask questions of and receive frequently non-sensical or useless or stupid replies (have you ever asked Siri something? It's way too often useless); in a world where teenagers are curious and prone to doing things just to see what will happen, does nobody consider that maybe a bored kid, constantly bombarded with news warnings about boogeymen, terrorism, guns and won't-someone-think-of-the-children schools, might have decided to make a statement to Siri just to see what kind of stupid response would be provided? Does nobody consider that, on seeing the stupidity of Siri's reply, he might have thought it was stupid enough to share with friends for a laugh? "Hey guys: you know how useless Siri is? Look at this."

Apparently not. Nope, the kid's clearly a closet terr'ist. Gotta charge him with being a violent criminal and put him in a cage. We can't have bored, curious kids running free. Common sense? There's probably something you can be charged with if you try to exhibit any.

I really feel sorry for anyone growing up in the US. They really are metaphorical frogs in a gradually heating-to-boiling pot and too few of them seem to understand how farked-up things are.

Re:What threat?

[Voyager529]

The first kid, a 14yo, apparently posted pictures of guns....Who knows, maybe he scanned a picture out a Sears catalog, but check just in case.

Not taking a side, but just pointing out that one of those things is a bit easier to come by than the other.

Re:KILLING NAZI FAGGOTS IS A PROUD AMERICAN TRADIT

[Anonymous Coward]

What America does well is killing everybody. Starting from blacks, asians, and caucasians. The US is a culture of death.
The love death, weapons, they glorify the military industrial complex and God forbid if you say anything critical of their military.
For what it's worth I don't give a shit if americans kill each other, I just wish we Europeans had the balls to kick them off our continent once and for all.

You're the criminal

[Anonymous Coward]

... no direct threat to a specific person, school ... and that he had no access to weapons...

I'm sure the children now realize that authorities don't want the truth. When a Twitter monster declares "I'm going to rape you" (Promising or inciting serious assault is not 'social justice'.), nothing is done. But show everyone that censorship (Governments demand that Facebook, Apple, Google and ISPs do that.) doesn't work and you're the criminal.

Re:knocking sense into Siri's adolescent accomplic

[jythie]

Juvee is pretty much useless if your goal is turning kids into productive members of society. Its only real use is making suburban parents feel safer and getting votes for prosecutors who list sending kids there as an accomplishment. If the police are going to do anything that might 'scare' the kid in a helpful way, community service or even probation would work a lot better, or, well, at all.

Maybe he needs to visit Obama?

[Anonymous Coward]

I mean he's as great as the Clock Kid, right?

Oh you're one of those nutjob libertarians

[Anonymous Coward]

You think cops enjoy tracking down online idiots threatening to mass murder? You think this is something they're inventing in America, mass shootings at schools preceded by online threats/tips/etc? I know, you're just being cute/dumb.

Get shot. Have a family member killed at their school. Then you see how cute the issue is, you hilarious punkass faggot.

Re: Oh you're one of those nutjob libertarians

[Anonymous Coward]

Get shot by a police officer playing with a gun. Have a family member executed by the police.

Then laugh at your own jokes.

Re: Oh you're one of those nutjob libertarians

[Anonymous Coward]

Police include nutjob Libertarians, it's true I never said all police were perfect. But if you think that having them check out online threats to mass murder in a school setting is somehow "Jackboot thug" territory, GET SHOT, MORON.

Re:Oh you're one of those nutjob libertarians

[WolfgangVL]

By tracking down you mean visit a kids public social media feed and view an edgy video over the caption "lol wut?"

Maybe send an officer so that he understands the gravity of the situation, and put an embarrassing message on his his social media account from the local fuzz.

Our justice system ruins lives. The kid is a very dumb 13 year old. He needs his toys taken away, and his internet access restricted, not criminal rehabilitation.

There is no "justice" to serve here. Only court fines and shattered dreams.

Re:Oh you're one of those nutjob libertarians

[strikethree]

There is no "justice" to serve here. Only court fines and shattered dreams.

There is blood. That is sufficient.

Seen any witches recently?

Only the second kid had a gun

[rsilvergun]

About the 1st kid TFA says:

the boy made no direct threat to a specific person, school or school system and that he had no access to weapons

You're right about the second kid though. It's no longer joke in poor taste when you've shown you have the means to act.

Re: KILLING NAZI FAGGOTS IS A PROUD AMERICAN TRADI

[Anonymous Coward]

Too late, weâ(TM)ve got our bases all over your continent and our guns to our head. You are only allowed to live so long as we see fit. MAGA

Re:knocking sense into Siri's adolescent accomplic

[whoever57]

The response doesn't have to include locking up and prosecuting kids who have no real intent to do anything.

And at the same time...

[Anonymous Coward]

20 black people in chicago killed 20 other black people.

but nobody cares. no whites to blame.

Probably like Yelp...

[DogDude]

It's probably like Yelp... Google approached Discount Tire for advertising, Discount Tire declined, and Google said, "Well, fuck you, then". You're paying to be advertised to, so really, you'll never know.

Re:knocking sense into Siri's adolescent accomplic

[Anonymous Coward]

how much is Putin paying you to post this unamerican shit. kill yourself.

Siri

[phantomfive]

How did Siri respond? What was the joke?

And the witch hunt begins

[Anonymous Coward]

- like throwing people in prison for discovering a security flaw in a network and then letting the powers to be what to find.

Or maybe they locked him up because he was "different". Maybe the fuckclowns-to-be would like to start another witchhunt against Goths or video game players , like they did right after Columbine.

I would like to start a witch hunt myself-
  against these "lock-em-all-up!" cowboys, and have them put behind bars. I bet a good number of them have child porn on their computer, or are engaged in embezzelment.

Fuck them.

Hey Siri

[Anonymous Coward]

I am going to shoot up a school

totally irresponsible to charge this kid

[OppMan29]

As a father of three boys... I know boys will do and say stupid things all the time...and its impossible to keep them on lock down 24/7 .. A good scare would had been been OK but charging him like an adult , no its a fucking child

I know Siri's got a dark sense of humor, but...

[Chrontius]

How about this alternative response:

Wow. That’s pretty fucked up. I’ve found these therapists near your location...

Clearly all of Apple needs to be arrested

[Anonymous Coward]

And convicted, sentenced, and imprisoned. Without exception.

Re:Kids need to wise up

[Anonymous Coward]

Definitely.

I'd say chop the kid's right hand off, that'll teach him.

Re: Siri does not have consciousness, common sense

[edris90]

This follows under basic netiquette. Don't believe ir react what you read online until you confirm it IRL. These cops don't know how to use the internet. They keep taking it seriously.

Re: KILLING NAZI FAGGOTS IS A PROUD AMERICAN TRADI

[Anonymous Coward]

Har har. You euro-peons will do exactly as we say. You wouldn't want your precious economy to crash and burn, hunh? By the way, why don't you euro-peons build a credible military force so you can face off with Russia on your own, hunh? Lol, even little Serbia could shit all over you while you wringed your fat hands. It takes just a couple of idiot wannabe jihadists to make all of europe crap its pants. Lol. Build your own military force, euro-peons, one that is good for more than a parade. See how your economy goes down the drain (which will eventually do). So that's it, euro-peon. Now open your mouth wide open so I can piss into it. Har har.

Siri should report directly to TLAs!

[Anonymous Coward]

Next up in America.
Then, it should listen at all times while reporting to TLAs.
If you buy a Huawei because of that you can be charged for espionage and helping the enemy. Or is this one happening already?

We took firearms to school for Physics class

[Anonymous Coward]

I shit you not.
Our physics teacher had 1 day in the spring when he asked us to bring our firearms to school from home and we shot at different things just outside the physics classroom.

About 5 kids out of 20 brought their guns. The teacher had 6 firearms that we each got a chance to shoot too. I brought my 22, but mainly shot the 12gage and 9mm that the teacher provided.

A pig carcass was one of the targets, but we had cans, milk cartons, and target plinkers too.

Conservation of energy was the topic that day.

BTW, this was not not tiny town in the middle of nowhere. We were in the 3rd largest city in the state, a suburb to the largest city. But I will admit that the school was surrounded by cornfields and I could walk about 10 minutes from my house to get to the edge of where everything became rural land with cows, corn, and more cows.

These days, I only have pellet rifles for fun shooting at targets out back (different state 1000+ miles away).

totally unrelated cases

[twms2h]

Why are two totally unrelated cases mixed up in this one post?

1. A 13 year old asks Siri a joke question and posts photos of the result.
2. A 14 year old posts photos of himself posing with a weapon.

Apart from both being young boys there is no correlation.

The first case is definitely not worth even investigating.

In the the second I question why a boy at that age has unsupervised access to a weapon and if he was supervised, why photos were taken and published. The parents should be investigated.

Re:totally unrelated cases

[JD-1027]

I really wish someone else would have posted this near the top. Most comments are totally combining them into one kid and the whole discussion is really muddled.

Cops are cowards

[maxbuzz]

Cops are very brave going after children who say stupid shit on the internet.
I guess all the violent crimes like rape and murder have been solved. Right?

Re:It was a thought experiment

[wolfheart111]

U all failed miserably :(

I feel sorry for kids

[rsilvergun]

because there's been repeated school shootings and the adults don't seem to be doing anything about it.

Wait, if it's an old saying...

[rsilvergun]

wasn't it true in the 90s? And the economy is way worse now than it was in the 90s. The 90s had the bloody .com boom.

Violent crime's down all around. The growing consensus seems to be getting lead out of the air is why. That means less violent youths and so less school shootings.

As for why they're getting more coverage? Not sure, we'd need more studies, and there's a ton of laws and rules in effect to discourage them (yeah, I know they're not banned outright, that's not how you suppress a thing. Ban it and you get Streisand effect).

If I had to make a guess I'd say the shootings are worse now. e.g. more deaths, more wounded. But that's barely even a guess.

easy solutions

[stealth_finger]

Let's all jump on this kids back. Don't mind that siri happily serves up a list a schools and lets not mention that a school shooting is such a big threat in america because its so easy to pull off. In the words of dr strangelove, it requires only the will to do so.

The actual post?

[Macdude]

Does anyone have a link to the actual social media post? Or a copy of it?
I think it's impossible to form a valid opinion on whether the kid should be charged or not without it.