Incarcerated For Writing Science Fiction

A Dorchester County, Maryland, teacher was taken in for an "emergency medical evaluation," suspended from his job, and barred from setting foot on another public school. Authorities searched his school, Mace's Lane Middle School in Cambridge, for weapons. As classes resumed, parents worried that their children were in danger, so police decided to remain on the premises to watch over them. What happened? The teacher, Patrick McLaw, published a fiction novel. Under a pen name. About a made-up school shooting. Set in the year 2902. The 23-year-old language arts teacher is the author of two self-published science fiction e-books set 900 years in the future, written under a pen name. The novels apparently depict the aftermath of a terroristic attack on a school in a futuristic society.

www.dailykos.com... rcerated-For-Writing-Science-Fiction

Sometimes my links don't work so here is the backup link: hxxp://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/30/1326004/-Incarcerated-For-Writing-Science-Fiction

Ok folks. I know this is on Daily Koz, but I did a google search and found quite a lot of people reported about this miscarriage of justifce. Quick Synopsis: The author, a Black Indie Writer who happens to be a teacher at a local school in Dorchester County, Maryland, wrote 2 Fan Fiction Naruto science fiction works about the aftermath of a terrorist attack at a school in the future. Some say 900 years, some say 2090. The year span has been disputed but it is in the Naruto future. The author, who was featured in USA Today for helping a student self-publish her book on Amazon, as well as have a number of teaching awards, was arrested, forced into psych eval, and suspended from his job while the school was put on bomb lock down because of the content of the book.

A whole bunch of constitutional rights are violated sticky in this one. Furthermore, its Naruto Fan Fiction. Plus this is a guy, who now works for an institution where they are forcing the teachers and students to do Drills to prepare for school shootings and such, and having it engrained in their minds daily it could happen to them! So, I'm thinking right, the guy hasn't focused on anything as a manual, he just discusses a situation and how people deal with it in a more high tech Naruto world in the future.

They are acting as if he wrote The Turner Diaries, which the author got a huge huge pass for.

Any thoughts?

a reply to: ArchPlayer

Yes:

They overreacted.

This goes beyond over reacting. I live in Maryland, people don't understand how every case either use precedents or makes it.

This case made a complete mess of this mans life! How is he supposed to support children's creativity now?!

originally posted by: Iamthatbish
This goes beyond over reacting. I live in Maryland, people don't understand how ever case either use precedents or makes it.

This case made a complete mess of this mans life! How is he supposed to support children's creativity now?!

How's he ever supposed to be able to find a decent teaching job ever again?

The consciousness of our society has been compromised. Society here has become infiltrated by the insane at high levels and these insane people think they are right. The numbers are growing.

a reply to: ArchPlayer

23-year-old language arts teacher

23 and he has a bunch of teaching awards? I think if my child was in the school and I read the teachers book I would worry. How to deal with such things is becoming more difficult, what if you do nothing and the boy is a nut good teacher or not?

One of the books, “The Insurrectionist,” depicts “the largest school massacre” in history,

I imagine he will be able to sue for quite a lot in the end. Clearly he has a lot of support.

I think we all need to stop thinking the old system of rights exists, it does not exist anymore and I doubt it is coming back.

Hey i write Naruto fanfiction! This story is suddenly relevant.

I don't know you guys. Naruto fanfiction can get pretty weird. Depends on what he wrote, he might seriously be a threat.

Suppose there was no reaction and he shot up a schools next year,,,,
Everybody would be screaming that someone missed the warning signs.
The fort hood shooter gave warning signs and nothing was done.
This is definitely an over reaction, but he should have been checked out at least.

originally posted by: ArchPlayer

originally posted by: Iamthatbish
This goes beyond over reacting. I live in Maryland, people don't understand how ever case either use precedents or makes it.

This case made a complete mess of this mans life! How is he supposed to support children's creativity now?!

How's he ever supposed to be able to find a decent teaching job ever again?

He won't have to....

He should be lawyering up by now getting ready to sue the **** out of the school system, the county and anyone else that besmirched his reputation as an educator.

Well. I guess they'd better arrest every science fiction, horror, and thriller author.

Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Clive Barker- get out while you can! Oh wait- don't terrible things happen at a school in...uhm....Harry Potter? ARREST JK ROWLING NOW!

originally posted by: Char-Lee
a reply to: ArchPlayer

23-year-old language arts teacher

23 and he has a bunch of teaching awards? I think if my child was in the school and I read the teachers book I would worry. How to deal with such things is becoming more difficult, what if you do nothing and the boy is a nut good teacher or not?

What is wrong with being young and getting teacher awards? I graduated from college at 18...had I went his route I would have had awards by then too. I think Rickymouse's comment says it best:

originally posted by: rickymouse
The consciousness of our society has been compromised. Society here has become infiltrated by the insane at high levels and these insane people think they are right. The numbers are growing.

Why does he have to be a nut to write about current events in the future? The book wasn't about the terrorists shooting up the place, it was about how the society dealt with it AFTER. This is no Turner Diaries by any means. You and the administrators think, "What if this guy actually DOES something? We would be held liable for not picking up on the warning signs."

That's why children get suspended for pointing fingers like guns, eating biscuits into guns, why they get suspended for giving a friend an aspirin, or doing science experiments that may make a boom sound, and may more instances of paranoia, delusions, and insanity that any rational thinking person shrugs their shoulders at.

And its a Naruto fan fiction.

But we live in a world run by 24 hour news cycles and scare headlines.

The title is misleading. The teacher wasn't incarcerated. He was placed on administrative leave and banned from entering school grounds.

Here is the actual news article:
Cambridge Mace's Lane Middle School Teacher on Administrative Leave

Here's the last line of the article:

McLaw has not been arrested or charged with any crime at this time, according to the Wicomico County State's Attorney's Office.

Though I agree this is blatant overreaction by school officials.

Ha, just found the Naruto Fanfiction. It's horrible. Lock him up and throw away the key.

originally posted by: Hushabye
Well. I guess they'd better arrest every science fiction, horror, and thriller author.

Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Clive Barker- get out while you can! Oh wait- don't terrible things happen at a school in...uhm....Harry Potter? ARREST JK ROWLING NOW!

This.

Those of you posting that you'd be worried that because someone wrote a work of fiction must therefore be someone that is going to act out that fiction need to stop and take a breath.

Psychology does not work that way. "Someone wrote a fictional book in which a lot of people got killed, therefore the author of that book must be a violent psychopath!"

A deranged serial killer could sit down and write a children's book full of pony's, butterflies and rainbows.

Simply because you can imagine something and have the ability to put what you imagined down on paper in words does not automatically indicate what your psychological make up is. That is what a psych eval is suppose to do.

Worried about your kids in school? Then have a law that requires teachers to take a psych eval BEFORE they are hired.

So what is next? If a person likes to read fictional novels about murders then they themselves must also want to go out and kill people?

Again: overreaction by those who do not understand psychology or how the human mind works.

a reply to: Hoosierdaddy71

STOP BEING SCARED of things that haven't happened. Maybe in the future something could happen is not a reason to completely bulldoze someone's life.

He wrote crappy Naruto Fanfics, what more do you people need??

originally posted by: olaru12

originally posted by: ArchPlayer

originally posted by: Iamthatbish
This goes beyond over reacting. I live in Maryland, people don't understand how ever case either use precedents or makes it.

This case made a complete mess of this mans life! How is he supposed to support children's creativity now?!

How's he ever supposed to be able to find a decent teaching job ever again?

He won't have to....

He should be lawyering up by now getting ready to sue the **** out of the school system, the county and anyone else that besmirched his reputation as an educator.

Which would hurt the children (and taxpayers) since when you successfully sue a school it comes out of their budget allotment (tax money) which is usually spent on things like providing a good education to the children. It's not like anyone will lose their jobs over this or have their personal finances affected.

My kids read naratu, personally I'm not a fan. Whoever did this to him requires the phsycological evaluation. I hope this situation brings his wring so much attention he doesn't need his teaching job.

What I find worst is even when people are right the system goes easier on them if they have remorse. I am so upset for this man. He clearly has a passion for writing.

originally posted by: Hoosierdaddy71
Suppose there was no reaction and he shot up a schools next year,,,,
Everybody would be screaming that someone missed the warning signs.
The fort hood shooter gave warning signs and nothing was done.
This is definitely an over reaction, but he should have been checked out at least.

Checked out? It's fan fiction. That gives no one the right to raid his house and convict him in the court of public scrutiny. From Bomb Drills in the 1950s now to the indoctrination of the thought your crazy classmate might come in and shoot you all, why buy into the paranoid I need security mindset?

Look at it for what it is, a huge case against self-publishing and a perfect example to have a governing board OVER IT, but hardly a terrorist bomb-building manual. See TURNER DIARIES for that type of instructional material. Compare to The Turner Diaries a novel depicting a violent right wing revolution & race war. Including two pages about bombing the Hoover Building (FBI HQ) that were found in the car of Timothy McVeigh, he who bombed the Oklahoma City Federal Building. If Pierce gets a pass for The Turner Diaries, McLaw gets a pass for dystopian fiction that, as far as we have heard thus far, does not even remotely qualify as incitement to violence.

RACE CARD THEORY: I'm willing to bet if this dude was white, like the author of the Turner Diaries, this wouldn't have been news. He'd be in class this morning teaching. Instead we have paranoid police, teachers, and ATSers judging him like the thought police.

I didn't see Stephen King being thrown into custody over publishing RAGE, which he even admits would have wound him in custody.