Autistic Boy Charged With Making Terrorist Threats Over Stick-Figure Sketch

Originally posted by Bobbox1980
I can only imagine if I was in high school now what the school would have done with me after I made a chainsaw wielding maniac out of clay in art class with the severed leg of my principal and head of my bus driver on the ground in the little clay piece....

The U.S. has lost its marbles, not this kid.

Sounds an interesting sculpture.

I had Asperger's, so, as a teen, I still had limited understanding of what was socially acceptable. In art, I made clay figurines of various teachers, nude.
- I'd been to the art gallery, and knew art was often nude.

This was late 60's, and we had a hippie art teacher who happily exhibited them all in a glass cabinet on Open Day. Even the ones I'd sculptured in embracing pairs drew no comments as far as I knew.




Back to stupid comments about pictures -
my daughter, at kindergarten, drew a picture that looked like a huge spider when asked to draw mummy, and I had the teacher and child-welfare workers at my door that night.

I had no idea why she'd draw that, but I knew I had a good relationship with her and could trust her to not be being nasty, so I invited them all in to interview her.

She explained that her mummy was the best cuddler in the world so she drew me big and cuddly and gave me lots of arms so I could cuddle all her friends who didn't get cuddled at home.

reply to post by Mountainmeg


Thank you for the input!!! As I said I have dealt with autistic children, but only on the job and that doesn't come close to understanding what's what.

Originally posted by rcwj1975
Something doesn't make sense. I heard about this, since its a few minutes from me and what is odd is MOM is claiming he has the capacity of a third grader, yet he is in a standard 8th grade class???? How is that, how is he able to mentally complete his work and assignments if he truly is that handicapped, yet not understand his drawing?

It's called integration.
Sometimes a handicapped child is given help to stay in the class appropriate to their age group. This was done for a handicapped son of mine.

By the way, it's cheaper for the government than paying for tuition in special schools. It also helps to overcome prejudice against handicapped people.

Originally posted by Kailassa

By the way, it's cheaper for the government than paying for tuition in special schools. It also helps to overcome prejudice against handicapped people.

I love this part....I think its awesome when kids or anyone who may "appear" different, is treated (as best as can be) like the rest of us. I have a friend who is confined to a wheelchair and he told me long ago to NEVER open the doors for him, he wanted to do it...and now when people see me NOT open it for him I am sure they have their opinions...but all I care about is Mark's opinion!

I just hope the charges are dropped by the DA and this kid gets what a kid should get...talked too by mom and the principle...and then move on!

Originally posted by rcwj1975

Originally posted by Kailassa
By the way, it's cheaper for the government than paying for tuition in special schools. It also helps to overcome prejudice against handicapped people.

I love this part....I think its awesome when kids or anyone who may "appear" different, is treated (as best as can be) like the rest of us. I have a friend who is confined to a wheelchair and he told me long ago to NEVER open the doors for him, he wanted to do it...and now when people see me NOT open it for him I am sure they have their opinions...but all I care about is Mark's opinion!

I've been judged harshly for pushing my handicapped kids to get out and do things for themselves. But I've also been blamed for their handicaps (Kleinfelter's and Asperger's,) for being overprotective. One can't win so why worry.

I just hope the charges are dropped by the DA and this kid gets what a kid should get...talked too by mom and the principle...and then move on!

Yes, I don't understand the people saying he should be punished.

First, it should be looked into, to see if the teacher has behaved badly enough to inspire this. (My handicapped sons were given a very hard time by one prejudiced teacher.)

Second, the kid needs to have it kindly explained that a drawing like this can frighten people.

Why would this be terrorism as opposed to normal run-of-the-mill violence? It seems that all crimes that used to be classic assault, threats, etc. are now being classified as "terror". This seems like a way to 'crack down' on people even more for pseudo-crimes (ie. drawing a freaking picture). Crimes should be based on actions that happen in real life, with an actual victim.

Originally posted by rcwj1975

He is also being charged with terroristic threats, NOT terrorist threats....HUGE difference.

BS. "terroristic' equates to 'terrorist-like'. The equation is there, the connection is made. Not a frogs-hair worth of difference between the two.

Thanks to the neocon and leftist (ain't it NICE when they can play together well?) 'Patriot Act', the 'terroristic threats' label has been WAY overused, and can be applied to damn near anything. Apparently now it HAS been applied to damn near everything.

Terroristic threat - it's the new mini-skirt this season. Claims to cover everything, but still leaves yer ass hangin' out.

BOHICA, America. BOHICA.

Edit to add: I think I'm gonna get a government job, so I can be immune to making 'terroristic threats' when I just speak my mind.

[edit on 2010/5/14 by nenothtu]

reply to post by Mudman21


I remember drawing a cartoon with exposed boobs in class, with a writing on top which said:

[teacher's name] has saggy boobs.

I was a kid, and was drawing what ever came in to my mind. Although some could argue I wanted to rape my teacher, similarly someone could say this guy is a terrorist.

Fear is our worst enemy, and all that fear mongering has got to normal every day Americans lol.

Who ever gave this picture to the authorities should be made an example of. Someone outside the law should just go find him and give him a good beating.

What a dickhead, no other words to describe that person.

Originally posted by Dagar
This is just absurd... it really is!

By these standards half my class in school (albeit it was 35 years ago) would have been arrested and classified as 'terrorists' or criminals.

A flipping DOODLE for heaven's sake... a drawing, made by a kid who is in the process of growing up.

The world really IS going mad

I got bad news for ya - if you were in the US, it looks like around half or slightly over of your classmates from 35 years ago WOULD be getting arrested and charged as terrorists. Just wait until the SPLC, ADL, and DHS get done with us, and see who's still standing!

reply to post by nenothtu


OCGA and the USC are two different things and terroristic threats ARE different then terrorist threats/activities as described in the USC. Plus terroristic threats in GA are NOT the same as other states so its NOT a "skirt all" law...considering its been around longer then you and I combined. Your letting your dislike for everything being labled "TERRORIST" activities confuse it with terroristic threats. I actually agree with you when it comes to the over use of TERRORIST labels.

Originally posted by rcwj1975
reply to post by nenothtu

 

OCGA and the USC are two different things and terroristic threats ARE different then terrorist threats/activities as described in the USC. Plus terroristic threats in GA are NOT the same as other states so its NOT a "skirt all" law...considering its been around longer then you and I combined. Your letting your dislike for everything being labled "TERRORIST" activities confuse it with terroristic threats. I actually agree with you when it comes to the over use of TERRORIST labels.

Because of my career path, I'm aware of the differences of the LEGAL definitions of 'terroristic threats' and 'terrorism', but that just doesn't translate well in the mind of the average layman. The connecting lines are drawn in the minds of the general public, and I'm of the opinion that it was designed to do just that, by applying the term 'terroristic' to actions that are otherwise covered under the criminal code with more specific language.

There's no doubt in my mind that it was INTENDED for people to draw just that exact association.

Now to be honest, I'm not at all familiar with the criminal statues of Georgia, never having lived or worked there, but it APPEARS to me from the outside that what they've done here has been to jump on the bandwagon.

As they say, appearances can be deceiving.

One legal definition posted in this thread says it's only a misdemeanor, and the article claims it to be a felony. Huge difference there, which leads me to wonder how exactly this child was charged, state vs. federal, and the precise statutes involved.

Also, the word 'tribunal' was bandied about. It could just be some sort of in-school disciplinary thing, but lately, that word has taken on a slightly modified meaning in connection with the word 'terroristic' that brings images of Guantanamo Bay to mind.

Co-incidence, or pre-mediated verbal engineering?

reply to post by nenothtu


To settle the OCGA issue, terroristic threats is a Felony in GA.

And again I agree with you that the article DOES misrepresent itself in the title by labeling it TERRORIST threats, and NOT the actual violation of terroristic threats. I also agree that it WAS done this way to confuse or bring "fear" to those who do not know what the actual laws in the states are compared to a USC federal violation. Also another negative to this is here in GA the juvenile procedures are a complete mess and DJJ (department of juvenile justice) is like 50/50....some of them are great and help make the situation better for all parties involved, while the other half don't deserve to be working under the law enforcement umbrella, let alone working with kids.

[edit on 5/14/2010 by rcwj1975]

reply to post by Mudman21


I swear on EVERYTHING I hold dear if this Boy is convicted I will park my Tractor FLIPPIN Trailer on the steps of the GA court house that allows it, with the most offensive, violent sounding thing I can think of at the time painted on my Trailer, just so someone can have the chance to save the poor damned child from our ASININE Justice system.

I am sure i did alot worse than that kid and all along i never knew i was a felon or a terrorist. 0.o
Just shows you give an inch and they take a mile.
I just have 2 words.....Home Schooling!
Oh and on a side note OP yer avatar is disturbing, I love it.

For a teacher to go to such extremes over a child's drawing makes me suspect he may have had good reason to have hostile thoughts towards her. What is happening now? He's in the middle of a media storm and is facing criminal charges.. thats not a nice thing for a kid to go through.. especially an autistic one. This would be hell for him. Most normal teachers, if they were that concerned over a kid's drawing would just call for a parents and find out what motivated it.. yet she chose to feed him to the wolves.

[edit on 14-5-2010 by riley]

So what is this Tribunal that he is facing and can a school charge a person with a felony....

Just another reason why America has lost its way in the world.

Feel sorry for Americans today.

you have nothing to fear but fear itself.

Originally posted by BenIndaSun
Why would this be terrorism as opposed to normal run-of-the-mill violence? It seems that all crimes that used to be classic assault, threats, etc. are now being classified as "terror". This seems like a way to 'crack down' on people even more for pseudo-crimes (ie. drawing a freaking picture). Crimes should be based on actions that happen in real life, with an actual victim.

The first person in Australia to be charged with terrorism under the new terrorism laws instituted here after 9/11 was a stupid young teenager who thought it would be funny to take a cake laced with marijuana to school to share out.

Nobody was affected until she said what was in it, then the teacher panicked loudly and took everyone to hospital and the kids starting thinking they were dying from it.

Obviously our governments want to get the numbers up so they can say that so many people have been charged under these new laws, therefore we need to be even more afraid and lose even more rights.

Many have no clue how much schools are being used by the criminal government to establish foolish cases like this. It's net worth is causing the public to accept total control of every aspect of their lives by BigGov.

An example is my neighbor lady. She has often allowed kids from the neighborhood to wait on the bus during cold Indiana mornings inside her front door to avoid frostbite. She was informed by the school she could not do this kind deed unless she was a licensed day care facility.

Welcone to the New World Order, folks!

The people that run this asylum (public education) are retards. Never mind my retarded 23 yo daughter....If she had the ability to draw something like this I would be in total appreciation of her abilities.

These people need to have more compassion for the ability of mentally disabled kids. TPTB need to smoke a joint or two before they go off the deep end to enforce, the un-enforceable.
Total BS!