Teacher Fired After Making Conspiratorial Sandy Hook Comments Online

Here is an example, a lawyer:

www.tampabay.com...

If you work for a school district and you want to theorycraft about Sandy Hook online, expect to get fired. It's not right, just or moral but you have to see it coming.

a reply to: NorEaster

This was definitely enough for the school superintendent to look into the guy and get some kind of opinion from someone trained to make an assessment.

Would that not depend on the facts? I have no idea what he actually said and it was a private conversation.

Oh my, I'd hate to have my or any other member's ATS history/comments be investigated and judged as unfit simply because we have some thoughts now and then. I mean, most of the time pretty much all ATS members are just working through ideas, tossing the ball back and forth EVEN IF the subject matter may be deemed "crazy".
Unless he was throwing out valid threats--which I don't believe this link proves. The stuff he was chatting about is the very same stuff that gets hashed out on this site all the time!

lol, for some reason I'm always surprised to hear that "someone else" (aka someone outside the typical conspiracy bubbles) also suspects something is off, staged, poisoned, forced, etc.

a reply to: KingIcarus
$3k a year is a modest income, but when you factor in the part about having all summer off, winter break, spring break, and all the in service days where no real work is done they are paid a fair amount. As for what the teacher said in a "private" chat room, anyone that believes we have privacy while online has a lot to learn.

a reply to: NthOther

I don't believe Sandy Hook is a conspiracy, BUT:

"Mr. Heller expressed in an internet communication that he believed the U.S. government programmed the Newtown school shooter, which indicates that he might feel compelled to commit a similar act."

From: www. usatoday.com...

SO if someone feels the US government might have conspired to kill people in mass shootings for some hidden reason, they're a potential threat to the nations national security? I had to stop reading for a moment. For example, if I think some parts of the US government may be implicated in the death of JFK, does that mean I somehow am ALSO a threat to national security?

If I'm a threat to national security then we're screwed because I can barely hurt a bug. If I'm THAT dangerous, we're pathetic.

EDIT: Did I read that wrong? This reminds me of the USSR. The USSR basically categorized dissenters as mentally ill and/or incompetent. But I must have read that wrong. They can't be implying conspiracy theorists are threats. Maybe whoever said that was associating the conspiracy talk with other things, like his purchasing of weapons and his saying he wanted to kill people. THAT I can understand, but just based purely on his conspiracy beliefs, I don't believe you could assert he's a threat.

This is hte reference I made to the USSR:
en.wikipedia.org - Sluggish schizophrenia...

Psychiatric diagnoses such as the diagnosis of sluggish schizophrenia in political dissidents in the USSR were used for political purposes;[14] the diagnosis of sluggish schizophrenia was most frequently used for Soviet dissidents.[15] Sluggish schizophrenia as one of new diagnostic categories was created to facilitate the stifling of dissidents and was a root of self-deception among psychiatrists to placate their consciences when the doctors acted as a tool of oppression in the name of a political system.[16] American psychiatrist Peter Breggin provides detail by pointing out that the term “sluggish schizophrenia” was created to justify involuntary treatment of political dissidents with drugs normally used for psychiatric patients.
............
A carefully crafted description of sluggish schizophrenia established that psychotic symptoms were non-essential for the diagnosis, but symptoms of psychopathy, hypochondria, depersonalization or anxiety were central to it.[18] Symptoms considered part of the "negative axis" included pessimism, poor social adaptation and conflict with authorities, and were themselves sufficient for a formal diagnosis of "sluggish schizophrenia with few symptoms".[18] According to Snezhnevsky, patients with sluggish schizophrenia could present as seemingly sane but manifest minimal (and clinically relevant) personality changes which could remain unnoticed by the untrained eye.[18] Patients with non-psychotic mental disorders (or who were not mentally ill) could be diagnosed with sluggish schizophrenia.[18] Along with paranoia, sluggish schizophrenia was the diagnosis most frequently used for the psychiatric incarceration of dissenters.

originally posted by: borracho
a reply to: KingIcarus
$3k a year is a modest income, but when you factor in the part about having all summer off, winter break, spring break, and all the in service days where no real work is done they are paid a fair amount. As for what the teacher said in a "private" chat room, anyone that believes we have privacy while online has a lot to learn.

You seem to be forgetting the continuing education most teachers have to continuously get, the fact that after school is over they're bringing work home with them grading tests, going over papers etc.
, the fact that on vacations they still often show up at school for workshops, that due to dwindling supply budgets teachers often pay for classroom supplies out of their own pocket. I could go on and on but teaching isn't the racket most people seem to think. My father taught elementary school for over 30 years and always worked extra jobs on the side. Unless you're in higher education you really aren't getting all the sweet benefits you seem to think teachers receive.

a reply to: VoidHawk

I've never met a socialized aka "normal" kid that was home schooled. From my personal experience with the ones I've run across they are usually very insecure and socially awkward.

Can you imagine a world in where everyone was home schooled? We as a society would be taking a major step backward, as there would be no established "standard" for what information was taught.

I don't want to pay for someone to teach their child that dinosaurs and man hung out together, and that the Earth is only 6,000 years old.

a reply to: peter vlar
I am taking those facts into consideration. Teaching is not the only profession that requires continuing education. Most of the "workshops" Are mostly teachers sitting around gossiping. Considering their work day is 6.5 hours on average, the extra time they spend on paperwork may bring it up to 8hrs, meanwhile many other workers are putting in 10 hour days 5-7 days a week for 52 weeks to achieve the same pay as teachers. They also need continuing education if they are licensed such as those in some trades. Tools that are used in trades are expensive. That is all out of pocket. Teachers don't seem to appreciate how good they actually do have it.

originally posted by: borracho
a reply to: peter vlar
I am taking those facts into consideration. Teaching is not the only profession that requires continuing education. Most of the "workshops" Are mostly teachers sitting around gossiping. Considering their work day is 6.5 hours on average, the extra time they spend on paperwork may bring it up to 8hrs, meanwhile many other workers are putting in 10 hour days 5-7 days a week for 52 weeks to achieve the same pay as teachers. They also need continuing education if they are licensed such as those in some trades. Tools that are used in trades are expensive. That is all out of pocket. Teachers don't seem to appreciate how good they actually do have it.

Where are you getting your figures for teachers working 6.5 hours per day? We're my kids go to school, school days is just over 7 hours and teachers are there before the kids and well after. And they generally don't get weekends off like you seem to think either. Teachers work 6-7 days per week when you factor in grading, exams, lesson plans etc. and quite honestly, the diminishing of their actual workload when factored into a risk vs reward context is not in the benefit of the teachers. Couple the actual amount of work they do with the massive student loan debt involved in incurring a masters degree and they aren't actually making very much money.

You reference trade workers and their continuing education.. Who do you think provides the continuing education for them? Could it be 'gasp' teachers? Without teachers none of us would be anywhere or making any money or having careers or even the ability to pedantically argue about their societal contributions on the Internet. It just doesn't seem like you've much respect for the profession. Personally, I think they're grossly underpaid and overworked though I'm probably not looking at it from an untied POV as a large portion of my family works or worked, in education and I'm all too aware of the hassle they deal with on a daily basis.

They're not just educating our kids, they're the primary caregivers during the week days, they're there to dry their eyes and clean up scrapes and bruises, they teach our kids about social proprieties in addition to math, science and English. That doesn't mean I think all teachers should be getting NBA salaries, but the good ones, absolutely.

Screw salaries.

"Mr. Heller expressed in an internet communication that he believed the U.S. government programmed the Newtown school shooter,which indicates that he might feel compelled to commit a similar act.."

This is the important part. This shouldn't really have factored into the assessment of the situation.

Are they suggesting one should be considered a threat if they're concerned that the government that created the secret mind control project MK-Ultra might actually be using some of the fruits of those endeavours by employing 'manchurian candidates'?

How laughable of a situation is that?

Talking about killing kids? That's one thing. Being paranoid about the monstrosity that has become the US government and the interests that control it? That's merely being rational at this point.

Incidentally, this move will act as a certain kind of mind control by itself once it sinks in that some thoughts suddenly seems to be off limit, whether by design or not, the effects will be the same and it will leave an impression.

a reply to: peter vlar
We get our continuing education from tradesmen with teaching certificates. These are people who have spent the time doing the work in order to earn a contractor license, and studied to get teaching certification as well. I get my information from New Mexico. As for teachers constantly complaining about their career choice, get a different job, you have a degree and it is a free country. I respect the profession, I just wish there were more professional people doing the job. I cannot speak for the rest of the country. Here, our teachers are overpaid for the education our children are receiving. Feel free to look up where New Mexico ranks in education. Compare how much a teacher makes compared to a police officer. In my opinion, the officer should be making more. Here in my state that is not true. The police here must have 60 credit hours, complete the academy, spotless record, be willing to put their lives on the line everyday and get nothing but bad press for it. Educators chose their path. They had the choice when they got the opportunity to go to college. Many others never had that choice, they have worse jobs than teachers. They go to work smiling because they have a job.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
a reply to: VoidHawk

I've never met a socialized aka "normal" kid that was home schooled. From my personal experience with the ones I've run across they are usually very insecure and socially awkward.

What!
The home schoolers that I know (and I know quite a few of them) are most definitely NOT insecure or socially awkward, although there's quite a number of people who spread this untruth about them!

The home schoolers that I know have more time on their hands to integrate socially, unlike the state schooled children who are forced to spend the majority of their time with a very narrow selection of society, that section being children of the same age!

Home schoolers have regular weekly meetings where they meet children of all ages, and they also meet the parents of those children.
Unlike the state controlled children, home schoolers cope extremely well in any social situation because they haven't been isolated from children of a different age or from adults.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
Can you imagine a world in where everyone was home schooled? We as a society would be taking a major step backward, as there would be no established "standard" for what information was taught.

And thats one of the reasons we home school, to get away from the stifling system of standardizing a child!

Another merit of home is that it preserves the diversity between individuals. If we were all alike, it might be convenient for the bureaucrat and the statistician, but it would be very dull, and would lead to a very unprogressive society. - Bertrand Russell

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
I don't want to pay for someone to teach their child that dinosaurs and man hung out together, and that the Earth is only 6,000 years old.

I'm sorry, but this clap trap just proves your intent.