# Mind Control. Really Glad I don't have a public job or anything published yet.



## CraniumInsanium (Sep 2, 2014)

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/30/1326004/-Incarcerated-For-Writing-Science-Fiction#  Anyone seen this article? I mean...wow. Whats the point of a pen name? Guess my co-worker who had an idea about a terrorist attack thriller novel would locked up faster than you can say "knick nack paddy wagon, read that man his rights!"  This is really discouraging that anything we authors write can also condemn us. Guess an active imagination put to gut use is a crime.


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## Schrody (Sep 2, 2014)

Jesus, I'm glad I'm not living in such a nutty country. Then again, they wouldn't find who the author was, because he probably wouldn't sell a lot of copies :scratch: I'm talking about my country, of course


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## Plasticweld (Sep 2, 2014)

The story really contained a lot of spelling grammar mistakes, this I why he was jailed :}


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## Deleted member 56686 (Sep 2, 2014)

OMG. It's not only my home country. It's my home state. So much for freedom of speech.


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## Schrody (Sep 2, 2014)

Plasticweld said:


> The story really contained a lot of spelling grammar mistakes, this I why he was jailed :}



I failed to see that. When he die, he'll burn in the Grammar Hell :devilish: where you're constantly reminded of your errors. That's only for "literature professionals" like professors, etc.


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## Schrody (Sep 2, 2014)

mrmustard615 said:


> OMG. It's not only my home country. It's my home state. So much for freedom of speech.



Oh yes, there is a freedom of speech. If you're saying the "right" things


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## Deleted member 56686 (Sep 2, 2014)

That's true.  Some Americans will fight for your freedom of speech and they will shoot you if you don't agree with them:scratch:


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## Plasticweld (Sep 2, 2014)

Schrody said:


> I failed to see that. When he die, he'll burn in the Grammar Hell :devilish: where you're constantly reminded of your errors. That's only for "literature professionals" like professors, etc.




He is a 23-year-old language arts teacher, if he were just a civilian in the world of literature you, could send some of the henchmen from WFs to rough him up a little, but he is a pro.


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## CraniumInsanium (Sep 2, 2014)

mrmustard615 said:


> OMG. It's not only my home country. It's my home state. So much for freedom of speech.


  Haha, I live in the peoples republic of maryland as well comrade


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## Bruno Spatola (Sep 2, 2014)

Perhaps there were some worrying similarities between the school in the book, and the school he works at. It's important to assess who's working with your children, but the way they've gone about it is ridiculous in this case. It seems as if it's merely a temporary investigation, at least. Good luck to the guy. Hopefully he's being treated well, and the process isn't as Orwellian as the article makes it seem.  

 I feel like it's missing out some important details, though -- that can't be the whole story.


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## CraniumInsanium (Sep 2, 2014)

it seems like they "knew" or rather "found" it later. What I don't get it is if they "knew" his alias' and what he had written, then they could have avoided this whole mess.  http://www.wboc.com/story/26367051/...middle-school-teacher-on-administrative-leave


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## Deleted member 56686 (Sep 2, 2014)

As usual the way to approach a problem is to overreact. Especially with schools it seems.


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## want2learn (Sep 2, 2014)

CraniumInsanium said:


> http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/30/1326004/-Incarcerated-For-Writing-Science-Fiction#  Anyone seen this article? I mean...wow. Whats the point of a pen name? Guess my co-worker who had an idea about a terrorist attack thriller novel would locked up faster than you can say "knick nack paddy wagon, read that man his rights!"  This is really discouraging that anything we authors write can also condemn us. Guess an active imagination put to gut use is a crime.



I honest to God, believe we are creating a society based off fear, I feel sorry for the man, though I'm sure this will have an effect on his book sales. 
Hopefully he will come out well and his reputation though, tarnished I hope he never lets it get to him. What's done has been done, he can only look for the future.


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## Bruno Spatola (Sep 2, 2014)

I think a lot of staff in schools still have those fairly recent shootings in the front of their brains. They're trying to put a stop to even a slight possibility of another tragedy occurring, but, as usual, some will take it to the extreme.

I don't mean to be frank, but I will be: does the fact the teacher is black have any bearing on this?


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## Deleted member 56686 (Sep 2, 2014)

Check out Cranium's link. You ought to see some of the comments there.


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## Schrody (Sep 2, 2014)

mrmustard615 said:


> That's true.  Some Americans will fight for your freedom of speech and they will shoot you if you don't agree with them:scratch:



Don't know if I should LOL this because it's funny and tragic at the same times :-s



Plasticweld said:


> He is a 23-year-old language arts teacher, if he were just a civilian in the world of literature you, could send some of the henchmen from WFs to rough him up a little, but he is a pro.



Yup, he's saved from the "Butchers of the WF".


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## Deleted member 56686 (Sep 2, 2014)

Schrody said:


> Don't know if I should LOL this because it's funny and tragic at the same times :-s




I know. What a country right?


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## Schrody (Sep 2, 2014)

mrmustard615 said:


> I know. What a country right?



Hey, my country is a s**thole, but man, the US is exceeding us in so many ways... No offence, anyone.


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## CraniumInsanium (Sep 2, 2014)

whats that 300 line again? the one about MADNESS?   MADNESS you say? THIS IS MARYLAND!!!  thats whats needed. a meme with Patrick McLaw and that madness line.


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## Deleted member 56686 (Sep 2, 2014)

Bruno Spatola said:


> I don't mean to be frank, but I will be: does the fact the teacher is black have any bearing on this?



It's a good question. I personally think it is just all the paranoia because of the spate of school shootings. I'm sure a black person might see it that way though.


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## Schrody (Sep 2, 2014)

mrmustard615 said:


> It's a good question. I personally think it is just all the paranoia because of the spate of school shootings. I'm sure a black person might see it that way though.



If we wanted, we could see racism in everything (and it's not like we don't). It could be because of his skin color, but I seriously doubt it :-s


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## LeeC (Sep 2, 2014)

Just by way of mature balance 


With all the anxiety over school shooting incidents, would you feel comfortable as the parent of a child in this person's class given the subject matter of his writings. I haven't read his writings, but there are other authors that have written on the subject, and even documentaries, that haven't been challenged. Does his writing go beyond such? It could be, given some of the self-published fantasy out there, a glorification of such acts, or not. Does anyone here really know? 


In contrast, there is still plenty of opinion as to whether the Bush administration could have prevented 911. The point being that the world is now more reactive. 


I'm a staunch supporter of free speech (including net-neutrality as much as I dislike some of the content), but when it comes down to trying to prevent horrendous acts, how do we anticipate such? Do we know the state of the teacher's mind, and how do we determine the level-headedness of the reacting officials. One contrast is how inappropriately profiling has been used.


Granted this might have been handled more discreetly, maybe even with more level-headedness. On the other hand we don't know all the facts, and the article being on a op-ed site is not all that informative. 


FWIW,
LeeC


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## Bruno Spatola (Sep 2, 2014)

No, I'm not saying it's because he's black that it's happened -- that doesn't make sense. I believe fear is the sole motivation, also.


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## Schrody (Sep 2, 2014)

Yes, but can't let fear wins against reason. When that happens, nothing good comes out of it


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## Deleted member 56686 (Sep 2, 2014)

There are so many complicated issues that surrounds this story. We do have a history of racism. There were problems in that part of Maryland even into the 1970s. You also have the issue of gun control and the aforementioned school shootings. And as LeeC pointed out we live in a world where we have to worry about terrorism after 911. Somehow we have to figure out how to balance our safety with our freedom. IMHO I think that if we don't have our freedom, safety doesn't really mean a whole lot anyway.

to quote FDR: The only thing to fear is fear itself.


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## Schrody (Sep 2, 2014)

I know, and terrorism is a real threat, but we shouldn't let our paranoia "eats" us; for example, I remembered there was a terrorist attack in London in 2005, and I was like: "Oh s*it, I'm going to London soon!". Yes, it did upset me for a second (what if it happens again?), but then again, I won't cancel my plans because something might happen. I'm gonna need something better than that. We let fear overcome us, and we became a "nation" of fear. What damage fear will make, and how many real threats will it prevent, only time will tell.


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## Deleted member 56686 (Sep 2, 2014)

I live about 40 miles from Washington and maybe 200 miles from New York City. It was a surreal experience on 911. Baltimore was virtually shut down for a day. No planes flew. You can only imagine the media coverage. It was what Tom Brokaw referred to as "the New Normal". Somehow when we got past the jingoisms and the general shock of what happened, we got back to our normal routine of looking for the next pop star scandal. Anyway like you said Schrody you can't become "A nation of fear". There are too many of those nations in the world already.


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## Kyle R (Sep 2, 2014)

It's a pretty heavy reaction, considering the story is told from the POV of detectives, and the killer is considered the villain.

If he's acquitted, I'm betting he'll sue the school and the law enforcement for loss of wages, emotional trauma, and defamation of character. He might stand to make millions out of this. Plus all the television interviews to follow. Maybe even an appearance on Oprah!


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## Schrody (Sep 2, 2014)

I can only imagine what the country has been through, but the reporter was right: all those violence desensitized us, so when something like that happens, sure, it's shocking, but it will be forgotten in a day or two (or trying to forget so everything will be as it was). When I said nation, I meant the whole world; there's still hope for some.


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## Schrody (Sep 2, 2014)

Kyle R said:


> It's a pretty heavy reaction, considering the story is told from the POV of detectives, and the killer is considered the villain.
> 
> If he's acquitted, I'm betting he'll sue the school and the law enforcement for loss of wages, emotional trauma, and defamation of character. He might stand to make millions out of this. Plus all the television interviews to follow. Maybe even an appearance on Oprah!



A law suit would be a logical reaction. But then again, maybe his books are so good and convincing some people actually believed it could happen. Is that a good or bad thing for a writer, I don't know. :scratch:


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## Morkonan (Sep 2, 2014)

This is proof, once again, that most government employees, at any level, are morons who couldn't get a job in the "real world."

I despair for my country. Inevitably, we are doomed. When the Great Day of Mourning comes, it will be because we played with plastic bags while running around the pool with scissors in our hands...


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## E. Zamora (Sep 2, 2014)

Seems like there's more to it, according to the updates in this Atlantic article:

http://www.theatlantic.com/national...iet-style-punishment-for-a-novelist/379431/2/

Doesn't seem particularly damning either. Regardless, I generally take a wait and see approach to this kind of story. Doesn't seem to be a problem for some, but I don't like to judge people or jump the gun without looking into things or seeing if there are additional sources of information.


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## Schrody (Sep 2, 2014)

Of course, E. It's just a discussion based on the information we have.


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## Deleted member 56686 (Sep 2, 2014)

It sounds like Dorchester County is trying to cover their tracks.


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## E. Zamora (Sep 2, 2014)

Schrody said:


> Of course, E. It's just a discussion based on the information we have.



Sorry, but looking for more information is my first impulse whenever I read something like this, before I offer an opinion. Turns out there is some. But whatever. I don't want to put the kibosh on your discussion.


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## popsprocket (Sep 2, 2014)

Bloody hell.


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## Schrody (Sep 3, 2014)

E. Zamora said:


> Sorry, but looking for more information is my first impulse whenever I read something like this, before I offer an opinion. Turns out there is some. But whatever. I don't want to put the kibosh on your discussion.



I look for other information when that information is important to me, or particularly interesting. Most of the news will be read, but soon forgotten. That's how I work, anyway. 
And don't apologize, there's always another side of the medal


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