Artistic liberty vs. Big Brother...

Okay, this is probably going to become a routine rant of mine but I can't help it. I'm going to call it the VT-syndrome.

CNN reports: A high schooler in Illinois is being punished for a creative writing assignment that depicted violence and sexual perversion. The creative writing class was told to write whatever they wanted, without censoring their thoughts. Yes, it probably wasn't the best choice to write material of this nature given the current atmosphere at educational institutions but please...were there other behavioral markers that indicated this kid was going to go Cho on them? I had to laugh in disbelief. Did they even consider that a meeting between school officials, a psychiatrist, the kid and his parents MIGHT be a wiser choice? No, they arrested the kid, removed him from the premises and forbid him to return. This kid had just signed marine enlistment papers, was a straight-A student, etc etc.

I recall in high school how I had to create a 10-page story with the same lack of restrictions. It was one of the most difficult things I ever had to do. Few high school kids have life experiences that could be a basis for creative fiction. What kids do have, instead, is television, movies, music, video games, books and role models like Stephen King or Quentin Tarantino who are praised for their violent creations. Kids have little choice but to use their imagination to fulfull the assignment. Has anyone watched Hostel? I'm a full grown adult and, given my interest in forensics, can handle quite a bit of gore...but I refuse to watch that movie due to the graphic violence. The Saw movie series is quite popular with teens, which also portrays the actions of a mass killer. I refuse to watch those as well. With these examples of creative fiction, I fully understand how a teen might write similar story lines.

I think we are overreacting to perceived dangers. If this kid had been a potential school shooter, an alienating act like an arrest and prohibiting a return would, in my opinion, push that individual closer to an extreme act. It would support the idea that the world is against him/her. If this kid is determined to be harmless, what effect will this event have on his marine enlistment? More care should be taken that we don't ruin an innocent life in error.