I needed a break. By nature I'm a pretty cheerful guy, and when I focus this long on such things as politics and corporate corruption it takes a toll on me. I get tired of this shit, but the shit keeps coming. I keep saying “This is shit!” and I keep hearing “Nah, that's just what rain looks like now.” It gets tiring.
I'm not even going to talk about Iran. I'm going to do what I think Congress should do and focus on something closer to home. You all know about the Patriot Act, and the attacks on our Constitutionally protected rights. You've also heard what can happen to people accused of “terrorism.”
According to ABCNews, this is the first time a domestic crime has brought a charge of terrorism. It's a fourteen year old boy. From the article, I would say this is an episode of a dork gone wild. He was a smart kid, who had never been in trouble before, who allegedly had an elaborate plan to take his classroom hostage and kill at least one randomly selected girl. He didn't even get close to pulling off his plan, because he stupidly gave himself away early. Such a smart kid, but he didn't really think that through, did he? This kid isn't a terrorist, this kid just needs some help, or maybe a swift kick in the ass.
After Columbine, though, they'll probably have security guards and metal detectors at that school tomorrow (just in case any other students were planning to take their classes hostage), and it will be hard to argue against a charge of terrorism. By his own admission, according to the article, he was going to take his class hostage and kill someone. That just seems like terrorism. What is terrorism, if not murder and the taking of hostages? My argument is this: Murder is already a criminal charge. Hostage-taking is already a criminal charge. Either one of those charges is already enough to put someone away for life, and for murder, might even limit the duration of said life. There's no need for another charge to throw on top of those. It's redundant. A charge of terrorism also eliminates the rules regarding due process. I doubt the full scope of the terrorism legislation will be applied to this child, but it paves the way for domestic charges of terrorism. This story will be followed for a moment, but never really hyped by the media. The next time it happens, though, it will seem normal to a lot of people. No one will raise an eyebrow when they start seeing charges of terrorism in police reports in the Metro section. The process will take years, but terrorism will be a common charge before too long.
In a sea if information, little things can slip by. The cage door is closing.
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