Watch out, he's got a MAP!!!

[Buccaneer]

Ok, another hypothetical. What if the kid wasn't playing a video game but instead did it all by hand (i.e., planned an assault/counter-assault on a detailed map of the school grounds)? Would this then send up a bigger red flag? How would this been different if it was done on a computer instead?

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Ok, another hypothetical. What if the kid wasn't playing a video game but instead did it all by hand (i.e., planned an assault/counter-assault on a detailed map of the school grounds)? Would this then send up a bigger red flag? How would this been different if it was done on a computer instead?

what about a diorama? where does that fit in?

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Axxon

Simple conjecture. Nowhere in any of these articles does it mention any mental/psychological problems uncovered. I'm also pretty sure that they wouldn't just turn the kid loose and send him to another school to shoot up if they had uncovered mental/psychological problems. That would make no sense.

And nowhere does it say they sent him to another school solely because he had a map of the school he used in a computer game.

It's pretty obvious they found something else that was of concern. I was just giving an example of why an "alternative" school might be a better place for him.

[Buccaneer]

It's pretty obvious they found something else that was of concern.

Do you mean to imply that we don't have all of the information and a copy of the police report??!!??

[Telle]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Ok, another hypothetical. What if the kid wasn't playing a video game but instead did it all by hand (i.e., planned an assault/counter-assault on a detailed map of the school grounds)? Would this then send up a bigger red flag? How would this been different if it was done on a computer instead?

If he had some sort of board game or D&D type thing that simulated an assault/counter-assault and included information on how to make your own map, then it wouldn't be a bigger red flag for me at all. Now if he just did it all on his own, I'd probably be a little more leary. If it didn't include a counter-assault, then that would be a much bigger red flag.

[rkmsuf]

[Axxon]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Um, if you read the article they make it pretty clear that there are other issues which lead to the school district's action:

"Between the game's violent content, the discovery of the swords (which Fort Bend Now reports may have been decorative), and other as-yet-unrevealed information, officials with the Fort Bend Independent School District labeled the situation "level 3," which mandated the transfer to the alternative school."

I don't think any of us know what they did or didn't have and whether it justifies their actions. But let's stop talking about this case and pretending the only facts we have are what some journalist put in the headline to shock us into reading it - "Kid gets expelled for having a map!" Despite the shocking headline, the substantive facts are decidedly less outrageous.

So, then the protocol is that seriously mentally troubled are just shunted to another school. That pretty much sucks for the new targets, I mean students, as was said before. That type of selective security makes no common sense.

Now I can see that there may have been some issues that would require school discipline that they may have found but something that is a terrorist threat? No way the police let that go or at least they shouldn't

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

Terming the situation a "terroristic threat" doesn't inspire me with confidence here. Doesn't sound like they are too concerned with this kid's well being.

Or grammar. I'm pretty sure "terroristic" isn't a word.

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Ok, another hypothetical. What if the kid wasn't playing a video game but instead did it all by hand (i.e., planned an assault/counter-assault on a detailed map of the school grounds)? Would this then send up a bigger red flag? How would this been different if it was done on a computer instead?

It's a custom level for a game. You might as well argue that GTA: Vice City gives a blueprint for shooting up Miami.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Axxon

So, then the protocol is that seriously mentally troubled are just shunted to another school. That pretty much sucks for the new targets, I mean students, as was said before. That type of selective security makes no common sense.

Now I can see that there may have been some issues that would require school discipline that they may have found but something that is a terrorist threat? No way the police let that go or at least they shouldn't

I didn't say that's what info they found. I specifically said we don't know!! My main point, which you ignored, is that they did what they did based on other information in combination with the map/swords. Who says the kid is mentally troubled? Maybe he just has some anger issues that are better dealt with in a specialized setting.

The "terrorist threat" language is hardly unique. That has been thrown around for just about every little thing someone does since 9/11. No need to read any more into it in this instance than we have before. It's a catch-all phrase that got dusted off and overused in the aftermath of 9/11. That's all.

[SirFozzie]

They're just imitating the government. When somebody questions the mistaken actions you take, rather then getting off your high horse and admitting you just gave a knee-jerk overreaction, just claim that you know something they don't, and that they're stupid for even bringing it up.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Ok, another hypothetical. What if the kid wasn't playing a video game but instead did it all by hand (i.e., planned an assault/counter-assault on a detailed map of the school grounds)?

I did that. I was inspired by the movie Toy Soldiers.

[larrymcg421]

I once made a map of my home for The Sims. I guerss that means I intended to set my house on fire and senselessly jump up and down screaming.

[Axxon]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I didn't say that's what info they found. I specifically said we don't know!! My main point, which you ignored, is that they did what they did based on other information in combination with the map/swords. Who says the kid is mentally troubled? Maybe he just has some anger issues that are better dealt with in a specialized setting.

The "terrorist threat" language is hardly unique. That has been thrown around for just about every little thing someone does since 9/11. No need to read any more into it in this instance than we have before. It's a catch-all phrase that got dusted off and overused in the aftermath of 9/11. That's all.

He's a senior. Isn't graduation like, within a month? Maybe you're right and I did say that's about all that makes sense because it isn't a terrorist threat. I don't think we're that far off in what we're saying actually but to clarify, if the issue is disciplinary for some other rule they found then it makes sense but hasn't been presented and the kids counsel pretty much isn't even alluding to it.

If it's anger issues then I'm pretty surprised none of the students or teachers interviewed had a clue about it because we at least usually here something, even in the VA Tech shooting. This doesn't mean anything but it's curious.

If it's what the article said which was terrorist threat then it's insane and it's pretty reckless to throw a phrase out there like that causing a panic based on lesser issues. That's my biggest problem. I don't give overreactions much respect.

Still, the kids asian and I really bet that plays a huge part in this thing but again, I realize it's conjecture not based on much in the article.

[Tigercat]

Common sense says that if they found something that was an obvious red flag making their decision more sensible, they would just have said what it is, since everything else is being aired out anyway. Hell we even know the kid had decorative swords.

Common sense says that whatever evidence that isn't being talked about is probably as benign sounding as everything else that has been mentioned thus far.

Edit: On second thought, I don't think the school/police are using common sense anyway, so who knows?

[chesapeake]

There is not a lot of detail in any of these articles -- certainly not enough to conclude whether or not the school district made the right decision to send the kid to the alternative high school.

FYI, in many districts, an 'alternative school' is not just another high school. It is an independent school under the control of the district for kids that present behavioral problems, generally disciplinary. They usually provide special services of the touchy-feely nature and more of an adult presence of the intimidating kind. Kids that get suspended for a while don't just get sent home to contemplate the evils of their ways, they go to the alternative school.

My read on the article is that this kid was sent to one of these, not just to Jefferson High on the other side of town. The article really doesn't specify.

If the kid just created a map of the school for a basic shooter, they probably overreacted. If he made the principal the big boss at the end of level 3, I would chalk it up to basic problems every teen has with authority. But if the level of detail were to the point where you could recognize kids and teachers, you've got a problem.

I've never tinkered with CounterStrike, so I have no idea if this is even possible.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by chesapeake

If the kid just created a map of the school for a basic shooter, they probably overreacted. If he made the principal the big boss at the end of level 3, I would chalk it up to basic problems every teen has with authority. But if the level of detail were to the point where you could recognize kids and teachers, you've got a problem.

I've never tinkered with CounterStrike, so I have no idea if this is even possible.

In CounterStrike, no, this is not possible. There are no NPCs or "Bosses" in CounterStrike. It's purely a MP game.