Teen deported for writing words on a chalkboard - Free speech issue?

So...overreaction or fair game?
Source

An Israeli student dismissed from his foreign exchange program after reportedly writing an anti-American phrase on a Niceville High School classroom board was sent home Friday evening.

The student boarded an airplane back to Israel, said Cynthia Harris, who is engaged to the son of the student’s host family.

She and other family members say the student should not have been sent home.

“His story’s got to come out,” Harris said only moments after putting the teenager on the airplane. “There should have been a better way to handle this.”

ok, long story short...he basically scribbled "Death To America" on the board

My initial gut reaction was of course "Ha ha. enjoy your flight back home"...however, the rational part of my brain kicked in...he is 15 and basically brainwashed...immediate overreaction and sending him packing is not going to open his mind up but rather reinforce his view. So...I guess the mature side of me is disappointed that he ultimately is being deported for a founding principle of our freedom here...yet the idiot in me is satisfied with the result...but that side also is responsible for my continued smoking, fat foods eating, and the cause of all my relationship malfunctions..best not to listen to that side

Your thoughts? Overreaction or justifiable boot

reply to post by SaturnFX


Wow, crazy story.

I would have to agree with you though. Definitely an overreaction. Could be justified in the perspective of keeping the morality of surrounding students sane, but none the less, its was a kid that was told America is bad. Nothing more.

Smart kid IMO, Stuck in a strange part of the world missing his friends and family, Use,s his smarts and gets back home (Free),
As for the freedom of speech bit, I am sure his "mentors" would have clicked on to what he was up to, And decided to let him have his way and get deported back home, Saves on university resources right,

trying to figure out the reaction if I was a kid that went over to say, Israel..then wrote on their chalkboard "Death to Israel" or something of the like...what my fate would be.

I think they are right... Death to America! I'm not even American and that annoys me.. I say Send him back to his Second rate country and see if after a few years of oppression he still thinks America is that bad...
These people make me sick! Same here in the uk, they are good enough to come here and take money, live in relative luxury but they hate the country.. Well f off then back where you came from! That's my attitude...
I'm sure if you wrote something like that in Iran or china or somewhere like that...
You would get alot more than being put on a nice comfy flight out of the country!!!

The facts of the story are very sketchy due to privacy laws apparently. I really would like to know more of what actually happened and in what context before deciding what I think about this.

From the little information given us, I don't see how anyone can comment.

Is writing "Death to America!" much different than writing, say, "Death to the Corporate Powers that Control This Nation!"?

Would scrawling the latter get you deported?

I'm with you SaturnFX. I don't believe we can or should ignore death threats. And I do think "Death to America" is a bit of a threat.

But what about that whole free speech thing? Did the child say, "I'm GOING to kill America!"? No. Kid put up a political pejorative they probably didn't fully understand. As I thought I understood it, no censoring of political speech was allowed...

It pains me to hear replies about sending the child back to his "second rate" country. It pains me to hear people flip out and scream when someone says something bad about "their" nation.

If the child would have wrote, "The Country You Think Is America Is A Snake! We Must Sever Its Head! Revolution Is Nigh! Rise Up! Resist and Rebel! A Great Nation Will Be Born From The Ashes!" implying the same as "Death to America" would he have been deported?

What are we mad about, folks? Is it what he wrote? Or how he wrote it?

...if it's how he wrote it, we are in trouble.

Woooowww.... that's very cool !!!!!!!!!!!!!
So if I'm a foreigner in the USA,... and I would like to go home for free,
the only thing I should do is writing nasty things about america,.. on a chalkboard,
and they will pay my ticket home....
Whahahahahahahahahaahahha stupid F...cking stupid !!!!!!

Bah...no flags yet! -deports everyone on ATS back to flagless world!

reply to post by SaturnFX


Best point I've seen all day. My guess is the IDF would take you into custody, rape your wife, orphan your children, Shell and raze your town to the ground as "defense against this terrible threat to Israeli Soverignty".

The story would read "30 die in clash with IDF, Israel takes in child orphans"

Pretty strange, really.
I think if he had done that back in my HS, they would have had to get him out of the country for his own safety...

Originally posted by SaturnFX
Bah...no flags yet! -deports everyone on ATS back to flagless world!

I don't get it. If you're wanting us to comment on the story, then sorry, not enough info to do so. If you're wanting us to "if".. "then", then why don't you come up with a scenario for us to discuss.

The story has no context or real information whatsoever. How can we discuss it, much less flag it?

The US Government has the masses so brainwashed the Sheeple look for Terrorist under every Christmas Tree and at every blackboard.

reply to post by SaturnFX


Chalkboard?

Inappropriate content, on same?

Reminds me of a very funny cartoon:

www.gocomics.com...

same fellow in a military uniform doing the same thing can be concidered an act of provocing war,
beside does not a death threat equal a death threat legally speaking ?

reply to post by Paote


First off based on the article, if its telling the entire story, a massive mistake / error of judgment was made by sending this kid packing. I would like to know the context it was being used in (showing off a foreign language, were they talking polotics, were they just being 15 year olds soing what 15 year olds do?

While minors are protected under the same constitutions and bill of rights that adults are, you do not have complete freedom of speech in school at that age. There is another term that could have been brought into play with this situation - In Loco Parentis (It states the teachers can act in place of the parents while the kids are at school).

Still it seems like an over reaction based on the article only.

Makes me wonder how i would be recieved. Few who know me would question my total dedication to America, and my almost over zealous patriotism.

But I am no fan of the American government, and support much of the anti-America rhetoric as a representation of my ire.

I want people to be displeased with America. We certainly are nothing to be proud of right now.

Originally posted by Iamonlyhuman

Originally posted by SaturnFX
Bah...no flags yet! -deports everyone on ATS back to flagless world!

I don't get it. If you're wanting us to comment on the story, then sorry, not enough info to do so. If you're wanting us to "if".. "then", then why don't you come up with a scenario for us to discuss.

The story has no context or real information whatsoever. How can we discuss it, much less flag it?

-shakes fist at you, then slams a flag in your brain-

Actually...the information is simple...boy gets deported in america for expressing himself in words...the founding of american values. discuss

not sure why that confuses you

Originally posted by zerbot565
same fellow in a military uniform doing the same thing can be concidered an act of provocing war,
beside does not a death threat equal a death threat legally speaking ?

Death to America

America is not a person...its a land, and a ideal. In this context, its an ideal
Like saying death to capitalism.

Unless you can point to me a Mr. (or Ms.) America...that -isn't- wearing a wrestling uniform, then there is no actual death threat here

Well there really isn't enough info to have a proper discussion. Perhaps he had signed some sort of agreement to be allowed to come here, and he violated said agreement? I have no idea lol, but it seems to me there might be more to the story.