14-YEAR-OLD WALNUT CREEK STUDENT ARRESTED FOR

[Sequoia]

AP: A 14-year-old Walnut Creek boy was handcuffed and arrested at
Walnut Creek Intermediate School on Wednesday for an animated cartoon he posted on the Internet that officials determined was threatening to teachers.
The boy's mother, Karen Hamadanyan, said today that she doesn't
deny that her son made the cartoon, but denies that it was meant as a threat and called his arrest "absurd".
Hamadanyan described the cartoon as "South Park-quality satire."
and said, "I don't particularly like it and I don't like the language but he is a graphic artist. Parts of it were actually funny."
The boy's mom said the animation provides a 14-year-old's
perspective of his teachers and what officials determined as a threat, was her son's response to a comment a teacher made to him in front of other students.
Hamadanyan said the teacher told her son that he was a
"good-looking peacock." She said she knows that peacock was meant to imply confident but what he heard was "pee" and "cock."
In his cartoon, the boy wrote "He called me a good looking
peacock, Maybe I should kill him and urinate on his remains."
Walnut Creek Intermediate School officials refused to comment on
the incident.


Link sure to come up sometime. This from AP hot off the wire.

[arcane1]

1. Walnut Creek? I live there!

and often get stuck on a bus w/kids from that school (If I'm late getting to work)

weird...

[Arugula Latte]

15. I grew up there

There used to be a lot of walnut trees there ... no more!

[arcane1]

16. there IS a creek, though

:hi:

[Arugula Latte]

19. That's right. AND a "Walnut Festival."

I don't know if King Walnut still makes his appearance, however.

Here's to W.C. :toast: It was a good place to grow up.

[arcane1]

20. been here for 5 years now

it's not my favorite place in the bay area, but so far I haven't moved yet. Nice little community, I must say

haven't heard of King Walnut, but I'll keep a lookout for him!

:toast:

[proud patriot]

2. Here's a link

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/counties/contra_costa_county/8772816.htm?1c

[bluestateguy]

3. That is my hometown

Though I went to another middle school.

[Democat]

4. How are kids supposed to write fiction when anything they do is a threat?

If a kid writes a murder mystery story or draws a cartoon about war, he or she risks being arrested. It's absurd considering all we hear about in the media is war and mainstream books and movies (as well as art) involve murder or violence.

Why not sit down and talk to the kid and his parents instead of arresting him? This action will very likely do more harm than good, and stifle the creativity of all children.

[BiggJawn]

5. Give that cat a PRIZE!

"...his action will very likely do more harm than good, and stifle the creativity of all children."

That, my friend, is EXACTLY the desired effect. Don't think, don't dream, just learn how to count change and say "Hi welcome to WalMart" that is your DUTY as a Murkan schoolchild.

And some of you may be lucky enough to hear the call to become one of Murka's Holy Warriors, fighting the brown-skinned forces of evil Islam (Oh, but the TWAT is NOT about religion, but you have to admit, Jeebus is better than Moe-Hammid) and dieing for Tom Ridge in some forsaken land that you don't even know where it is becasue "All Childs Left Behind" didn't have any money to teach you about geography.....

You nailed it. Don't think, don't dream. Just watch the Channel One that the school system is SO good to provide to you and learn to be a consumer....

[Trillo]

6. Is a teacher calling a student a "peacock",

which verbally is indistinguishable from pee-cock, appropriate?

It seems that the teacher "threw the first stone." (a metaphor)

[dansolo]

7. So what if it is indistinguishable

Even if the student did mis-hear, or misunderstand, what the teacher said, making a comment about killing the teacher can, and should, be construed as a threat. You could claim that he misheard if he only mentioned the "pissing" part. But talking about killing goes beyond mere fiction. This student seems to have an issue with this teacher, and hinting at a desire for violence should not be trivialized.

[Trillo]

8. I agree with you, my point was

this whole affair was instigated by a rude and unthinking comment by a teacher.

I do have issues with a student who threatens to kill anyone, but the phrasing was "maybe", meaning it wasn't an statement of absolute intent. Well, it seems the student learned the answer the school sent. To me it reads like this student was asking the world what should be done, not making a statement of what was going to occur.

Did the police also respond to the "inappropriate" comment of the teacher? Did the administration?

I believe the Supreme Court has acknowledged that one of the purposes of school is to teach children to be civil to one another. Do you think teachers should call their students "peacocks?" It seems at best disrespectful, and creates a poor example.

Phrasing it as a veiled compliment could also mean an implied sexual advance. Is that appropriate?

[demdave]

9. So now you are saying it could have been a veiled homosexual advance?

Times have changed, I always thought "good looking peacock" would have been a compliment. A "strutting peacock" would have meant vain.

You are trying to have it both ways. First, you claim it was a rude comment and then you say it could have been a compliment used in a homosexual advance.

[Trillo]

12. The intent of all possible meanings of the teacher's words

hasn't been explored. How about answering my previous questions? Scroll up to find them.

Is it possible the teacher has pedophiliac tendencies? Even if they're sub-conscious and repressed?

It might explain the student's reaction.

What's really a shame, is that the whole sordid affair could have been used to foster communication and understanding.

[SemperEadem]

18. for propriety's sake, it was an inappropriate comment

for an adult to make to a child in front of a room full of his peers.

This can set into motion bullying that the kid does not want to have to field off.

[TahitiNut]

10. We live in Bizarro World.

A politically incorrect cartoon? Arrested.
Assault and battery of another student? Nothing.


For God's sake, let's stop calling it "bullying"... it's assault and battery, often with a lethal weapon, and deserves (juvenile) jail time!!

[goddess40]

11. funny how when teachers 'feel' threatened they do something

When a kid is actually threatened, punched, harassed... they look the other way.

This sure seems like they were over reacting.

[Massacure]

13. Theres a big difference

Between "Maybe I should kill" and "I will kill"

[tlcandie]

14. Isn't this something similar to the torture stories in Iraq?

The urinating on the prisoners? I find it interesting that he would suggest urinating on his remains.

I could be totally off the wall on this one, but it does seem very odd to me that we've heard so much about this as of late and now a student is using it even in cartoon wit.

:shrug:

[geek tragedy]

17. Can you imagine if

the kid had gone postal and then it came out that he had produced this cartoon? There'd be hell to pay.

[Sentath]

22. So?

That Does Not justify his being 'cuffed.

It would justify a couple sessions of counseling and a parent-teacher conference.

But, thats not what they did. They chose to try to intimidate/humiliate him and whether it works on him or he is able to use it to be a rebel hero/martyr, it will work on some portion of his peers. Probably most effectively on the ones who didn't need this kind of heavy hand in the first place.

bleh

{rlg}

[classics]

21. Saying your going to kill someone and urinate on thier corpse...

is not 'creativity', even if you say it with Macromedia Flash.