Teen Arrested for Home-Made "Hot or Not" List on Facebook

[Brandon237]

Uhmmm... okay.
While this guy was being an ass, he was a hell of a lot less of an ass than the police and court who thought it would be a good idea to arrest him. I'm sorry, but what the hell. People are murdered every day in almost every country and THIS is what people can get arrested for?
And one father saying that more punishment was in order 0.o

I have seen worse that got as little as a break-detention. And rightly so. The guy was a very sexist, stupid idiot, but too far is too far.

 

[kogane]

isn't this all a bit much for a stupid high school stunt?

A "stupid high school stunt"? Are you serious? Falling on your ass because you tried to ride a bike down some stairs qualifies as a "stupid high school stunt".

This was a calculated attack on adolescent females in a disgusting manner that showed no regard for their well-being or reputation.This was exploitation of minors, sexist, misogynist bullying and defamation. This kid got off way too lightly.

You must of had a hella' good life if you consider this bad and haven't came to accept that humans act like this or given up on humanity.

Where you see humans I only see stupid men who want to show women their place, but I guess whatever works for you.

Stop oppressing me!

(See what I did there?)

Sigh. You can't oppress the ones that have the power - hth! (But hey, if you consider yourself one of them, help yourself, I guess?)

 

[JDKJ]

Really? He was arrested for THAT?

I don't know how things work in America, but here in Denmark a list that's on a basic level kinda like what he did is complied for every student, in every graduating highschool class, It's called a "Blue Book" And the students make them for poking fun at their fellow class mates.

Now unlike a Blue Book, these girls didn't consent to being in this list and the contents are a bit more insulting than what would normally be put in a blue book, but arresting him? Fucking really?

Consent is the key word...without it it's just slander and you can/hopefully will be sued for it,

Saying your opinion about someone is not slander.

posting this online is no different from spreading rumors like this in real life.
And he probably was arrested for his protection, there are a LOT of pissed of parents/boy friends/brothers/cousins/uncles and girls out there, so that's why they took him into custody not because he is dangerous or a flight risk.

This is the first time I've ever heard of someone being arrested for their protection I doubt that it ever actually happens.

It is slander "a malicious, false, and defamatory statement or report" it's not like he "just" rated their looks he made assumptions about their sex life and even gave them offensive nicknames....plus you can't just go "in my opinion" and say whatever you like.

Offensive nicknames are not slander. Slander is kinda hard to prosecute. If he gave everyone exaggerated nicknames then it'd be hard to get slander on him. He could always claim "I thought she was a bisexual"

Yeah.... that's still Slander

Slander has to be malicious. So if he honestly thought she was bisexual calling her that isn't slander.

Although I didn't read that part before and if he knew he was lying it probably is slander (although those ratings and "stock values" he gave certainly aren't)

No it doesn't. Not unless the person claiming to be slandered is a "public figure" (i.e., someone who by choice has made themselves publicly notorious). If the alleged victim isn't a public figure, there's usually no requirement of malicious intent. In fact, even if you were simply mistaken about the truth of the statement, you may still be liable for slander if you didn't do anything to confirm its truthfulness.

And most of the conduct in this case isn't even technically slander. It's actually libel. Slander is spoken. Libel is printed.

 

[[zonking great]]

I'm sorry, but I have to quote Eric Cartman on this.

"What's the big fucking deal? It doesn't hurt anybody"

 

[[zonking great]]

Wee, double post.

 

[Levitas1234]

You can get arrested for anything in the USA nowadays it seems, lol.

 

[Levitas1234]

You can get arrested for anything in the USA nowadays it seems, lol.

 

[JDKJ]

You can get arrested for anything in the USA nowadays it seems, lol.

But not for making double posts to the Escapist's forums.

 

[The Funslinger]

Dear Internet lusers. Please be aware of the fact that everything you put on the Internet is public information, public sites on the Internet is not a suitable place to store files or information that you do not wish anyone to see, or that could get you in trouble.

That is all.

OT: Honestly, the guy got what was coming to him, that this sort of thing happens in the first place is another can of worms, but I can only say that I think it's disgusting.

People ask me, quite high and mightily, why I don't have facebook... I just... I just don't know what to tell them! /sarcasm

 

[nightwolf667]

Oh god, absolutely. I was in that thread too and it began to make me physically nauseous after a while. So much bigotry, blindness, double standards and ignorance. Some time before that there was also a thread about feminism which got pretty ugly.

It's really sad that you've been avoiding these forums because of it, but I can't say I blame you. I guess there's just a lot of entrenched male privilege around these parts.

Just an aside: I'm a woman too. But it's not only women that are aware of the sexism here; I've seen some men getting equally spitting mad about it.

My boyfriend who's on the forums also gets really mad about it and then he listens to me complain about it. No, I'm not for man-hating, just bigot hating.

I can't say I'm surprised to find it here though. A lot of video games, books, comic books, and movies reinforce those opinions. It's pervasive and because the media supports it, they feel justified in having them. I could argue about it but mostly I just end up pounding my head into the wall. What worries me is that the numbers seem to be growing, not decreasing, and I worry that those opinions may be growing among the general population of young adults. My mother always said we shouldn't take our freedoms for granted and that there's always a force out there trying to push us back into "the kitchen" as it were. I don't want to feel like an alien, or a second class citizen, or a sexual toy, but sometimes this site and real world politics make me think the pendulum is swinging back again.

Seriously though? Wanting to charge women with murder over miscarriages? A police officer telling girls it's basically their fault if they get raped? Sites (in America!) where father's post their daughter's "bride price"? It makes me sick.

When did people on the Escapist become so Victorian? They are expressing points of view on the sexes that I would have expected from people over 100 years ago.

 

[Wrds]

That father is just overly passionate. The only crime is that he passed the list around on a school campus. He's a pig for making the list, but he's not a criminal for it. Freedom of speech, regardless of how tasteful it is. Its not like he threatened any of the girls' lives.

 

[The Funslinger]

Is he a misogynistic douchebag? Yes, and that's putting it very mildly.
Is he a criminal? No. Not really.

A more fitting punishment would be to line up all the girls on the list and let them full-on slap him in turn.

That's a bit barbaric don't you think. I mean being insulted vs. being physically hurt is kind of a leap IMO.

Or have every girl in school list his negative physical attributes and such in front of everyone. Fitting, and hilarious.

 

[klausaidon]

Do the police have the right to arrest him? That is very debatable.

Thank you for explaining, in this case though I do feel that "arresting" the person is for the best - the racial comments made to singled out individuals is deserving of a charge on its own - and since the person in question will receive next to nothing; most likely a warning at best - he learns he should not behave in such a manner [that apparently being the third list in as many years the individual had made].

According to US law he cant actually be arrested for anything he said as long as it did not bring any physical harm to others. Racism is protected under the Federal constitution as well as state level constitutions. The debate comes from the passing the list around and acting like an idiot in public. Was it disruptive? Yes but was it disruptive enough to warrant a charge? If so then pretty much every high schooler could be arrested because this is common behavior. It is very likely the police would much rather be ignoring this but have been harassed by parents to take action. I don't know that for a fact but it seems likely. Police often don't like to involve themselves in high school drama bullshit when they have better things to do.

This is the stupidest thing in the world. Arresting someone for things they posted? What a great use of money and time. Since when is talking trash about people a serious offense? I am amazed that they actually arrested him, I should be in jail as well then.

This has actually been illegal for awhile. I don't remember the details of the original story, but I believe this sort of stunt was made illegal when a girl committed suicide over some stuff that was posted online about her. It's something about internet bullying, and I don't know the full extent of the law, but I'm guessing this guy's stunt broke said law. Just regular bullying is actually illegal too, I think, so just handing out the list around school is enough to get arrested, let alone posting it online.

So ya, it's illegal because some of the girls might kill themselves if their feelings are hurt. Stupid, I know, but teenagers are stupid.

As I recall that law was shot down in the courts for its unconstitutionality. It would also be a ***** to enforce even at a federal level if it was still in effect.

Was it? Like I said, I don't know much about the full details. You're probably right about the parents thing. Considering how many girls were on the list, I would think a lot of parents must have complained, making it a big deal.

 

[JDKJ]

Oh god, absolutely. I was in that thread too and it began to make me physically nauseous after a while. So much bigotry, blindness, double standards and ignorance. Some time before that there was also a thread about feminism which got pretty ugly.

It's really sad that you've been avoiding these forums because of it, but I can't say I blame you. I guess there's just a lot of entrenched male privilege around these parts.

Just an aside: I'm a woman too. But it's not only women that are aware of the sexism here; I've seen some men getting equally spitting mad about it.

My boyfriend who's on the forums also gets really mad about it and then he listens to me complain about it. No, I'm not for man-hating, just bigot hating.

I can't say I'm surprised to find it here though. A lot of video games, books, comic books, and movies reinforce those opinions. It's pervasive and because the media supports it, they feel justified in having them. I could argue about it but mostly I just end up pounding my head into the wall. What worries me is that the numbers seem to be growing, not decreasing, and I worry that those opinions may be growing among the general population of young adults. My mother always said we shouldn't take our freedoms for granted and that there's always a force out there trying to push us back into "the kitchen" as it were. I don't want to feel like an alien, or a second class citizen, or a sexual toy, but sometimes this site and real world politics make me think the pendulum is swinging back again.

Seriously though? Wanting to charge women with murder over miscarriages? A police officer telling girls it's basically their fault if they get raped? Sites (in America!) where father's post their daughter's "bride price"? It makes me sick.

When did people on the Escapist become so Victorian? They are expressing points of view on the sexes that I would have expected from people over 100 years ago.

Ain't nothing wrong with being barefoot and pregnant.

 

[Royas]

While his behavior is clearly deplorable, I can't see how it could be illegal. Disgusting, but protected by the first amendment. We don't get to just protect the speech we like, after all, it's there to protect the speech we don't like.

I don't see this getting too far if he has even a half-assed lawyer.

This is defamation of character, which is in no way protected. This isn't just a list describing girls and saying, "Wow, she's hot." This is a list that includes things like the girls' alleged sexual activity. You can't publish a list of the people you claim Suzy Jenkins slept with and call it "free speech."

There are clear legal tests for whether something qualifies as "protected speech." This isn't even remotely close to the outermost fringes of the lines that have been drawn.

Actually, you can. If the person you are speaking of doesn't like it, they can sue for said defamation. It's a civil matter, not a criminal, and the police shouldn't have been involved at all. It certainly doesn't qualify as "disorderly conduct" without stretching the statute to the breaking point and beyond. To refer back to your statement, this isn't even close to the outermost fringes of the lines that define criminal behavior.

 

[Sandernista]

Wow there are alot of really sexist people on the escapist. And they think they're not.

 

[radioactive lemur]

Hey Anon, why don't you lay off SONY for a while and go after whoever put this kid in jail.

 

[JDKJ]

While his behavior is clearly deplorable, I can't see how it could be illegal. Disgusting, but protected by the first amendment. We don't get to just protect the speech we like, after all, it's there to protect the speech we don't like.

I don't see this getting too far if he has even a half-assed lawyer.

This is defamation of character, which is in no way protected. This isn't just a list describing girls and saying, "Wow, she's hot." This is a list that includes things like the girls' alleged sexual activity. You can't publish a list of the people you claim Suzy Jenkins slept with and call it "free speech."

There are clear legal tests for whether something qualifies as "protected speech." This isn't even remotely close to the outermost fringes of the lines that have been drawn.

Actually, you can. If the person you are speaking of doesn't like it, they can sue for said defamation. It's a civil matter, not a criminal, and the police shouldn't have been involved at all. It certainly doesn't qualify as "disorderly conduct" without stretching the statute to the breaking point and beyond. To refer back to your statement, this isn't even close to the outermost fringes of the lines that define criminal behavior.

I dunno about that. Under the Illinois statute, "a person commits disorderly conduct when he knowingly does any act in such unreasonable manner as to alarm or disturb another and to provoke a breach of the peace." That's a lot of wiggle room. Arguably, he has "disturbed" or "alarmed" the persons on his list and caused a "breach of the peace" at the school. It isn't your typical case of disorderly conduct, but I don't know if it's a complete stretch, either.

 

[Atheist.]

Well making the list was all fine and dandy. But once he started giving them nicknames and passing fliers out in school, he kind of crossed the line.

 

[Dastardly]

It's a civil matter, not a criminal, and the police shouldn't have been involved at all. It certainly doesn't qualify as "disorderly conduct" without stretching the statute to the breaking point and beyond. To refer back to your statement, this isn't even close to the outermost fringes of the lines that define criminal behavior.

Difference being: 1. Never said the police should have been there. I agree it was overkill from a legal standpoint (though from a personal standpoint, I say tase him). 2. I didn't call it criminal behavior. I said it is reprehensible behaviors, and there are laws that stipulate it is not permissible. It is, then, against "the law." Illegal.

But never said criminal.