Dark poetry doesn’t equal criminal threat
By Jeff Schenck
June 6, 2004 9:00 p.m.
Zero tolerance at high schools is meant for guns and knives. But
when schools start punishing students for writing and sharing
literature, I begin to fear for my own safety.
Exhibit A: George T., a boy who you probably have not heard of,
went to Juvenile Hall for 100 days because of poetry he wrote,
according to The Associated Press. I thought it was graffiti that
landed people in trouble with the law, not literary scrawlings.
The writing was on the wall for this 15-year-old when he wrote
self-described “dark poetry” and showed it to two of
his classmates at Santa Teresa High School in San Jose. They became
frightened. They told a teacher, and before he knew what happened,
George was sentenced to 100 days in juvenile hall by local
courts.
The prosecution claimed George’s poetry was a criminal
threat, which is not protected under the First Amendment. They
cited a line from his poem, titled “Faces,” which
reads, “For I can be the next kid to bring guns to kill
students at school.”
Somewhat short of Shakespeare, perhaps, but far short of a
criminal threat.
In fact, the law requires a criminal threat to be
“unequivocal, unconditional, immediate and specific.”
This is what needs to be re-examined in George’s situation,
as the California Supreme Court is looking at his case.
Some have argued that poetry should be treated differently than
normal speech. This is total balderdash. Should red roses and blue
violets be able to shield someone from threatening to kill their
mother with a pistol? Certainly not.
Instead, statements need to be evaluated based on whether they
really violate the law. In the case of George, who is now 18, the
writing was specifically labeled as poetry. He named no location,
date or plan for his supposed threats. In fact, he only states he
“can” kill these people, not that he intends to.
This should not be enough to constitute a criminal threat.
This is not enough to incarcerate a high school student. Well,
it shouldn’t be, anyway.
Zero tolerance is meant to be a way to keep people safe, not a
tool to stifle free speech. I’ll be the first to admit speech
can in fact be harmful, but sometimes that becomes its most
important ability. As long as it is not criminal, all speech has a
place in our society, even in a post-Columbine world.
Actually, if all the little Georges of the world were prevented
from writing their angst-filled spewings, they may come out in a
different form. If those who would write about violence instead
acted out their frustrated artistic vision, we would have thousands
of Columbines on our hands.
In fact, some of the themes in George’s poetry echo those
that can be found in works by the likes of Allen Ginsberg. Several
other poets have recently come out in support of George’s
case.
And his is not an isolated case. More than ever school
administrators are bringing such speech to the police to deal with.
This is a troubling trend.
If people become afraid to express their true feelings in
writing, they will seal them up inside. They will fester. Some will
escape, if not in words, then in actions.
Bad poetry that contains dark themes is not really something I
want to hear. But a bad police report that contains the same dark
themes would obviously be worse.
If free speech is not protected at its most basic levels, in the
schools where the children of this country learn to be citizens and
in the classrooms where they are taught the virtues of our
Constitution, then the next generation of Americans will no longer
be fully American.
Though it’s a little cliché, free speech is
politically, socially and intellectually necessary for our society
to prosper.
If we take that away from this country’s youth, we take it
away from this country.
Instead, we need to empower children like George, who need to
turn to poetry as an outlet for what are perfectly healthy teenage
emotions.
School administrators cannot take the two words “zero
tolerance” out of context, and the law cannot confuse poetry
with guns.
The pen is mightier than the sword, they say. Mightier, maybe.
But pens don’t kill people.
Beware, those who stand in the way of poetry. For I can be the
next kid to kill anyone who stands in its way.
Schenck is a first-year undeclared student, and he thanks
you for reading. E-mail him at [email protected]. Send
general comments to [email protected].
