Re: Student arrested over Counter Strike map

[John Forrister <John () segfault com>]

Drsolly wrote:
> On Fri, 4 May 2007, John Forrister wrote:
>
>   
> > Drsolly wrote:
> >     
> > > On Thu, 3 May 2007, Kurt Grutzmacher wrote:
> > >
> > >   
> > >       
> > > > On 5/3/07, Drsolly <drsollyp () drsolly com> wrote:
> > > >     
> > > >         
> > > > > On Thu, 3 May 2007, Kurt Grutzmacher wrote:
> > > > >       
> > > > >           
> > > > > > "I think removing him was probably a good thing to do because we have
> > > > > > no idea if he was actually going to come to school with a gun or
> > > > > > something," student Maggie Berado said.
> > > > > >         
> > > > > >             
> > > > > But I have no idea whether Maggie Berado is going to come to school with a
> > > > > gun or something, so should we do something about her?
> > > > >       
> > > > >           
> > > > I wonder if she has a hammer close to her:
> > > >     
> > > >         
> > > Or a fork. A fork is a potential weapon. 
> > >  
> > >   
> > >       
> > Or a pen/pencil - after all, they're sharp pointy objects - quick we'd
> > best arrest every student and administrator in the school, just to be
> > 'safe'.
> >
> > As most of the people on this list realize, a weapon isn't an object,
> > it's a state of mind.   Nearly anything that comes to hand can be used
> > as a weapon if a person decides to attack someone.  Sadly, most people
> > don't realize this, and instead insist on labeling particular objects as
> > 'dangerous'. 
> >     
>
> Yes, I've always wondered why they won't let me carry a bomb onto an 
> airplane. It isn't bombs that kill people, it's people that kill people.
>   
Wow, we jumped a long ways from having a hammer confiscated from a high
school student because he plays video games to carrying a bomb on an
airplane, but I'll try to address your point about people killing people.

As with almost anything, explosives can be used in good and bad ways  -
it's all in the intent of the person using it.  I'm not a big fan of
explosives (or weapons in general) on airplanes, myself, but I don't
advocate banning explosives completely - there's an awful lot of
railroad tracks, bridges,  mines , and other useful public
infrastructure that wouldn't exist without them.  Heck we even use
explosives for avalanche control here in the states to help keep people
from getting killed.   Of course, you can take the same bundle of
explosives, package it up, and put it in a mailbox to kill a bunch of
people.  In one instance, explosives are a tool, and in the other,
they're a weapon.  The distinction is purely in the intent of the person
using them.

The same is true of a hammer, a fork, or a pen. 

Now, on to airplanes specifically:

Regardless of the intent of the person with a given object, there are a
lot of legitimate reasons to ban explosives, firearms, pepper spray, etc
from airplanes (and, in some cases, the public at large).  Some of them
have to do with malicious people.  Others are simply safety concerns -
the discharge of a firearm, whether intentional or accidental, on an
airplane can have immediate, disastrous consequences for all involved. 
The same is true of an explosive - if it goes off, the immediate results
will be the same, without regards to whether it's accidental or
intentionally detonated.  Same for a can of pepper spray, or the rupture
and ignition of an oxygen cylinder required by a passenger for medical
reasons. 

On another note, it's interesting (and kind of sad) that if he'd offered
to sell the map for the game as a 'Training Simulation' to the local
SWAT team instead of just playing it and owning a hammer, he could
probably have made a bundle of money for his efforts, and not be in
trouble right now.






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