Juvenile Facebook prank undeserving of arrest
Issue date: 2/10/06 Section: Editorials
The arrest of first-year James Sharpe for posting the composite sketch of the rapist that attacked a Miami student on Facebook raises some divisive issues, both about personal responsibility and freedom of expression. Sharpe is scheduled to go before the judge next week, but before that there are some things to consider.
First of all, what Sharpe did was disgusting and completely deplorable. Posting the rapist's sketch as his Facebook picture goes beyond a joke in poor taste. Sharpe took an event that shocked and frightened Miami students as well as the Oxford community and exploited it for his own juvenile, ignorant kicks. Certainly, he deserves denunciation from the entire Miami community as well as some type of disciplinary action. One must wonder if he fully understands exactly what he did. The victim of the rapist, whose face graced his profile, has to live with the violence and terror of that incident for the rest of her life. If she had been close to Sharpe - his friend, his sister or his girlfriend - would he have found his joke so funny then? Why he thought such an action would be a good idea or in the least bit amusing is a mystery.
Still, there is a line between insensitive and illegal. There is even a line between unbelievably insensitive and illegal. The Oxford police charged him with "inducing panic and circulating material with reckless disregard." While idiotic and insensitive, this seems an extreme way to characterize Sharpe's actions. This definition qualifies the crime as a first-degree misdemeanor, which is a hefty punishment. The bottom line is that if a student were to post Mein Kampf as his or her favorite book on Facebook, that would be in incredibly bad taste, but that does not make it illegal. Freedom of speech and freedom of expression are rights that trump bad taste and poor decision-making. Sharpe did not yell "fire" in a crowded theater. It is highly doubtful that anyone actually thought he was the criminal, bragging by posting a police sketch of himself as his picture, thus making it hard to say that he caused a "panic."
This does not mean he should escape responsibility, however. Alerting Facebook so that they could remove his entire profile would have been appropriate, as well as alerting the university. This is an instance where Miami should have taken action to deal with a student displaying such reckless disregard and insensitivity. It is not, however, under the purview of the government to regulate people's poor taste.
First of all, what Sharpe did was disgusting and completely deplorable. Posting the rapist's sketch as his Facebook picture goes beyond a joke in poor taste. Sharpe took an event that shocked and frightened Miami students as well as the Oxford community and exploited it for his own juvenile, ignorant kicks. Certainly, he deserves denunciation from the entire Miami community as well as some type of disciplinary action. One must wonder if he fully understands exactly what he did. The victim of the rapist, whose face graced his profile, has to live with the violence and terror of that incident for the rest of her life. If she had been close to Sharpe - his friend, his sister or his girlfriend - would he have found his joke so funny then? Why he thought such an action would be a good idea or in the least bit amusing is a mystery.
Still, there is a line between insensitive and illegal. There is even a line between unbelievably insensitive and illegal. The Oxford police charged him with "inducing panic and circulating material with reckless disregard." While idiotic and insensitive, this seems an extreme way to characterize Sharpe's actions. This definition qualifies the crime as a first-degree misdemeanor, which is a hefty punishment. The bottom line is that if a student were to post Mein Kampf as his or her favorite book on Facebook, that would be in incredibly bad taste, but that does not make it illegal. Freedom of speech and freedom of expression are rights that trump bad taste and poor decision-making. Sharpe did not yell "fire" in a crowded theater. It is highly doubtful that anyone actually thought he was the criminal, bragging by posting a police sketch of himself as his picture, thus making it hard to say that he caused a "panic."
This does not mean he should escape responsibility, however. Alerting Facebook so that they could remove his entire profile would have been appropriate, as well as alerting the university. This is an instance where Miami should have taken action to deal with a student displaying such reckless disregard and insensitivity. It is not, however, under the purview of the government to regulate people's poor taste.
