A eighteen-year-old in Kentucky has been jailed for writing a story about a high-school over-run by zombies. Says he,

It’s a fake story. I made it up. I’ve been working on one of my short stories, (and) the short story they found was about zombies. Yes, it did say a high school. It was about a high school over ran [sic] by zombies … It didn’t mention nobody who lives in Clark County, didn’t mention [George Rogers Clark High School], didn’t mention no principal or cops, nothing. Half the people at high school know me. They know I’m not that stupid, that crazy.

Obviously, I’m not informed enough to make a proper judgement, since I’m missing a key piece of evidence here — the story itself. Nevertheless, taking this all at face value, there’s a couple important things to consider.

It Was An Act Of Creativity

It would have perfectly valid, under this jurisdiction, for him to consume zombie-themed entertainment in the form of movies. or video games, neither of which are as intellectually stimulating as writing a short story.

With the political power that the gaming and movie industries represent, these things will never disappear. And neither should they; that’s a basic free-speech/free-expression issue. But to attack some kid over it seems rather low.

He Seems Pretty Normal

Perhaps the story was hideous. Maybe it was shocking to the point of being grotesque, with a complete absence of redeeming moral qualities. After all, his grandparents turned it in to the authorities. But were these shocking things that ended up in the story really part of a psychopathic nature that was leading to the next Columbine? What if he just gleaned them from the aforementioned movies and games?

Teenages Do And Say Dumb Things

And I’ll be the first to step up and admit it. It sounds like he didn’t even intend these writings to have ever left his journal. Having a private journal is helpful, because later on it can be a humbling influence. (”Wow, I felt so justified then, just like now. But it turned out then that I was just being a petulant child.”)

But even if he did intend to publish the story, and assuming it was somehow improper to the point that it needed additional correction, I’m not sure jailing him is the correct way to deal with it. Yeah, maybe they could get a shrink or whatever to check him over, if they’re really worried, but the thought of being jailed for mere words on paper is a scary thought. Especially when you’re just eighteen.

I Can Only Partly Empathise…

… Because I don’t really get the whole zombie thing, nor really the larger genre of horror. It’s just not something that I enjoy as entertainment. But if Mr. Poole is using it as material to flex the creative muscle, that’s something to be praised, not arrested over.

Mike

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