Disbelief - it cannot take place in a democracy

I saw this article about some High School students, who are punished for - being High School students:

Teenagers sentenced in Prom Party Case, Greenville News

Well, a teenager who is a son of one of my co-workers want to travel to the United States to study a year in an American High School. His parents would not let him. I understand him. There is a lot of dangers connected to such an entreprise.

I would certainly not let my children take a year in this country. They are integrated Danes today and use alcohol as almost every other Danish High School students.

They will be thrown in jail within 14 days if they should live like under laws the American students suffer under.

Second of all there is the question of legal procecution later in life. As some kind of political deal our supreme court was not allowed to deal with the Camilla Broe case. A decision which most legal experts do not understand. The poor single mother of a 10 year old girl are in the process of saying goodbye for the last time to her daughter as she is waiting to be extradited on some bogus charges in Florida.

The real tragedy in this story is that Broe does not seem to understand that she is victim of a political setup. She is in the process to collect 300,000 Danish krones to cover the legal cost. Those of you who are naive can learn how to support her here:

www.camillabroe.com

But the sad truth is that the extradition agreement between Denmark and the United States are an invitation to plead guilty. Remember, she will return to Denmark within 6 month after she has got her sentence. However, if she choose to fight the trial will last between 3-6 years and it is likely that the prosecution will demand that she is detained while the trial is ongoing. She will be broken and the money will last nowhere.

Most legal expert would advise her to plead guilty to whatever charges they can invent, because a defense based on the battered woman syndrome is useless. It proved of no value in the Faye Copeland case.

She believes she is innocent and she is not aware that she should use the Alford plea when facing a setup like that which only leaves her the choice to give the prosecutors what they want or be broken in a cruel jail.

But back to the son of my co-worker. I hope that they are succesful in preventing him from taking a year as an exchange student. To live a year on very limited freedom is nothing to long for.

Just saw the most awful TV-show on Youtube

One of the Australian TV-channels purchased the program concept called “The world strictest parents”. It is a TV-show much like MTV’s “Exiled” where teenager are taken from their homes and placed in potential dangerous countries to live for a week.

While they are away they live like the locals at a host family. Host families used to be very used by controversial drug treatment programs. Survivors speak of unbearable torment.

This time two teenagers were sent to South Africa to live at a family who were farmers. They also had to go to rather mysterious school where the student had to wear school uniforms and march in some military formation like it was known in the former East-block countries until the totalitarian regime fell down.

It was just an awful episode to watch. Where were the teenagers happily drinking alcohol while learning about each other and sharing life experiences?

Do they not create murderers and violent people by enforcing such a strict structure in school? Yes, they do! South Africa is one of the most dangerous countries to live in when it comes to the amount of murders. In Denmark we know how important it is to let youth buy alcohol in an early age and let them drink with each other. Sadly we have learned it the hard way because when youth don’t drink alcohol they tend to marginalized themselves and form groups of youth with another social values than the common population. As stricter the school environment get, the larger risk of violence and anti-social behavior gets.

Right now the foreign departments in a lot of other countries warn tourists from visiting certain parts of Denmark where those non-drinking youth have armed themselves and are shooting at people who looks like they have owned or driven a motorcycle at some point.

It is groups who will support the terrorist behind the 9/11 attacks at any time. We know it because they did drive around the streets and celebrated that terrible act of terrorism when it did happen. It forced us to deliver the most damaging strike against the morale among the terrorists when we printed the pictures of some false prophet according to our religious belief.

I don’t know the reason for sending teenagers from a peaceful country like Australia to South Africa, but it’s just wrong. Danish youth is among the most reluctant you from traveling abroad and study. Of course part of this behavior is owned to the fact that the Danish education system is second to none worldwide. Our education system in Denmark targets the education of the whole person. It is not about studying for some test. It is about understanding the subject and yet remains critical to it.

Even a full year in a United States High School is not rewarded with credits once the student returns home. The level of education is just too different.

Today we are very aware of the fact that it is important to prevent fauna pollution. Various cultures do not mix well.

If a Danish Television channel should consider taking this concept up, I will create a protest group at once.

I happen to be very close to crying when I saw this torment Jono and Bailey was forced to undergo, which for Jono’s case even went to far to altering his appearance. I have spoken to not so few where just like a thing like shaving your beard is something which is against the religious belief and even that was not respected.

I don’t know what is wrong with the entertainment business these years. It seems like it is a question about topping the amount of abuse and torment in every show. There were Brat Camp where one of the participants became victim of happy slapping when he returned home so he was forced into hiding. Then we had Exiled where the participants went to countries where people are held ransom or countries which were in civil war just months after they left.

Now this!

Will it ever stop? Can we not settle by living happily in our countries without learning about what other people are doing, so our youth can focus on what it best in their lives?