"Snotty-Nosed Little Brats"

Last Thursday the Washington area had a bit of a snowstorm. Nothing too serious, but it did leave anywhere from three to six inches on the ground during the course of the day. Since the snow wasn't forecast to begin until after 10 AM and was expected to change to rain a few hours later (which did NOT happen), most school systems went ahead and opened. And based on the expectation of rain, they opted not to close early.

Needless to say, many kids were somewhat perturbed by this. After all, what fun is winter if you don't get the occasional snow day or early closing? But as a student, what can you do? You're nothing more than a pawn of "The Man."

A 17 year old senior, Devraj "Dave" S. Kori, at Lake Braddock High School in Fairfax, VA, however, did not take this oppression lying down. Kori tried calling Dean Tistadt, a local school official, at his office. When that didn't work, he called Tistadt's home phone. No answer there, either, so Kori left a message asking why the schools weren't being closed early because of deteriorating road conditions.

Well, Mrs. Tistadt came home, found the message, and was none too happy about it Then Mrs. Tistadt did something really stupid: She called Kori back and left a message on his voicemail. Nowadays, that can be a dangerous thing to do.... Especially when at one point you tell the 17 year old "Get over it, kid, and go to school!" If that wasn't bad enough, she also uttered the immortal words, "snotty-nosed little brats."

And why, precisely, were those words "immortal?" Because today there is something called the internet, which is a vast series of tubes running between people's houses (as described by Alaska Senator Ted Stevens). And tech savvy kids often use those tubes to create things called Facebook pages.... Which is precisely what Kori did when he got home. He even posted the Tistadt's home phone number.

As could be expected, that evening the Tistadts got numerous phone calls. Dozens, in fact. One even came at 4 A.M. the next morning.

Many people are in a tizzy over this thing. Some are siding with the student, others with the administrator's wife. It's turned into a debate over free speech, and is threatening to erupt into civil war. With the United States military still in Iraq, it is unclear who will restore order. The republic may yet fall and freedom perish from the face of the Earth.

I just wish those internet tubes had been around when I was still in school.