Maybe it\u2019s time the Internet adopted a \u201csarcasm\u201d tag to alert readers to the use of irony in online conversation, and, hopefully, avoid situations like that of Justin Carter, a Texas teenager who has been in jail since February over a Facebook comment that failed to make a woman in Canada LOL.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, Carter and a friend got into an Facebook argument with someone regarding \u201cLeague of Legends,\u201d an online video game with notoriously die-hard fans. Justin\u2019s father, Jack, explained to ABC local affiliate KVUE that at the end of the conversation \u201c[s]omeone had said something to the effect of \u2018Oh you\u2019re insane, you\u2019re crazy, you\u2019re messed up in the head,\u2019 to which [Justin] replied \u2018Oh yeah, I\u2019m real messed up in the head, I\u2019m going to go shoot up a school full of kids and eat their still, beating hearts,\u2019 and the next two lines were lol and jk [all sic].\u201d<\/p>\n
In case you\u2019ve never been online before today: Internet shorthand LOL stands for \u201claughing out loud\u201d; JK means \u201cjust kidding.\u201d<\/p>\n
A woman in Canada who came across the boy\u2019s post failed to see the humor, however, and alerted police after Internet research revealed Carter, who was 18 at the time of the incident, lived near an elementary school. Carter was taken into custody and charged with making a \u201cterroristic\u201d threat.<\/p>\n
An Austin, Texas, police spokesperson told Parentdish the department takes any threat made against schools seriously, especially after recent events.<\/p>\n
Carter\u2019s parents have since launched a Change.org petition seeking signatures to protest their son\u2019s situation on the grounds of freedom of speech.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Carter, now 19, faces up to eight years in prison. His trial is scheduled to begin July 1.<\/p>\n