Patrick McLaw: What’s Going on Here?

So there’s lots of chatter this morning about Patrick McLaw, a Dorchester County teacher who has, as far as anyone can tell, been suspended and committed to mental care (making him utterly unavailable for comment, which seems like the equivalent of getting disappeared) because he wrote two science fiction novels, set almost a millenium in the future, about school shootings.

Here’s a couple of the pieces about it:

From DailyKos: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/30/1326004/-Incarcerated-For-Writing-Science-Fiction#

From the Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/09/in-cambridge-md-a-soviet-style-punishment-for-a-novelist/379431/

From Dorchester-based The Star: http://www.stardem.com/easternshore/news/dorchester_county/article_436429cd-6151-5000-b068-3d2baf3d34fd.html (Thank you to Scott A. Kennedy for pointing me at that.)

Here is a letter from Nalo Hopkinson about the events. (Thank you to Elizabeth Bear for pointing at it.)

Update: here’s a piece from the LA Times saying that the confinement was based on a letter sent to officials. No mention of what the letter said, or which officials it was directed to.

No one seems to know more than this and based on this, it sure looks like a violation of First Amendment rights that should have any writer, if not every citizen, outraged. When I tried to get more information, all I got was a press release from August 22, which had been updated on August 25, saying basically what’s in those pieces.

If you want to write or call someone about it, here are some suggestions:

The e-mail address of the Dorchester Country School Boards: daytonc@dcpsmd.org. There’s also a snail mail address on this page: http://www.dcps.k12.md.us/BoardMemb.html

Here is a Change.org petition asking that McLaw be reinstated: http://www.change.org/p/dr-henry-wagner-language-teacher-treated-like-a-psychotic-criminal-for-writing-a-sci-fi-story-issue-a-full-and-public-apology-to-patrick-mclaw-and-reinstate-him?recruiter=3340296

Here is the address of the Superintendent of Schools, Henry Wagner, Jr. wagnerh@dcpsmd.org. His phone number is 410-228-4747, ext. 1002

Here is the contact information for the Wicomico County State’s Attorney office:

P.O. Box 1006

Salisbury, MD 21803

(410) 548-4880

Matthew A. Maciarello, State’s attorney

(410) 548-4880, ext 23

mmacierello@wicomicocounty.org

Ella Disharoon, Deputy State’s Attorney

(410) 548-4880, ext 28

edisharoom@wicomicocounty.org