Pa. kindergartner suspended for bubble gun remark, and other stupid 'zero tolerance' stories

About 30 years ago I was in a private school in the 5th grade. My mother packed my dad and I lunches. In his lunch she always packed a pocket knife because he liked to cut up his apple with it. Well one day my mom accidentally gave me my dad's lunch and my dad got my lunch. You can imagine my surprise when I pulled out my lunch to eat it and found my dad's pocket knife. Naturally I thought I might get in trouble if someone found me with it and so I thought rather than try to hide it I should just take it to the teacher and explain what had happened. So I did. She thanked me for bringing it to her and she put it in her desk. She said after school I could have it back and take it home. Which I did and that was the end of that. That was the 5th grade at a private school 30 years ago. Imagine what would have happened to me today if I were in public school and accidentally ended up with my dad's pocket knife in my lunch. A swat team would probably be called!

Also when I was in Junior High my friends and I brought squirt guns (water guns) to school (public) and squirted people and each other - until we were caught. What happened to us? They took our squirt guns away and that was it. Such trouble makers we were

Man times have changed now everyone has gone insane - suspended for pointing a pizza?

reply to post by MegaMind

everyone has gone insane - suspended for pointing a pizza?

In the school's defense, the Pizza in question was take out, from Hungry Howie's. SO, I can see their concern, as to the potential dangers, involved...

Now this is a situation that could blow-up big and then Pop!

Seriously! (Shaking head in complete amazement )

Well shucks I just bought my granddaughter a bubble blower like this one for the holidays.

Does this qualify as an "assault" bubble blower because it can fire off 10 bubbles a second? Or is it ok as long as we keep it down to 7 bubbles a clip?

I forgot to register it. Do we need a concealed weapons permit if I pack it in our picnic basket when we visit the park? Next thing you know I'll have to get a registered serial number on each bubble she blows.

If you follow this to its natural conclusion, Ronald Reagan was a terrorist as shown by the old Westerns in which he brandished firearms. So, it seems, in America even a terrorist can become president! The twisted logic shows the mischief done through the deviously generalized misapplication of a label to persons, behaviors, events, and categories to which the label does not logically apply.

reply to post by dubiousone


Funny you should bring up Ronald Reagan, for it was during his administration that the "zero tolerance" policy was brought up.

The term zero tolerance was first employed by President RONALD REAGAN's administration when it launched its War on Drugs initiative in the early 1980s. Some school districts embraced the initiative in an attempt to eradicate drug possession and drug use on school property. The policy became law, however, when Congress passed the Drug-Free Schools and Campuses Act of 1989 (Pub.L. 101-226, December 12, 1989, 103 Stat. 1928). The act banned the unlawful use, possession, or distribution of drugs and alcohol by students and employees on school grounds and college campuses. It required educational agencies and institutions of higher learning to establish disciplinary sanctions for violations or risk losing federal aid. As a result, the majority of schools and colleges immediately began to adopt zero tolerance polices to safeguard their federal funding.

source

What might be good for adult offenders could produce disastrous effects for children in a school. Zero tolerance for adults might help the prison construction industry, also, but what to do with children who aren't that sophisticated about the concept of zero tolerance.

Zero tolerance made it easier for authoritarian followers to survive in a world with nuances ... and common sense. People want to complain about zero tolerance in schools? Then they would be in the company of Bill Ayers, that Commie Marxist.
Have We Gone Overboard With Zero Tolerance? from 1999

reply to post by desert

People want to complain about zero tolerance in schools? Then they would be in the company of Bill Ayers, that Commie Marxist.

Can't sane individuals have a similar thought to that of the nut-jobs, without being put in the same company?

Where is it written that whackos, must always think irrationally?

I'm not busting your chops, I'm just curious why you stated your post in such a way....
Do you draw a direct correlation? Or, are you just trying to open some eyes?

reply to post by GoOfYFoOt


Hey, Go! Honestly? When the OP states the thank you to Obama and liberals for the zero tolerance policy. The history of the policy states otherwise, which was the backlash to perceived weaknesses of liberals in dealing with drugs, and then morphing into a public school policy. I used Ayers to point out the fact that, yes, there can be agreement among opposition.

Even back then the false dichotomy of either "zero tolerance" or "weak on crime" made politicians (Dems) want to appear just as tough or tougher than Republicans, in order to be in a winning position in upcoming elections.

Once the zero tolerance concept was out there, it could be subject to anything. For ex, tolerance for gay marriage could be seen as zero tolerance for another's religious values.

For many, zero tolerance in schools was ok, if it was a black inner city child (as s/he could be perceived as in need of it), but when a white rural child was caught up, then it was not ok. (I saw the same thing with drugs in the 80s; coc aine was tolerated by society when used by black musicians or inner city blacks, but when it hit the white middle class, something needed to be done, as coc aine was only then a danger.)

reply to post by HomerinNC


Sickening! REad about this yesterday, and then this one today:

now it's a paper "gun"

A Philadelphia elementary school student was scolded and searched by administrators in front of her entire class after she pulled out a paper gun in class last week...

So......

The thing that stood out most in the bubble "gun" case was the requirement for a mental evaluation. What next, force ALL students to be "evaluated", so they can prescribe meds, before the kids can attend school? Just watch; that's coming.

Also noted that, after so many people pointed out that there was no connection between these shootings and video games, we got a new case where the teen kills his family, claims he's planning to kill more, and states himself a love of violent games. The timing there is a bit "convenient"!

Make no mistake, people; the goal here is complete control. They want mandatory "mental health" screening for all, so they can medicate those that disagree, and have no resistance.

Originally posted by marbles87
I hate "toy guns" there is no such thing it is just a gun that doesn't fire bullets. When you tell kids to shoot each other cops and robber style you are giving the impression that guns are not dangerous. They should stop making them but when "toy guns" we're popular kids got proper education regarding them for the most part. Now you have kids confused over guns and being punished for playing with toys their parents bought them. This will scare kids and will keep them from getting proper education regarding them.

There is a huge difference between a toy gun and a real one. My kids have such toys, and they certainly know about real ones as well, and all necessary safety measures.

You are right on target about this scaring the kids. That's the goal; to scare them, so they think all guns are evil, and won't ever want to own one. This is exactly what Holder was talking about; brainwashing the children (and others).

Originally posted by BrianFlanders
How long will it be before this evolves into something far more sinister?

Right now, we seem to be only looking at suspensions. I was watching Fox News last night and something very dark caught my attention. As they were talking about gun control, they suddenly switched and started talking about "mental illness". The focal point of this conversation arrived when one of them appeared to suggest that teachers or doctors or school staff or someone should be reporting "strange" (paraphrasing) kids to the authorities.

During the same conversation, it took another interesting twist when one of them suggested we need to find some way to make sure all the weirdos (again, paraphrasing) are taking their "medication".

Now if you're a "weirdo" like me, you might be thinking they could do anything they wanted all the way up to and including chemical lobotomies with this forced "medication".

The pieces are falling into place. At least one form of thoughtcrime is being defined. Will it stop with young children or will they be working on adults too? I've always thought they tend to mostly leave adults alone when they start on a new stage and a new generation because they figure it's too late to change people who are not very young and malleable.

But with Obamacare, one never knows where they might be able to go.

edit on 20-1-2013 by BrianFlanders because: (no reason given)

I said when all this started, back in December, with the "mental health" discussions on that shooter, that they were going to push that angle. Forced evaluations, forced medications, and so forth. One more reason to NOT have your kids in public schools. Fox being the station doesn't surprise me, either; they aren't nearly as "conservative" as some people think.

They are working on adults, too, though. The way the stories are portrayed in the news is one way. For example, a story about a man reported to police by an ex (I think), who ended up having his home searched. The guy had a nice gun collection, and the media played it up like he was some sort of nut, when there were NO indications that he was violent at all. Cases of someone legally carrying a gun and being harassed by police are another. Then, add in the way people are told, "If you see something, say something.", and you will eventually have people reporting their neighbors (and family, and friends) for anything and nothing. That's happened before.

Originally posted by bastet11
reply to post by HomerinNC

 

Wow. And people wonder why I mainly homeschool my son. He attends a charter school twice a week. I better hope he never does the little "Pyoo pyoo pyoo" laser gun noises he makes when he runs around the house playing, on one of those two days!!
Utter craziness.
Anyone seeing my son do that would probably assume my son was exposed to all kind of violent entertainment or guns. They would never understand that he is just emulating his G1 Transformers videos..something we 80's kids grew up with and reenacted time after time. Just like when my brother and I would play GI Joe (I always ended up being Cobra Commander because his friends needed a "bad guy" and I was the only girl..)
We used to bring waterguns to school to play at recess. We used to make rubber band guns and shoot them at each other. Please, anyone show me any boy child (at least) and a lot of girls, that did not pretend to have a gun at some point. This did not make us all mass murderers!
We are indoctrinated from an early age to worship our "Heroes"...cops, soldiers, etc. Then when children emulate them, they are being punished?
I guess now they are at the stage of swiftly and severely making an example out of any child who dares Thoughtcrime.

When I was a kid, we would play cops and robbers, cowboys and indians, etc, all the time. We would use water guns, or dart guns, or cap guns (yes, the girls, too). We threw water balloons at each other, and used pea shooters to shoot one another as well. No one ever got hurt, and not a single one of us ever shot anyone with a real gun. Neither did generations of kids! The worst part is that some who should know better are buying the BS. I have a very close relative that I can't even discuss these things with, because they think the authorities are justified, because, well, a rule or law was broken. Never mind if the rule or law is just in the first place. Never mind common sense, or personal freedom. If ever TSHTF, I won't be able to even talk to that person. I would surely be reported as some potential problem.