KINDERGARTENDER EXPELLED FOR HAVING FIREMAN AXE "WEAPON"
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Date sent: Tue, 03 Nov 1998 18:41:37 -0500
To: 71524.2205@compuserve.com
From: WitchyPooy@aol.com (by way of Fred Battey )
Subject: Weapons No-Tolerance really means NO COMMON SENSE
We yet another ridiculous nonsensical story where NO tolerance weapons
policies really mean NO common sense.
Yesterday in Deer Lakes School District, a district in South West PA, a
kindergartner age 5 was suspended for 1 day for violating the schools "no
tolerance weapons policy. Of course the 5 yr old has no idea what they
are talking about or what he did wrong, only that the establishment and
adults are punishing him and isn't this terrible. It seems the school
sponsored a Halloween Party (which by the way is the celebration of a
religion, since Halloween was established years ago as the day for devil
worship). Anyway it seems the kindergartner was to come to school in
Halloween costume, so he did as many youngsters do at that age, and
dressed in a store bought costume as a "Fireman." Yes, folks this little
guy still thinking that firemen are heroes and someone to emulate, dressed
as a fireman but made the mistake of bringing a 6 inch plastic red toy ax,
which was part of the store bought costume, to school as a prop attached
to his fireman's tool belt. NOW everyone knows that the ax was not
invented as a weapon anymore than pencils were. An ax is and always was
and will be a useful tool by pioneers, campers, etc etc, and is in fact a
very important tool for Firemen fighting fires. When visiting the
Firehouse as a field trip, the children were shown all the various tools a
fireman uses to fight fires, such as hoses, fireproof clothing, picks, and
axes. (They were NOT shown a display of "weapons") So as any 5 yr old
would do, and since it was supplied in the store bought costume, he
attached it in the appropriate place on his toolbelt, as he had seen our
fireman (heroes all) do.
Well, you guessed it! Common sense being totally absent in our schools
today, when the young man showed up at school in his costume, his teacher
was shocked and outraged. She immediately confiscated the "look alike
weapon" (or as we all know the "look alike tool") and placed it on her
desk. If that was the end of it, this story would not have made front
page news. But heaven no!!! The principal of the elementary school,
hearing of the "weapon of mass destruction" immediately suspended the 5 yr
old child from school for 1 day, immediately removing him from the
Halloween party, calling the parent, and explaining that this child had
violated their "no tolerance" weapons policy and needed to be punished!!
HUH? said the little boy, what's that? The community is outraged. Isn't
the weapons policy suppose to stop "weapons"? Isn't the intent of an
object what makes it a weapon or not? Is silverware a weapon? If the
child had dressed as an AX murderer, that would be different, but a
fireman?
Our schools have become dangerous, but not dangerous from the children
within. NO the children are in more danger from insensitive, unthinking,
and just plain stupid "in charge" adults and policies that have no basis
in anything that even closely resembles common sense or the real world!
Here is a 5 yr. old child being told that he did something wrong by
dressing as his mother told him, going to school as he was told, holding a
fireman as a hero, and all around being traumatized by not knowing from
this day forward, whether he is good or bad, or does terrible things. He
will no doubt be afraid to go to school, and who knows what else. Please
is this progress!! And I don't want to hear from any societal do gooders
that say this child and the rest of the kids learned that no tolerance
means no tolerance!! That's bunk!!!! All they learned is they really
don't know which way to turn any longer. Suppose the child dressed as a
carpenter and brought a hammer on his toolbelt, would he be kicked out?
ANYTHING CAN BE USED AS A WEAPON IF YOU WANT! As I said earlier, look out
for those pencils, although not made as a weapon or for that purpose (as
is the ax not made for a weapon), pencils could be used to poke someone's
eye out, or if stuck in the ear with great enough force, could kill. We
have children who can't read for heaven sake! Yet we want to waste our
time and resources on this foolishness. Everyone knows that if SKIP from
Oregon had not been allowed to dress as a fireman in kindergarten, he
probably wouldn't have ended up killing all those students!!!!! Give me a
break!!