Monday, February 26, 2007
iron.ic
in a society that promotes liberty and freedom and that allows its civilians to own arms, a different culture exists on the playgrounds. paranoia and fear shroud parents today and prohibit their children to play with toy guns, or with other children who own such toys.
in a washington post article i read today, the reporter recounted several instances of children being charged for terrorist threats, or suspended from school, because they possessed such "violent weapons".
In New Jersey, an 8-year-old boy used an L-shaped piece of paper in a game of cops and robbers during recess. School officials called the police, saying the child had threatened "to kill other students" by saying "pow pow" on the playground.
In Texas, a 13-year-old girl was suspended and transferred to a school for problem kids after she brought a butter knife to school with her lunch. Her parents had packed the dull knife so that she could cut her apple to make it easier to eat because she wore braces.
In Arkansas, an 8-year-old boy was punished for pointing a cooked chicken strip at another student and saying "pow, pow, pow."
It's absurdity really, but who can blame them for their fears when their country is constantly rubbing off wrongly with nations. We should just label all things sword or gunlike as weapons of mass destruction.Labels: a-musing, random
2:22 PM
