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Old January 3, 2013, 08:17 AM   #1
pelican
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Six-year-old suspended for pointing finger like a gun

In Maryland, a 6-year-old child was suspended from elementary school for a pretend gunshot. He pointed his finger at another student and said "pow".

This is just wrong.

This child was mistreated in an attempt to further a political agenda, which seeks to control behavior, and do away with the Second Amendment.

People are being conditioned to fear guns, instead of criminals. How can this situation be reversed?



http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/...lt_finger.html

Last edited by pelican; January 3, 2013 at 08:44 AM. Reason: spelling
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Old January 3, 2013, 08:45 AM   #2
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How can this situation be reversed?
simple.., teach the Constitution and B.O.R., put gun training in every school, make it like all the other extra activities like band, volley ball, football, baseball, archery etc.

just my idea and OPINION !!
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Old January 3, 2013, 08:54 AM   #3
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Pretty sure that when I was six I committed the same violation, repeatedly
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Old January 3, 2013, 09:49 AM   #4
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Would it be different if the boy put up his middle finger and said "FU"?
Suspended for 1 day. And this made the news?
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Old January 3, 2013, 10:51 AM   #5
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Playing "Army", "Cops and Robbers," "Star Wars," or the non-PC "Cowboys and Indians" used to be quite normal. Flipping the bird was not considered appropriate.

For those of us who remember when school boards, teachers, and parents were not ninnies, yes, this one day suspension is a big deal, and is newsworthy.
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Old January 3, 2013, 11:03 AM   #6
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Another reason to homeschool your kids.
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Old January 3, 2013, 11:32 AM   #7
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Times have changed

School boards have changed. Some have gone farther beyond reason than others. Also some administrators are more "ridiculous" than others when handing out punishments.

Not knowing anything about the location of the school, it is hard to know how far toward the "ridiculous" this punishment goes. For example, if this was an inner city school where gangs are a problem, it may be justified. However, if we are talking a rural district where such actions aren't common, it was definitely overkill.

I remember an incident from my high school days, definitely long ago (graduated in 1971). It was either 69 or 70 near halloween, when we had a "costume" day. One young man who loved to push the envelope, came as Pancho Villa complete with a huge sombrero and carrying an unloaded Win 94.

He was intercepted by our huge assistant principal who after verifying the unloaded status of the rifle simply confiscated it for the day and explained that it wasn't an appropriate part of the costume for school.
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Old January 3, 2013, 01:19 PM   #8
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Shame on the parents, don't they know that the only time it is permissible to extend a finger is your pinky when you are drinking a cup of tea. Those teachers and school staff should be commended for nipping this terrorist in the bud. He actually said the word Pow!. His poor victim will probably be traumatized for years and will have to go on a strict chemical regimen and counseling to counterattack his PTSD.

Those teachers and their supervisors should be earning combat pay for working in such a hostile environment. When will this endless slaughter of our children at the hands of deadly assault fingers ever end?. What is our problem?
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Old January 3, 2013, 04:05 PM   #9
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He actually said the word Pow!. His poor victim will probably be traumatized for years and will have to go on a strict chemical regimen and counseling to counterattack his PTSD.
Undoubtedly!

Just be thankful the kid didn't say 'BANG'!!! (The horror, the horror...)
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Old January 3, 2013, 04:49 PM   #10
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Good one OLD GRUMP...
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Old January 3, 2013, 06:45 PM   #11
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This country is now ruled by PC and Paranoia .
Kids will grow up in a world which I won't even believe !
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Old January 3, 2013, 07:12 PM   #12
Aguila Blanca
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Originally Posted by rickyrick
Pretty sure that when I was six I committed the same violation, repeatedly
When I was in elementary school we played cowboys and indians during almost every recess. But we didn't use fingers -- we wore our cap guns and holster rigs to school.
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Old January 3, 2013, 08:17 PM   #13
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I am with you BPowderkeg.
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Old January 3, 2013, 08:46 PM   #14
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Very sad thing to read,I hope its something the parents can work out.If not then I hope they sue the school.Something like this just makes ya want to go out and waste a mag on somethischng.I hate to know it was my child,boy the school system would be in trouble and have had an ear full when I was done.
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Old January 3, 2013, 09:05 PM   #15
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This exact transgression has happened and been punished for in recent years...

I think it got multi day suspension if not expulsion in the previous case i read that made the news...

Very young student expelled when caught with a rifle in school after Christmas break... What rifle did he bring you may ask...

It was the 2.75"- 3" variant that comes with a G.I. Joe sort of action figure...

Child suspended or expelled for doing a pencil drawing of a fire arm...

Middle school girl suspended for bringing a "knife" to school that her mother "supplied"... Yep... a butter knife for the girl to spread her mayo on the bread as she didn't eat soggy bread and a premade samich fit the soggy bread profile.... so mom sent samich constructing components separately... along with the lethal cold stainless steel weapon...

Girl expelled for putting a steak knife in her lunch bag/box to cut the left over steak or pork chop (I forget which)...

Girl expelled for bringing "drugs" to school... Apparently it is illegal to be a modest young lady who is embarrassed to mention to school "officials" that she was enduring "that week of the month" and failed to "declare" her Midol supply...

Zero Tolerance regs are of no use as far as I can tell other than to remove 100% of the expectation that a rule maker/enforcer will be tasked with assessing a situation and using common sense in enforcement...

Brent
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Old January 3, 2013, 11:10 PM   #16
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I bet you 100% of those things happened in public schools.

In my opinion all of this nonsense about fear and lack of personal responsibility began with the construction of the public school system. Its wrong, unethical, and degrades our nation's intelligence.
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Old January 3, 2013, 11:55 PM   #17
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Zero Tolerance regs are of no use as far as I can tell other than to remove 100% of the expectation that a rule maker/enforcer will be tasked with assessing a situation and using common sense in enforcement...
EXACTLY!!!

'Cause thinkin' and makin' a decision is just so darn hard!!!

Plus you might be held RESPONSIBLE for a decision you made (oh the horror!!!) Much better to rely on policy or 'precident'. (Echos of 'I vas only following orders!')

I covered a minor committee once that allocated funds and whenever someone found a 'precedent' everyone on the committee breathed a sigh of relief because that gave them an excuse if anyone objected to the allocation.
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Old January 4, 2013, 12:02 AM   #18
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Guns are a large part of our household. My kids are being raised knowing how dangerous the decisions we make with guns can be. Not that the gun is the enemy. That being said, my four year old son won't point his finger or a toy at anyone with the intent of imitating a gunshot.

We live in a rural setting, and like I said; guns are a large part of our household. We reload, hunt and shoot. A lot. You could have asked either of our kids back when they were three "what are we allowed to shoot?" And the reply would have been something to the extent of "Bunnies, squirrels, coyotes and deer. And only you can shoot grandpas cow." (Yes, my grandfather has a beef farm, and we do our own butchering. ...And I had to explain that process... Aaahhh fatherhood...)

I've played Halo in front of my kids, and explained to them that it is a game - just that. It also helps that Halo doesn't look as real as most games though and we don't play the others for that reason. Some of their favorite cartoons were: woody woodpecker, Tom and Jerry and most of the other older ones. Violent ones alike.

If a kid pointed a finger at someone and went "bang" around here, little would probably happen. But then again, they don't know what a gang is either. Everything is relative.

Perhaps the youngster who was suspended has done this a hundred times in the past, and was told that its not acceptable behavior. Maybe it was story time, and the kid should have been paying attention for the hundredth time. Maybe the school is located in a poverty and gang stricken community where the threat of someone shooting someone is near. Maybe the rules were already stated, and it wasn't the finger that got his but suspended - but his disregard for obedience or the teacher.

I bet you we all can think of a time where when we were in our childhood we received discipline that was far more severe than the kids nowadays do for the same infraction. For example: I, just twenty years ago flipped the bird to a kid. The teacher told me that if I did it again that my parents would have to come in to get my finger off of her desk. I sat not near enough to her desk that my arm would have reached. I'm sure she wouldn't have actually chopped my finger off! Lol, but I also know that I wasn't going to test her either. Now, if a student does that it's (IMHO) a slap on the wrist. They know that the teachers can't do anything, so they do whatever they want.

All I am trying to say is; perhaps we don't know every part of the situation here. I certainly don't know the history of the youngster or the teacher in question.

Indeed times have changed. IMHO not always for the better. Trying to understand both sides of the story seems to help a lot though.
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Old January 4, 2013, 12:11 AM   #19
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Please don't think I'm some crazy liberal...

I was at the park with my little girl yesterday (2.5 years old). There were a bunch of slightly older kids, ranging from 5 - 10 years old, playing with Nerf foam dart guns. They were obviously shooting the darts at each other, but they also pointed it at my daughter.

For some reason or other, it kind of bothered me. I know perfectly well that it is a toy gun and even if she were to get hit with a dart, it wouldn't hurt. At that age, I don't believe children really understand what a real gun can do. I don't even think they fully understand the concept of death yet. I feel that it may be possible that playing with toy guns, especially where they shoot each other, may cause children to lose a healthy respect for guns and the damage they can do. I'm sure many of you read about the 13 year old girl who was shot and killed when a 15 year old boy was showing off a handgun in a school bus. These are the types of incidents that could happen to anyone. Videos games like Grand Theft Auto and rap music glorify gun violence. Is there a very real connection between these things and all of these shootings (Columbine, Littleton, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, etc...)? As some have commented, guns were common place back in the day and kids even took their rifles and shotguns to school with the so they could go hunting afterwards. I'm sure most of the kids back the learned gun safety from their fathers and had a healthy respect for firearms. There were no mass shootings back then.

Obviously as children get older, they learn the difference between real life and make believe. They understand death better and they are better able to differentiate real guns from toy guns. I plan to teach my daughter to shoot and I want her to learn how to defend herself. I also want to teach her a healthy respect for guns, but I will only do so when she is older. Her male cousin who is a few months older, seems to have a fascination with SWAT police and he has a toy gun. I think it is okay to teach them to shoot at targets, but not at each other.

Have I been traumatized by the whole Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting?
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Old January 4, 2013, 12:21 AM   #20
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At that age, I don't believe children really understand what a real gun can do. I don't even think they fully understand the concept of death yet. I feel that it may be possible that playing with toy guns, especially where they shoot each other, may cause children to lose a healthy respect for guns and the damage they can do.
Of course they don't know what real guns can do. They're kids and will learn as they grow.

If a little girl has a doll that wets do you think she understands what fills a real diaper?
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Old January 4, 2013, 12:56 AM   #21
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stephen426, ALL my friends played variations on violent games. NONE turned into criminals, though several did go military or LE.

I repeat, many school boards, administrators, teachers, and parents are ninnies.

While there are exceptions, generally speaking involved parents make a lot more difference in a child's ultimate behavior than any zero tolerance policy ever will. And the teachers and administrators who earned my respect were certainly not policy driven automatons.
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Old January 4, 2013, 08:46 AM   #22
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If this were my child, the last thing I would do is pull him out and home school him. I would make a federal case out of it, literally, and I'd make sure the NRA, the press and every congressman I could get my message out to was involved in every step. I would pay whatever it takes to depose the teacher, principal and school board members and make those transcripts public.

Asinine, overreactive behavior of school teachers directed toward small children simply to further some political agenda needs to be exposed in the same manner as a teacher's racist behavior, child abuse, rape, and other abuses of power by an adult in authority over small children.
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Old January 4, 2013, 08:58 AM   #23
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stephen426 wrote:
Quote:
Have I been traumatized by the whole Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting?
You have been indoctrinated by the anti-gun media without even realizing it.
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Old January 4, 2013, 09:07 AM   #24
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Part of such behavior on the schools part is is probably an over reaction to Sandy Hook. But I believe part is also the political correctness that has been creeping into our society. Institutions react to ban everything that they believe will offend anyone. Schools are concerned that other parents will hear of the lads finger pointing and complain. Sad.
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Old January 4, 2013, 09:38 AM   #25
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#1 rule I say for responsible gun owners is IMO

Show Proper Respect, respect for the power that a firearm has, especially its power to potentially end life.

If an individual cannot respect such power and the responsibility of having said power at their fingertips, they have no buisness holding a kitchen knife let alone a firearm.
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