Idiots Aplenty

1. 80

   Levellandmikeposted 11 years ago

   Thank God my kids don't go to these schools:
   http://news.yahoo.com/kindergartener-in … 13141.html
   
   Just how effin stupid do you have to be?
   This is the brain trust that's educating our kids?
   When are we gonna decide enough is enough and get these idiots out of positions of responsibility?

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      wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      What we need is to either fire 99% of administrators and let the teachers do their jobs or give them enough backbone and support to stand up to idiot parents and media. 
      
      Either would work fine.  IMHO few teachers are stupid enough to support this crap; it is forced on them by parents, media and administrators.

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   2. 0

      Brenda Durhamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Agreed.
      The schools have been hiring people who don't know how to lead or teach regular curriculum, much less any life lessons at all,  who only use kids for their political purposes.   It's sad and maddening.

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   3. 78

      Shinkickerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Way over reaction but shame that kids are still enthralled by guns at such an early age. As George Carlin said in that video 'Great country, strange culture?

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      1. 59

         MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I agree the parents and media are WAY over reacting to a school system simply enforcing their rules.
         
         This is non-news.
         
         Just a whiney parent complaining because her kid wasn't an exception to the rule.

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2. 60

   Zelkiiroposted 11 years ago

   George Carlin: Continuing to be relevant long after his death.
   
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ssYezFw_Qs

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   1. 78

      Shinkickerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      A great man

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3. 59

   MelissaBarrettposted 11 years ago

   The mother quotes:
   
   “I have no problem that he had a consequence to his behavior,” the mother told the Post. “What I have a problem with is the severity.”
   
   What I have a problem with is everybody is blaming the school board for enforcing the rule, but the mother isn't accepting that it was HER fault her kid got in trouble. 
   
   Rules is Rules.  They give a handbook.  The rules are in it.  Don't bitch if you break the rules and get punished. 
   
   Everything that happened was a result of HER failing to monitor her son's behavior.  If she was upset about the trauma maybe she should have paid more attention to what her son was taking to school.
   
   This reeks of attention whore to me.

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   1. 86

      GA Andersonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Well MelissaBarret, there are so many past historical atrocities, and societal idiocies that have been attributed to someone "Just following the rules" that your tirade against the Mom is mind boggling.
      
      That you would label her an "attention whore" is even more indicative of your mindset. Which, I am very glad is not mine.
      
      Here are the RULES you so ardently espouse as justification:
      
      Calvert County Public Schools Student Code of Conduct Activity Book
      
      The pertinent section is on page 35.
      Here is the text these "Zero Tolerance" zealots hang their hat on:
      
      "A weapon is defined as any object which reasonably could cause or be used in such a way as to cause physical harm or injury to a person. Weapons shall include, but are not limited to, the following: any firearm of any kind, whether loaded or unloaded, operable or inoperable; knives of any kind; straight razors or razor blades; spiked objects; metal knuckles; nunchaku; explosive devices; chemical mace; tear gas; pepper spray; or stun guns. This shall include any object which is a look -alike weapon even though incapable of operation"
      
      Then they offer this further definition of a firearm:
      FIREARM is defined as:
      - Any weapon defined in Title 18 of the United States Code § 921;
      - Any weapon which will, or is designed to, or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive;
      - The frame or receiver of any weapon described above;
      - Any weapon which may be readily converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive or other propellant and which has any barrel with a bore of more than one-half inch in diameter;
      - Any combination of parts either designed or intended for use in converting any device into any destructive device described above, and from which a destructive device may be readily assembled.
      
      Examples deemed as dangerous inoperable lookalikes: Poptarts, Lego pieces, torn sheets of paper, finger and thumb with a verbal "Pow"
      
      How can that be when their own definition requires that the "weapon" be capable of causing harm? And how can they be deemed lookalike guns when none meet their definition of firearms?
      
      Do you really want to defend those rule interpretations Melissa? Just because someone made them rules?
      
      GA

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      1. 59

         MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I absolute will defend the right of a voluntary organization to choose what rules it sets and enforce them.
         
         I will also say that the mother got a copy of those rules beforehand.  She also allowed her child to violate them.  She didn't work to change the rules, just expected them to not apply to her child.
         
         "This shall include any object which is a look -alike weapon even though incapable of operation"
         
         I think that pretty much means toy gun.
         
         And now she is complaining to the media about how badly her son was treated when SHE created the situation that she was forewarned was going to happen.

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         1. 60

            Josakposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            +1
            
            In a time when there have been so many school shootings etc. it makes perfect sense to ban toy guns from a school, they could easily be mistaken for a real gun and that could have awful consequences.

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            1. 50

               Lie Detectorposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Gotta ban those pop-tarts and pieces of paper, gotta do it for the children.

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            2. 0

               JaxsonRaineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Yup... like I said. Just look at these terrorists and their evil weapons of mass destruction.
               
               
               
               
               
               
               

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               1. 60

                  Josakposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  People get shot for carrying what looks like gun all the time, things like Mobile phones that look even less like a gun than that. Given the state of understandable paranoia about school shootings having something that could even remotely be mistaken for a gun at a school is just idiotic.
                  
                  It's a stated written rule, "This shall include any object which is a look -alike weapon even though incapable of operation" and the logic behind it is sound so parents should be making sure their children are not breaking it.
                  
                  There is no good reason to have anything that vaguely resembles a gun at school, there is a good reason not to hence the one with a real justification is correct.
                  
                  Sometimes teachers may take it too far but that is a judgement on these very isolated teachers.

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4. 0

   JaxsonRaineposted 11 years ago

   Holder has succeeded... people have been brainwashed, he admitted that was their goal.
   
   Capguns are dangerous, because they can kill people. No, wait. Because they can wound people. No, wait. Because they are evil. That's right. Evil.
   
   All guns are evil, that's why we have to punish children for having any of these evil weapons of destruction. I mean, just look at these terrorists and their assault-toys.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   I, for one, am glad that we are cracking down on these extremists.

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5. 50

   Lie Detectorposted 11 years ago

   Here is another gun nut.
   
   http://now.msn.com/school-says-deaf-boy … like-a-gun

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   1. 0

      JaxsonRaineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I remember that one... there was somebody here who was posting some really ignorant stuff about that boy, ticked me off so bad.

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6. 54

   Education Answerposted 11 years ago

   Most teachers and administrators have more sense than this.

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   1. 50

      Lie Detectorposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Who is making these decisions if not teachers and administrators?

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      1. 54

         Education Answerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Teachers don't make the call.  Administrators follow district policy or lose their jobs.  It's a gun phobia at least at the district level, if not higher.

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7. 0

   JaxsonRaineposted 11 years ago

   Josak, there is no such thing as "understandable paranoia". Paranoia cannot be justified by reason... by definition.
   
   But that's exactly what it is. Paranoia. Brainwashing. People are literally afraid of a pop-tart that is in the shape of a gun. Just think about that for a minute. People are literally afraid of a pop-tart. They actually think it is dangerous.

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   1. 60

      Josakposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Nope people are afraid of what a pop tart can be cut to look like. But you are correct a poor choice of words on my part. Not paranoia, wariness, fear of the several school shootings that there have been recently.

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      1. 0

         JaxsonRaineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Nope. There were students and teachers who were actually afraid of these toys. Students who were 'traumatized' by a piece of paper in the shape of an L... You were dead on with the word paranoia.

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   2. 59

      MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      We aren't talking about a pop-tart are we?
      
      We are talking about a boy that brought a cap gun to school.  It was against the rules.  He got suspended.
      
      What we are essentially doing when we throw a fit over this kind of crap is telling kids that they don't have to listen to any rules but the ones they think are right.  Their parent's aren't taking responsibility, they are calling the ones that disciplined them stupid for enforcing the rules.
      
      Nice life lesson.

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      1. 0

         JaxsonRaineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I'm talking about the paranoia involving guns in general, this is just another story among many.

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         1. 59

            MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            No.
            
            This is a story about a kid who brought a cap gun to school and got suspended for it.
            
            The pop tot story might be about gun paranoia. 
            
            This isn't.
            
            I would have got suspended for taking a cap gun to school when I was 5.  Then my dad would have beat my ass.
            
            I attended a school on a damn military base.

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   3. 80

      Levellandmikeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I took some pop tarts to my local shooting range.
      I wouldn't recommend the blueberry pop tarts....very inaccurate and subject to misfire.
      Brown sugar cinnamon on the other hand......
      But seriously folks, quit trying to justify blatant stupidity.
      That is exactly what this whole thing is about: STUPIDITY. Ignorance can be educated away, fear can be dealt with, paranoia can be medicated. But you can't fix stupid.
      Pastries, toys, scraps of paper, T-shirts? Come on...Please, somebody explain just what harm was done, what harm could've been done by ANY of this? Absolute stupidity.
      And by the way, what about the 8th grader who was suspended for 10 days and placed in an alternative school program last year?
      His great crime?
      His art class project: an excellent pencil drawing of his older brother, a US Marine with a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, in full field gear carrying (OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!) his M-4 rifle.
      The principal went so far as to call the cops on the kid.
      (I probably shouldn't cite the above as I no longer have the link to the LA Times article, but...)
      And this kind of crap is okay by you people?

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      1. 59

         MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         OP wasn't about a drawing or a pop tart.
         
         It was about a cap gun.  Google cap gun injuries.
         
         Please try and stay on subject.
         
         You are making straw man arguments.  The other cases are irrelevant.  This case was completely justified and is a non-issue... except to people wanting to preach about something completely non-related.
         
         Here's one result of a harmless cap gun...
         
         

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         1. 60

            Josakposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            +1

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         2. 72

            Reality Bytesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Mrs. Landers believed she had taken all necessary precautions when she allowed her 8-year-old son, Ty, to use snap caps. "I was focused on my son not pointing the cap gun at anyone, not using it indoors and the like. I had no idea the caps could ignite in his pocket."
            
            http://www.georgialegalreport.com/2013/ … burne.html
            
            This injury was caused by caps igniting in a boy's pocket.  No "cap gun" was involved.
            
            The manufacturer should be held responsible for providing obvious warnings
            
            From article:
            "Underneath all of these warnings, "Do not put caps in pockets," finally appears in a small font hidden by the plastic cap frame."
            
            The warning should have been more visible.  Other than that, another strawman argument.

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            1. 59

               MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Your argument:
               
               The school board is ridiculous for suspending a boy because he brought a cap gun to school because of another case with a pop-tart.
               
               My argument
               
               The school board was perfectly justified in suspending a boy who violated their code by bringing exactly the thing they banned in the school handbook.  Cap guns (what the boy brought to school) are dangerous.  Here's a picture of a cap gun injury.

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               1. 72

                  Reality Bytesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  Actually, I believe the boy's suspension was just, there must be a line drawn somewhere.   I do think the parents should have been notified immediately.  There is absolutely no reason that a child should have a mock gun in the school.  If the only thing in his possession was a depiction of a cap-gun, that would be ridiculous.
                  
                  Whether or not the cap gun would or could cause injuries is irrelevant, as I am sure there are plenty of injuries from pencils.  Through my own experience, a pencil can be used as a dangerous weapon, I have  school records to prove this.  This does not justify with banning the tool. 
                  
                  I researched the image in an attempt to understand how such injuries could occur.  You merely incited my curiosity.

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                  1. 59

                     MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     I could argue that a pencil, while capable of causing injuries, is a necessary risk in a school setting while a cap gun isn't but I digress.
                     
                     The main thing that I object to about these kinds of threads comes from all political discussions, but guns discussions seem to be the worst... It's basically trying to eliminate the reasonable by grouping it with the unreasonable.  Both sides do it...
                     
                     Anti-guns: All guns are bad, look at the nuclear bomb (and it always gets to that)
                     Pro guns: All guns are good, everyone should have a Tommy-gun to protect themselves from roving bands of liberal brigands.
                     
                     In this case everyone is jumping on the "all schools system are stupid" wagon because some school system somewhere was stupid about a pop-tart.  The problem with that not all rules banning gun look a likes are stupidly enforced. There are very valid and reasonable reasons for the codes in general.  An airsoft gun or a cap gun at school poses a risk with no reason.  A realistic looking toy gun also poses a risk with no reason. 
                     
                     In cases-like this one-where the rule is reasonable and correctly enforced, parents and children shouldn't be celebrated for breaking it.  That IS attention whoring... as is witnessed in this thread.  Lots of attention for a complete non-issue and lots of people angry that someone got punished for breaking a reasonable and well-documented rule... because someone else got punished for a pop tart.
                     
                     Zero tolerance works both ways...and it's often ignorantly applied both ways.  Billy Bob wants kids to be able to bring shotguns to school because of his second amendment rights and Sally Sue wants kids expelled for a year and arrested for bringing a Lego gun to school. I see no difference in the level of stupidity.
                     
                     Edit: Personally, from my perspective only, the danger with a cap gun would be to hearing.  I was told specifically by my sons audiologist to avoid them.  They can really affect the hearing of partially deaf children... especially those with hearing aids.

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                  2. 50

                     Lie Detectorposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     "Actually, I believe the boy's suspension was just"
                     
                     No it wasn't. Cap guns can not hurt anyone.

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                     1. 73

                        Quilligrapherposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                        
                        
                        The Children's Hospital at Westmead Burns Research Institute, The University of Sydney, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia disagrees with you. The hospital conducted a retrospective case note review for the purpose of documenting the frequency of cap gun burns in children and to identify strategies for prevention of this mechanism of injury. Of the five boys treated, “none was supervised at the time of injury and in three cases the caps appeared to explode with minimal handling. All burn wounds healed without operative intervention and only one child suffered permanent sequelae (secondary injury) from the burn injury.”
                        
                        The hospital study concluded: “Cap gun burns appear a rare mechanism of burn injury not previously reported. Recently produced caps may be more susceptible to spontaneous explosion. Adequate adult supervision may have prevented some of the injuries. There appears be a need for greater awareness regarding the dangers of these toys.” {1}
                        
                        A theatrical gun dealer warns, “cap guns fire their explosive right at the point where the hammer strikes the gun frame, rather than inside a thick walled chamber. The explosion can and does go in many directions, including back toward the face of the shooter. Toy caps are made of very weak materials, usually thin plastic or paper. These can fragment on firing and continue to burn, and the small explosion can propel them quite a distance. Metal from the hammer and cap gun frame can also fragment and splinter. When they get caught in the expanding force of the cap fire, they turn into tiny little pieces of shrapnel.” {2}
                        
                        Hmmm. Now that sounds like some one might get hurt. Damaged hearing, eye injuries, and surface burns have all resulted from cap guns. Here is a picture of an eight-year-old after caps exploded in his pants pocket. {3}
                        
                        I apologize in advance for the sarcasm, Lie Detector, but please tell us again that cap guns can not hurt anyone.
                        
                        {1} http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17635685
                        {2} http://www.weaponsofchoicetheatrical.com/cap_guns.htm
                        {3} http://savannahnow.com/news/2013-04-29/ … ed-my-son#

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                     2. 72

                        Reality Bytesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                        I had an acquaintance that was convicted for armed robbery, with a cap-gun! 
                        
                        The gun was just like this, with the red cap on the barrel removed.
                        
                        
                        Many people could be startled with such a toy.  Not something that should be allowed in schools.

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                        1. 50

                           Lie Detectorposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                           Wouldn't want to startle anyone would we?

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                           1. 59

                              MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                              On the contrary... I think startling a bunch of 5 year-olds is a perfectly moral and fun activity.

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8. 0

   JaxsonRaineposted 11 years ago

   I took a cap gun to school. Nobody got hurt. Know why? Because it's not a gun. It doesn't shoot projectiles.
   
   Heck, people took real guns to schools, nobody got hurt.
   
   Being afraid of a toy is paranoia, plain and simple. Yes, he broke the school's rule(a good lawyer could argue against it), and I'm not contesting that. These zero-tolerance policies are simply retarded.

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   1. 59

      MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      A police officer has never shot anyone that had a toy gun... right?
      
      No one has ever been hurt with a cap gun... right?
      
      They don't cause distractions... right?
      
      It must be gun paranoia.  Apparently the local school also has cell phone paranoia.
      
      I'll agree with the pop-tart thing... however this really is just a case of rules that have been there for YEARS and a kid getting suspended -rightfully- for violating those rules.
      
      This is not news.  This is a bunch of people using it as a soap box.

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   2. 76

      wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      The zero tolerance policy is not necessarily out of line (although the definition of what is similar to a gun might need a little work); the punishments are.
      
      Kid brings a toy gun to school; confiscate it until Mom picks it up.  Don't suspend a five or six year old kid for the year, requiring him to repeat an entire year of schooling, be out of his age group throughout the rest of his school life and begin his adult life a year later.  That's out of line.

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      1. 60

         Josakposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         +1
         Yep, there I will agree.

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9. 72

   Reality Bytesposted 11 years ago

   If my child was in school studying U.S. history, and came across some pictures in his history book depicting U.S. soldiers carrying weapons, could he call the Police on the teacher?
   
   Is it illegal to view ANY images of firearms in school?

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