Comments on: Comments on 6500

Post number 6500

fooljay — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 09:07:42 -0800

"The paper gun posed no immediate threat to the students in the class." Is this a prudent reading the warning signs or knee-jerk reaction to a media frenzy?

By: fooljay

fooljay — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 09:11:49 -0800

Forgot to mention this. "No immediate threat"?? Can someone tell me when a paper gun starts to pose an immediate threat? Perhaps he was going to paper cut them to death? Apparently it takes about a 1,000...

By: sonofsamiam

sonofsamiam — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 09:15:47 -0800

``It may appear to some as though we went a little overboard because it was a paper gun, but what would those same people say if this incident was ignored and in a day, week or month the same student came to school with a firearm?'' Palamara asked. LOL! Why don't you just arrest all students preemptively? Why, if that'd been done in Columbine, why then, [I dunno, something good would happen...]

By: frykitty

frykitty — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 09:18:01 -0800

"But, being that kids are being shot in schools across the country, children have to be taught they can't say certain words in public.'' I just don't think this reaches the level of yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater. What words shall we ban next? Maybe we should have those pesky kids learn this song.

By: phichens

phichens — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 09:19:23 -0800

Smith said. ``But, being that kids are being shot in schools across the country, children have to be taught they can't say certain words in public.''

Yeah, let's teach the kids to keep their mouths shut instead of encouraging them to be open about their feelings and thoughts, especially to "authority" figures.

By: y6y6y6

y6y6y6 — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 09:38:14 -0800

It's not the paper gun that got them in trouble. They got expelled because they stood on a desk and yelled, "I'm going to kill you all!" And in todays climate I don't blame the school at all.

By: amanda

amanda — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 09:55:57 -0800

The two boys were suspended and, under the district's zero-tolerance policy, school officials notified police, who charged the boys. 1. Why does zero-tolerance = fullest extent of the law? 2. What in the hell did the police charge them with?

By: solistrato

solistrato — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 10:04:22 -0800

Just remember: guns don't kill people, paper does.

By: auntbunny

auntbunny — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 10:05:56 -0800

Once again, something that should have been handled privately and quietly in ten minutes time becomes a national crisis. All the teacher had to do was confiscate the "gun", give a short lecture and make them sit out for a few minutes. No one's saying ignore the situation, just handle it already. man, it would have really marred my record being suspended for the piece of bark I had in my shoe ala James West twenty five years ago.

By: Skot

Skot — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 10:18:29 -0800

Somebody ought to shoot those kids.

By: th3ph17

th3ph17 — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 10:18:33 -0800

when i was in grade school i stuck to pushing girls off the monkey-bars. kids today. *tsk tsk tsk*

By: CrayDrygu

CrayDrygu — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 10:43:03 -0800

[Inspired by sonofsamiam] BOSTON, MA (Reuters) - Despite a relative drop in the youth crime rate, Dorchester High School Headmaster Robert Belle called in the Boston Police Department to have all DHS students pre-emptively arrested, citing concerns over the recent rash of school shootings. "I know youth crime in the area has been declining," Belle said in an interview earlier today, "however Dorchester still has a high rate of crimes commited by high school students, and the administration felt this was the most effective way to deal with the issue." Students of Dorchester High School, who are currently being held in a county jail, will still be expected to complete classwork and homework. Group work will be conducted in the cafeteria and supervised by guards, and busses will run to and from the school four times a day for students who need to make use of the science facilities. The move came as a surprise to both students and parents, who expressed mixed feelings on the sudden move. "At first I was pretty annoyed," said a student who wished to remain anonymous. "But at least I can focus on my work without having to worry about getting shot. And they let us watch all the TV we want to, once our work's done." Most parents were shocked and appalled. "I can't believe they can do this," said Michael Davis, father of a Sophomore at DHS. "Can they even do this? How can they get away with this? I'm calling a lawyer!" The Boston Police Department would not comment on the issue, except to say that a statement would be issued later today.

By: fooljay

fooljay — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 11:07:21 -0800

LOL, CrayDrygu. Linked on my blog. :-)

By: sixfoot6

sixfoot6 — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 11:19:31 -0800

Nice article, CrayDrygu. Where would we be withour Dorchester? Well, we'd be without NKOTB, for one. I understand why the "I'm going to kill you all!" comment grabbed everyone's attention. But it seems like the administration overreacted. When you're in fourth grade, that kind of behavior deserves only a scary visit to the principal's office. There are certainly words that kids shouldn't say in public. But they do anyway. Teaching children that words and actions bring consequences is important, as long as they don't become so scared or paranoid about consequences that they don't want to speak up at all.

By: a3matrix

a3matrix — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 11:42:14 -0800

So now children in 2nd grade shouldn't play? That IS what they were doing. A bit over-reactionary I would say. If they wanted to do something they should have addressed it at the class level so that all the children understand that sometimes things are not appropriate, even at playtime. But NNNOOOOO, we will suspend 2nd grades and forward the case to the police. No trauma to a child there !!

By: Postroad

Postroad — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 11:42:37 -0800

Home schooling for the entire nation! that way we get rid of the teachers' unions too.

By: john

john — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 12:52:25 -0800

Zero-tolerance laws are a substitute for logic and reason in authority figures that increasingly lack them to begin with. The increasing gap between punishment and criminal action will either cause more people to go berzerk or send them into depression. The former will fuel the law making and the latter will fuel the pharmaceutical market. Since most people don't like each other enough to work together, we can only hope that everyone go's berzerk at the same time by coincidence.

By: TheShovel

TheShovel — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 12:55:59 -0800

I'm going to cheer everyone up here and play the race card... (Watch me go).... So there's an "epidemic" of little white shits shooting up their schools across the country... What's the authorities' first course of action? Arrest a couple of black 2nd-graders for playing make-believe. Good job, America!

By: Zool

Zool — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 14:24:26 -0800

I don't agree with zero tolerence, but my PARENTS made sure that i never in my childhood did anything as stupid as that kid, especially when a gun is involved, even if it's a toy. I say shoot the parents.

By: amanda

amanda — Thu, 22 Mar 2001 15:03:41 -0800

That's your race card? That's all you got? Humph.

By: TheShovel

TheShovel — Fri, 23 Mar 2001 03:10:03 -0800

Well, Amanda... I never said it was the Rootinest-Tootinest Race Card You Ever Seen....

By: smeat

smeat — Sat, 24 Mar 2001 23:39:44 -0800

Zero-tolerance laws are a substitute for logic and reason in authority figures that increasingly lack them to begin with. And here's the latest: Student suspended for drawing a soldier. "It had hand grenades, knives and guns," Davis said. "We have zero tolerance for drawings with guns. We can't tolerate anything that has to do with guns or knives." It was a tribute to a relative who as in the Army. I saw the pic on the news, and it's just a guy standing there.