In the wake of several high-profile mass killings perpetuated by lone lunatics with guns, there is no denying Americans are embroiled in a contentious debate over how best to deal with such violence.
Barack Obama and the gun-grabbing left have their ideas, as do conservative patriots concerned with protecting our Constitutionally protected liberties.
When it comes to dealing with innocent children, though, almost everyone agrees we must diligently pursue a path to ensuring they can attend a safe school. Leave it to school administrators to take that idea to a level of absolute idiocy.
Such is the case with a disturbing trend of suspending very young children for making a hand gesture countless kids before them innocently made.
As you might have guessed, I’m referring to the thumb-index finger combination meant to playfully represent a gun.
Recently, three six-year-old students were suspended in two separate incidents at elementary schools in Maryland.
What used to be an almost expected behavior – especially among young boys – is now grounds for serious punishment. It’s obvious first-grade aged kids do not intend to make any threats against others; they are just playing!
Nevertheless, overreactions abound and the children are sent home without fully understanding why.
While the suspension of the first child was overturned, about two weeks a school in the same state imposed the same suspension on two schoolmates for the same reason.
A child psychologist weighed in on the decision, saying, “I do not believe maliciousness was involved here.”
While he understood “that’s not a type of play they are going to endorse,” he added, “that’s where we educate the time and place for doing things.”
I might support a ban of the imaginary finger gun when used as an annoying greeting by adults, but targeting children for playing is a giant step in the wrong direction.
Any attempt to create an environment devoid of any potentially offensive gestures is not only utterly impossible but will create a generation of Americans unable to handle the real world. Unfortunately, I’m afraid that horse has already left the barn.
Click here to get B. Christopher Agee’s latest book for less than $5! Like his Facebook page for engaging, relevant conservative content daily.
Please share this post with your friends and comment below. If you haven’t already, take a moment to sign up for our free newsletter above and friend us on Twitter and Facebook to get real time updates.
Follow @WestJournalism
Loading ...
As a Kid growing up in the 1950′s we used finger guns & stick guns, swords etc.. and there was none of this Dumb Politically correct BS this Butt Hole Gimme-ment has allowed to happen. This country is Finished as a Senior I have to stay in this Butt Wipe country.
Heck, when I was a kid growing up in the ’50s, my “pretend” guns were Browning Automatic Rifles (BAR’s) and M1911A1 semiautomatic pistols. Th’ heck with “cowboys and indians.” With us it was always “base of fire” and “take the high ground!”
I don’t know about you, by my generation grew up knowing we were likely gonna get drafted, and a lot of our cute little-boy play was the best understanding of what it had been like for our fathers and uncles in the ETO, the Pacific, and Korea.
I guess the Democrats back then didn’t object to little boys playing war when it was the Democrats who were getting us into wars.
The Liberal fabric of education and law has gone off the rails in America. There is no longer a shred of reason left. It is all about Liberal/Progressive,Socialist/Communist HATE.
And nothing more.
MORE “MODERATION” BY WORD PRESS,EH?
So let me guess. It’s not right for little boys being boys to play cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians but it probably was OK if they flipped off the idiot teacher with their middle finger as they were just expressing themselves?
Make sure the teacher NEVER points her finger at little Johnny and says… ” Ok… You’re next to read your poem .”….. cause for sure… it looked like she was using the ‘cops and robbers’ sign by POINTING finger… maybe she should be fired !!!
Wow I do believe hand gestures are part of free speech… they are a way of communicating… and they’ve already begun sensoring our verbal and written “free speech” with their stupid little “political correctness” laws. Now they’re going after our little ones, suppressing their imaginations at play time even… God I wish they would shut down public schools and everybody just home school… the people in charge of implementing government mandated “education” onto our children are idiots…