At first glance this seems insane
You’ve all probably read by now about the New Jersey second-grader who was suspended for giving a picture of “a stick figure holding a gun” to another boy on a school bus. The other kid’s parents complained, and the school suspended the artist for one day. His mama in turn complained, fearing this will blight her son’s permanent record.
Well, okay. At first blush I was as upset about the snitchy parents who complained as I was about the decision of the school officials. My son, who is now a delightful, well-adjusted seventeen-year-old honor student, filled reams of paper at that age with drawings of people being maimed and tortured in the most atrocious ways, usually by dinosaurs but I believe weapons were occasionally involved.
But the story I read in the Press-Register didn’t have all the information - seems there was writing on the picture. “What appeared to be the word “me” was written above the shooter, with another name scribbled above the other figure.” Okay, I have to admit, if my seven-year-old came home with a picture labeled in this way, I might get a little upset too. Particularly if this kid had a history with my kid. If, say, he’d been heard to pass remarks such as, “You better watch out, cause I’m gonna get you good!” in conjunction with, “My Uncle Larry has a whole closet full of guns at his house and he lets me play with them whenever I want!” So, I’m not making any snap judgements here.
The suspended kid’s mama says it’s a picture of a water gun. Uh-huh.
October 21st, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Dang — with that kind of pattern, I’m surprised they only suspended the little Picasso for one day. I wish I thought his parents would set him straight. Maybe they’ll surprise me.
October 21st, 2007 at 5:30 pm
Oh, I made up the “pattern.” The only thing we know for sure is that he labeled the picture “me” and the name of some other kid. I was just saying that, although I usually condemn stuff like this as zero tolerance insanity, I can imagine a scenario where the picture actually could be seen as threatening and not just harmless childhood boys-will-be-boys hijinks.