I’ve had fun documenting and comparing examples of government stupidity in both the United States and United Kingdom, and today’s story clearly belongs on those lists.
It’s also an example of a perverse anti-gun mentality.
How else can you explain a school in Talbot County, Maryland, suspending a couple of young boys for the supposedly horrible offense of making gun shapes with their fingers while playing cops and robbers?!?
Here are some of the details from a local news report.
There’s controversy at a Talbot County school after two 6-year-old boys were suspended while playing cops and robbers during recess and using their fingers to make an imaginary gun. “It’s ridiculous,” said parent Julia Merchant.
There’s a reason this story may seem familiar.
This is the second time a Maryland child has been suspended for such play. Earlier this month, 6-year-old Rodney Lynch was suspended from his Montgomery County school after pretending to fire an imaginary gun more than once.
He fired his finger more than once? That might mean he has a semi-automatic finger! Oh, the horror.
Amazingly, the school in Montgomery County backed down after parents objected.
The school reversed its decision after Rodney’s parents appealed. “They’re saying he threatened a student, threatened to shoot a student. He was playing,” said Rodney’s father, Rodney Lynch Sr. …A number of parents agree. “Suspending them is a bit harsh and I don’t think that’s gonna do any good for the parent, child or school,” said Janet Geotzky.
It’s unclear what’s going to happen with this new incident (or, more accurately, non-incident) in Talbot County.
But I know what should happen if we want to discourage further episodes of political correctness run amok.
- The person (I assume a teacher) who filed the initial complaint should be suspended.
- The bureaucrat (I assume school principal) who suspended the boys should be fired.
- The children (all of them, not just the two who were suspended) should be given toy guns and encouraged to play like normal kids.
Have I missed something?
What else should be done to stop the continuing wussification and wimpification of modern society?
P.S. It’s probably no coincidence that these displays of government stupidity took place in Maryland. This is the state, after all, that crashed on the Laffer Curve, imposed regulations making it difficult for summer camps to protect kids from sunburn, and considered a law to give bums panhandling permits.
[…] Another little boy got suspended for playing cops and robbers. […]
This is brainwashing children at a very young age that guns are bad . Any reference to guns is bad. Under no circumstance should any one ever own a gun or any semblance of a gun, ether real or amagined if they can convince children from kindergarten on of this a couple of genertions from now no one will believe anyone but the goverment sould have a gun. Patience pays off in the long run.
[…] 6 year old playing cops & robbers: https://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/suspended-for-playing-cops-and-robbers-the-continuin… […]
[…] Mitchell at Cato Institute writes that, “Just yesterday, I mocked Maryland officials for suspending two little boys for the horrific crime of playing cops and robbers (and noted that […]
[…] yesterday, I mocked Maryland officials for suspending two little boys for the horrific crime of playing cops and robbers (and noted that […]
[…] yesterday, I mocked Maryland officials for suspending two little boys for the horrific crime of playing cops and robbers (and noted that […]
Yes, you are missing something.
Maryland residents should move to a free state, or better yet, fight back against wussy bureaucrats.
I just have to shake my head. We are raising a future generation of wimps!!
How did we EVER survive our childhoods? I guess growing up in the 50’s and 60’s was a more violent period than I realized…
Pretty soon, the soccer moms will conclude that soccer is just to violent for little Jimmy
The kids weren’t suspensed for playing the have they were suspended because the cops were winning
If fingers are outlawed, only outlaws will have fingers.
The government monopoly on our schools has been an abject failure!