General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsLatest stupid "zero tolerance" story: Boy who held pencil like gun suspended
A Suffolk school suspended a second grader for pointing a pencil at another student and making gun noises.
Seven-year-old Christopher Marshall says he was playing with another student in class Friday, when the teacher at Driver Elementary asked them to stop pointing pencils at each other.
"When I asked him about it, he said, 'Well I was being a Marine and the other guy was being a bad guy,'" said Paul Marshall, the boy's father. "It's as simple as that."
Christopher's father was a Marine for many years. He thinks school leaders overreacted.
"A pencil is a weapon when it is pointed at someone in a threatening way and gun noises are made," said Bethanne Bradshaw, a spokesperson for Suffolk Public Schools.
full: http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/suffolk/boy-who-held-pencil-like-gun-suspended
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)treestar
(82,383 posts)And if he accidentally picks one up and kills a sibling or himself, it's just an accident.
onehandle
(51,122 posts)Disturbing the peace. Arrest them.
samsingh
(17,601 posts)OnyxCollie
(9,958 posts)This would be one of those times.
Now a pen, on the other hand, can clearly do some damage.
Detained in the U.S.: Filmmaker Laura Poitras Held, Questioned Some 40 Times at U.S. Airports
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/4/20/detained_in_the_us_filmmaker_laura
LAURA POITRAS: Yeah. So I was met by two agents at Newark. One of them is Agent Wassum. And Iwhen they met me, I took out my pen and paper to note their names and the time andbecause Ive always taken notes, so I have a record of the questions that Im asked and how long Im detained for, whats the focus of the interrogation, what they are doing to me. And on this occasion, I took out my pen, and I was ordered to put away my pen. And I didnt, and I continued to take notes. And I was ordered again to put away the pen, and I didnt. And then he threatened to handcuff me for not putting away my pen. And at that point, I put away my pen and then walked to Immigration and took out my pen again to take notes, was ordered again to put away my pen, and then was taken into secondary screening. And I asked to speak to a supervisor, explained I was a journalist, explained that legal counsel has told me that I should be taking notes of my detention and interrogation. And then I was told that I couldnt take notes, that I was free to take notes after I was finished being questioned. And then
JUAN GONZALEZ: Under the theory that what? The pen was a weapon?
LAURA POITRAS: Oh, yeah, thats right. They said that my pen was a dangerous weapon. So thats whatthats Agent Wassum who said that, that my pen was a threat to them. And, you know, I mean, in terms of the context, you have to understand that Im surrounded by border agents who are all carrying guns, and Im taking out, you know, a pen that they find threatening. And so, this was, you know, profoundly upsetting. And then I was taken intoI was taken directly into an interrogation room and questioned. I took out my pen again. I was ordered by another agent to put it away. And this went on for quite some time. And I was told during this interrogationI mean, Im always asserting my rights as a journalist to not reveal my work, my sources.