Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Byron Otis-Student Suspended for "Gun" Hand Gesture
A 10 Year old boy recently was given a three-day-long suspension from school for making a gun hand gesture, with the forefinger extended and thumb in a "thumbs-up"position at another student and saying "bang." Apparently, this violated the school's zero tolerance policy towards firearms, and the punishment was doled appropriately. This is an odd sort of rule to affix. I can understand the necessity of banning fake guns in schools, and even the "zero tolerance policy." But putting this encounter under that umbrella seems very odd to me. It was causing no danger, and I have to doubt whether punishing it was rescuing their minds from the violent gutter. If anything, it will cause more anger and hatred to build up inside these boys, until it bursts forth in some terrifying flood of rage and repression, the effects of which we can barely begin to speculate upon.
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There was a time where society was very insensitive towards references to violence, guns, bombs, etc. while in a playful, child-like setting. However, with increasingly more attention and anxiety given to terrorist and mass shooting in the media, there has certainly been more strict reprimands to this type of behavior/play. One thought is that, as you mentioned, this "play" will influence the subconscious in such a way that might hurt the brain/ make it unstable in the future.
ReplyDeleteI think that suspending this kid was not the way to go. If they're so anti-firearm, then tell the kid what he did was wrong. Don't suspend him. That's ridiculous.
ReplyDeletecomment by rhyann lee 5th period. the hand gun gesture was not that extreme that they had to suspend him. people take things way out of proportion
ReplyDeleteSuspending the student doesn't seem like it would be a good way to handle this situation. They should enforce the idea of violence being wrong, but in a more reasonable way. Being lectured by a teacher on why the school doesn't allow kids to do that sort of thing might have been a better solution.
ReplyDeleteGetting too politically correct to avoid offending anyone. Ridiculous
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