Last month I wrote about how proud I was of my son when we attended the Kittery Trading Post outdoor expo and he rattled off the Four Rules before shooting a BB gun at the Crosman booth. He got a Crosman baseball cap for his excellent recitation of the Four Rules from the Crosman rep, and made his dad proud.
Well, this morning he wanted to wear that hat to school, and I had to tell him he couldn't.
I didn't want to get that call. The call that told me my son has gotten in trouble for bring a weapon-related article to school. I'm not certain that the school would do that, mind you; I've got an inkling, in that he was told not to wear his Excalibur t-shirt (from the hotel in Las Vegas) because it had a weapon on it (Excalibur, naturally). So there's some precedent that the school has a zero tolerance policy.
How do you explain that to a seven year old? How do you tell him that he can't wear his favorite hat to school? How do you explain the absolute sheer idiocy behind a mindset that says a freaking company logo makes an article of clothing inappropriate? How do you defend the concept that some people are so petrified of anything that even remotely resembles a gun that they would ban a damned hat with a BB gun company logo?
I sure as hell can't.
And it pisses me off that I had to tell my son he couldn't wear his hat to school. Fortunately, he took it in stride - he has a habit of forgetting his jackets/sweatshirts/hats/gloves/etc., so I prodded him that way ("You don't want to lose your favorite hat, do you?"). But dammit, it pissed me off that some people's hoplophobia prevents my son from wearing his favorite hat...
That is all.
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17 comments:
That's MA for ya! My son is 5 and goes to Catholic school down here in FL. His grandmother -- the woman that taught me how to shoot at 6! -- decided that my son needed a real bullwhip! Of course! He loves Indiana Jones, so it is a natural.
So now he has a for-real leather braided bullwhip, and he wants to take it to school. I say "no way" (memories of MA in my head). That afternoon, when I go pick him up, one of his classmates is out there with his bullwhip!
The next day, The Boy gets to take his bullwhip to school. The teacher -- a nun from Poland -- says she doesn't mind, she'll use it if they get outta hand.
Part of me believes it.
Next up: AR-15 for show and tell!
I know it's Masshole-land, and the odds are overwhelming that stupidity will win out over common sense ... but would it be worthwhile to try calling the school principal and asking?
A teaching moment! I make it a point to let people know in the free states of America how bad we have it here in Mass with our gun rights (amoung other things)
Now it's time for BoyG to learn that sometimes the powers that be can be dead wrong.
Have a brainstorm on what he might be able to do (at worst what he can do about it when he grows up)
At least this will help him along with the idea of the Mass Tought Police.
Not all life's lessons are fun ones : (
here's what makes it easier for you jay -- at our elementary school where both your son and my son go, no hats are allowed. Winter hats are allowed on cold/snowy days but upon entry into the building all hats must come OFF immediately and be put away.
the reason behind it is hats get stolen, hats end up being taken off kids heads and thrown around. my son likes to flick people's hats off at the brim, and the last time he tried that he poked a kid in the eye... that kid should'nt have had his hat on anyway at the playground (which is where it happened, at recess) so geoff got in trouble AND the boy got in trouble for wearing his hat in the first place.
The fact that your son would want to wear any hat is understandable, but no hats are allowed. period.
it's a school rule, and one can just tell one's son that the hat is best left home. no matter the logo, slogan, whatever.
oh -- and at the middle school, no hoodies are allowed. no hoodie sweatshirts at all. So get ready for that one.
We tell the Juniors that they can take ONE empty .22 cartridge HOME with them, but they CANNOT EVER take *it* with them to School - or our ass is grass.
It's not just about them now, from what I've heard some of our Junior ROTC participants have pulled back from shooting out of fear of negative impacts it may have or create at School.
Hats I dunno - hoodies are for gangbangers and thieves.
andrew,
A bullwhip. Simply excellent!
The Boy has expressed interest in the Indiana Jones movie. Quite frankly, I'm torn - I remember the original quite fondly, as it came out when I was not much older than my son.
On the other hand, Harrison Ford supports child molesters, and I cannot condone giving him a single penny of my money.
wolfwalker,
See below. Amusings clears it up. No hats.
weer'd,
While it is certainly a teaching moment, ten seconds before we blow out the door to get to the bus stop isn't the time nor place.
I've had similar talks with my son in the past, leaving it simply that some people are afraid of things for no good reason.
amusings,
THANK you. I *thought* that such a rule was in place. I seemed to remember, in the dark recesses of my mind, a notice to that effect.
And thanks for the heads-up on hoodies. BabyGirl G. will be crushed - she simply adores her pink hoodies!
dirtcrashr,
Here in MA it is ILLEGAL for The Boy to possess a shell casing. Since he's too young to have an FID card, which is required to own even a single piece of brass, it would be a violation of MA gun laws for him to have a casing...
That's MA for ya!
Yeah, good luck expaining the insanity of Hoplophobia to a kid.... they are smart enough to see the break in logic it takes to beleive such poppycock.
Should have sent him off to school with it on and had your lawyer on speed dial... your child has free speech rights too...
im sure you would have loved to have your child's school system pay off your mortgage wouldnt ya :-D
"I'm from the government, and I'm here to help."
"Oh yeah, why can't I wear my hat to school?"
Boy, Massachusetts schools really do teach things earlier. I didn't learn to distrust The Man until Jr. High ...
FWIW, Jay, I wouldn't let a 7-year-old watch an Indiana Jones movie. Not even Raiders, which was probably the mildest of the three in terms of fright factor. (I haven't seen the last one and may not ever, as I think making it was a gigantic mistake on the part of all concerned.)
Harrison Ford supports what?
Land of the entitled, home of the moronic.
Welcome to the new America.
It is sad. I am mourning the loss of our childhood wonders, for this generation. My little grandbaby girl, will never be able to play war with toy guns with the neighborhood kids like I did.
Hey, we had one girl that used to play, so it isn't totally out of the question that she would want to! :)
Our society is quickly turning into a bunch of freakin' pussies.
I'd let him wear it. It's a good way to drive home the point that the world is populated by retards, and he's getting taught by them.
In related news, I drove through MA the other day. Holy shit! These people drive like retards! I thought you were a bit "touchy" on the subject before but 45mph on the expressway!? You've got people pulling 45mph and 80mph on the same road with a speed limit of 65mph. It took me a half an hour but I finally decided that I was best off just putting the hammer down until I could get away from anybody else on the road.
It's no wonder you feel like slamming on the breaks and letting people rear-end you. MAssholes just can't drive right!
Man, that sucks.
I'd say to hell with 'em all, but that wouldn't change it.
It's sad, really.
tweaker
jimbob86,
Exactly. I'm not about to try to explain a competely irrational mindset that assigns value judgements to inanimate objects. If it were anything other than guns, we'd want these people locked up.
Toaster Control Institute, anyone?
chris,
Unfortunately, they've already ruled that kids are second-class citizens in the hallways of education - i.e. random backpack searches.
While you bet your @$$ I'd "lawyer up" (especially since The Boy's godmother is the aforementioned Boston attorney... HEH), it's not a fight I chose to have at this time.
ted,
Yeah, and we're not even going to talk about the conference at Tufts where they taught 14 year olds about fisting...(And told the students not to tell their parents...)
wolfwalker,
The Boy has already watched all six episodes of "Star Wars", and I'd put Episode 3 against anything in the Indy franchise.
Harrison Ford flew to France to give Roman Polanski his Oscar in 2003. Polanski is living in France to avoid jail time for statutorily raping a 13 year old girl.
Harrison Ford can kiss my hairy Italian ass.
linoge,
No kidding. And it's only going to get better come Nov. 4...
chrisb,
Don't despair quite yet. Both The Boy and BabyGirl G routinely play with toy guns, quite often in the front yard in full view of the neighborhood.
I'm waiting for the SWAT team to be called...
justin,
Like I said, I'd rather avoid the fight right now. I'm really not in a position to cause a lot of controversy and get myself in trouble, we'll leave it at that.
Side note: You were in MA and didn't drop a line? Dood! We coulda gone shootin'!
tweaker,
Tell me about it, brother. I'm guessing this kinda thing doesn't happen {clap}{clap}{clap}deep in the heart of Texas...
My kids frequently shoot bows, bb guns and .22 rifles during school..... homeschool that is.
Side note: You were in MA and didn't drop a line? Dood! We coulda gone shootin'!
Honeymoon. The wife's pretty good at tolerating the time I spend at the range, but taking time off from the Honeymoon would have REALLY been pushing it!
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