Child's Use Of Imagination Is Now A Punishable Offense
It's not April, so it can't be April Fool's Day.
Robby Soave writes at reason that a 9-year-old boy was suspended from school for using Lord of the Rings "magic" on a fellow student:
The boy, Aiden Steward, was suspended by officials at Kermit Elementary School in Kermit, Texas, after he tried to make a classmate disappear using his magic ring. Steward had just seen The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and was inspired by the timeless fantasy stories of J.R.R. Tolkien that have entertained kids, teens, and adults for generations.Since Steward was not in possession of the One Ring To Rule Them All, his attempts at dark magic failed. Still, administrators considered it a "terroristic threat" and had no choice but to take action, according to Odessa American.
Even more unbelievableness -- from Nicole Hensley at the New York Daily News:
Aiden claimed Thursday he could put a ring on his friend's head and make him invisible like Bilbo Baggins, who stole Gollum's "precious" in J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy series "The Lord of the Rings.""I assure you my son lacks the magical powers necessary to threaten his friend's existence," the boy's father later wrote in an email. "If he did, I'm sure he'd bring him right back."
This kid is seen as a real delinquent, with two previous "offenses":
Two of the disciplinary actions this year were in-school suspensions for referring to a classmate as black and bringing his favorite book to school: "The Big Book of Knowledge.""He loves that book. They were studying the solar system and he took it to school. He thought his teacher would be impressed," Steward said.
But the teacher learned the popular children's encyclopedia had a section on pregnancy, depicting a pregnant woman in an illustration, he explained.
In short, we're all doomed. A country committing suicide through aggressive idiocy.
"In short, we're all doomed. A country committing suicide through aggressive idiocy."
Funny, but sad and true.
The movie "Idiocracy" is turning into a documentary film.
http://vimeo.com/82074066
David H at February 2, 2015 9:59 PM
So -- the administrators made young Aiden Steward disappear!
They are indeed the masters of the Dark Magic, and in possession of the One Ring to Rule Them All.
Lastango at February 2, 2015 11:13 PM
Wait, what? Suspended for bring a book to school?
The Big Book of Knowledge?
We need the One Ring to weed out some of these idiots running the asylums.
DrCos at February 3, 2015 3:29 AM
Also, what's wrong with calling a person "black"? My former neighbors were from St. Lucia. They were black but they were not "African American."
A former boyfriend of mine, however, a white guy from South Africa, now an American citizen, is an African-American.
How should a child refer to him so as not to get suspended from school?
Amy Alkon at February 3, 2015 4:59 AM
Nothing is wrong about saying someone is black, but it can be used as a perjorative. "You're BLACK" said by a kid in a sneering voice can be hurtful. This stuff happens.
And attempting to make a classmate disappear is silly, but in the context it could be bullying if its part of a bigger picture of being mean to the kid and freaking him out or what not.
But terrorist? Um...
NicoleK at February 3, 2015 5:56 AM
Situations like this make it painfully obvious that the people in charge of that school have no business being in charge of children.
matt at February 3, 2015 7:24 AM
It's the perfect storm of small-minded bureaucracy and fear-mongering. You can hear the six o'clock lead-in now: "RINGS IN SCHOOL! ARE YOUR CHILDREN IN DANGER?" The logical next step is a ban on boys wearing jewelry, talking about jewelry, drawing pictures of jewelry, or poking a hole in a Pop-Tart and sticking it on their finger. Because obviously it's one short step from there to far-right paramilitary (which are, per the FBI's classifications, the only real terrorists). Duh.
Cousin Dave at February 3, 2015 7:53 AM
Texas, it's like a whole other country!
bkmale at February 3, 2015 9:16 AM
In a school like that, no wonder the kid wants to disappear. I would want to be invisible, too.
Pirate Jo at February 3, 2015 10:34 AM
The best thing about this story is the kid was suspended from school. The worst part about it will be when the suspension is over and the parents send him back. Why do people allow their precious kids to be educated by such utter fools?
Ken R at February 3, 2015 10:48 AM
This is an example of why Texas needs to become an "open-carry" State.
Bob in Texas at February 3, 2015 11:03 AM
And people wondered why my parents opted to homeschool us.
Elle at February 3, 2015 2:07 PM
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