give me a f###### break.....

[bell]

what has this country come to......we need to stop this bs or our children are going be flipping pansies...........

Toy soldiers run afoul of school's weapons ban - Yahoo! News

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By MICHELLE R. SMITH, Associated Press Writer Michelle R. Smith, Associated Press Writer – 26 mins ago

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Christan Morales said her son just wanted to honor American troops when he wore a hat to school decorated with an American flag and small plastic Army figures.

But the school banned the hat because it ran afoul of the district's zero-tolerance weapons policy. Why? The toy soldiers were carrying tiny guns.

"His teacher called and said it wasn't appropriate," Morales said.

Morales' 8-year-old son, David, had been assigned to make a hat for the day when his second-grade class would meet their pen pals from another school. She and her son came up with an idea to add patriotic decorations to a camouflage hat.

Earlier this week, after the hat was banned, the principal at the Tiogue School in Coventry told the family that the hat would be fine if David replaced the Army men holding weapons with ones that didn't have any, according to Superintendent Kenneth R. Di Pietro.

But, Morales said, the family had only one Army figure without a weapon (he was carrying binoculars), so David wore a plain baseball cap on the day of the pen pal meeting.

"Nothing was being done to limit patriotism, creativity, other than find an alternative to a weapon," Di Pietro said.

The district does not allow images of weapons or drugs on clothing. For example, a student would not be permitted to wear a shirt with a picture of a marijuana leaf on it, the superintendent said.

The principal "wasn't denying the patriotism," he said. "That just is the wrong and unfair image of one of our finest principals."

On Thursday, Di Pietro and the principal met with the retired commander of the Rhode Island National Guard, at the commander's request.

Lt. Gen. Reginald Centracchio praised the school system for supporting the military in the past, including with a junior ROTC program.

But he said he disagreed with the decision to ban the hat and hoped it offered a chance for the school to review its policies.

"The American soldier is armed. That's why they're called the armed forces," he said. "If you're going to portray it any other way, you miss the point."

He said he intends to give David a medal to express veterans' appreciation that he would pay tribute to their service.

Morales said her son was inspired to honor the military after striking up a friendship last summer with a neighbor in the Army.

Banning the hat "sent the wrong message to the kids, because it wasn't in any way to cause any harm to anyone," she said. "You're talking about Army men. This wasn't about guns."

[Porsche-O-Phile]

We need a zero tolerance policy towards idiot, overpaid unionized school administrators. It'd be a huge step forward for society.

[jyl]

Suppose he was a really good principal who managed his school well and provided a good education for the kids? Then, personally, I wouldn't much care about what he decided about some kid's hat.

[LeeH]

Rules = OK
Application of rules with no common sense included = NOT OK!

[Mr.Puff]

Originally Posted by jyl

Suppose he was a really good principal who managed his school well and provided a good education for the kids? Then, personally, I wouldn't much care about what he decided about some kid's hat.

He is edcuating the children in P.C. bull****.

Here is the hat in question. If the principals efforts are this trivial then he must be overlooking more important things.

[A930Rocket]

I hate to think what would have happened if I brought live ammo from WWI like I did back in the early 70's to elementery school.

[masraum]

The district does not allow images of weapons or drugs on clothing. For example, a student would not be permitted to wear a shirt with a picture of a marijuana leaf on it

Jeez guys, this is so obvious. This "shirt with a picture of a marijuana leaf" is clearly the same as "a hat decorated with an American flag and small plastic Army figures". The kid probably put the hat together as part of a gang initiation. He probably had to wear the hat during a drive by to get his colors. This sort of behavior MUST BE STOPPED!!!! It'd be really nice if about 50 Army dudes complete with M-16s or whatever they're carrying these days could visit the school and pimp slap the principal.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

If it had been a hat with a Mexican flag on it, it'd have been okay though. At least in Kalifornia.

[968rz]

I'm about ready to give up and just move to Mexico, at least they still teach their kids to be tough.

"The pusification of America" - George Carlin

[PorscheGAL]

Time to throw out the history books. They talk of war. Not to mention all the great books like Old Yellar, Where the Red Fern Grows, etc. They describe the characters using guns.

[cstreit]

We should also ban immunizations because they use "injection guns" and "shots"

[sammyg2]

There's a reason I pay out the equivalent of a house payment every month so my kids can to go to private schools ....................

[looneybin]

back in the '70's when i was in elementary school, i brought a civil war revolver to school for "show & tell"
everyone, including the teacher and principal thought it was very cool.
could you even imagine that happening today, i'd still be in jail.

[flatbutt]

It'd be cool to see the kid get that medal.

[KarlCarrera]

Flatbutt

Yes it would.

Karl
88 Targa