Never bring a Knife to a Gun fight.

I was chatting with a group of guy friends a couple weeks ago. Three of the five had been on the rifle team in high school. One was a 3-year letterman. They all brought their rifles to school on a regular basis. They all had shooting ranges in the schools. One bought his ammo at school from his math teacher. No one ever got shot.

A felony charge? Sheesh. I have no tolerance for zero tolerance policies.

You know, I can remember in High School when it was a fairly common practice for people to show up with hunting rifles in the windows of their truck so they were ready to go after school. That was only 17 years ago...my how times have changed.

Now, see, tofu doesn't require a "weapon" to eat. Maybe the curriculum should encourage kids to be proletarian vegetarians.

What's next - banning teeth?

the real story is why this occurs. i think this quote yields a clue:

"Anytime there's a weapon on campus, yes, we have to report it and we aggressively report it because we don't want to take any chances, regardless," Christian said.

this way of doing things isn't coming from inside schools--it's coming from outside, and sometimes from the higher administrative bodies. teachers and adminstrators' hands are increasingly bound tighter on exercising judgement.

and a large, important part of that external pressure is--parents.

"a large, important part of that external pressure is--parents"

But don't neglect to thank grandstanding politicians who try to pander to those parents and appear tough on crime by making reporting of "weapons" mandatory for school officials.

The definition of weapon could use some work here, too... as Ani DiFranco said, "Any tool is a weapon if you hold it right." I know when I was a kid my book bag was heavy enough to bludgeon an elk; should we ban books now?

Even setting aside all the zero tolerance stuff (and I can accept no sharp knives at school as reasonable rule, so a reasonable response on these facts would be to confiscate it, call the parents and send a strong message not to do it again) but Felony charges and a 10 day suspension? Nope, no ability to distinguish forest from trees...We seem to have lost our collective minds.

Ssshhhh! Don't make a stir about this. Those administrators have to make headlines now and again, its the only way they can convince anyone that they ever actually do anything.

Just think what 8 hours a day five days a week is like in an atmosphere wherein things like this happen: its a Columbine incubator!!

Maybe Szazz was right: insanity is the only sane reaction to being in this situation.

and a large, important part of that external pressure is--parents.

Now I really doubt that. Every parent I know thinks being this strict about stuff is stupid.
A couple years back my daughter wore a "Guns & Roses" t-shirt to school...I got a phone call from the principal about "inappropriate attire." See, it had two pistols with long-stem roses wrapped around the barrels.
The principal even asked if I knew my daughter had the stupid shirt! I old her I was the one that bought it for her, and the principal seemed shocked!
its just insane.