Kid suspended for drawing a gun

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

But one drawing, with no prior history, no threats, no nothing - that is ridiculous.

What if he likes guns - is it not ok to like guns, ever? What if he actually drew his BB gun? I learned about Uzi guns when I was studying Israeli history - what if I decided to draw one? What if he drew a knife? What kinds of knives are ok to draw? A Bowie knife in American History class during discussions of the Alamo? A butcher knife, because he watches Top Chef? A table knife? Would that be too pointy, too threatening? What if he has studied dadaism and wanted to draw random objects?

In other words - this is all thoughtcrime bullsh.t and it's one of the worst symptoms of a society in fear. The suppression of thought....of art.....of self-expression....of actually recognizing the fact that a gun exists.....this is pretty damn messed up in my book.

We don't know the history of this kid. You seem to be designing one. I think that erring in the name of keeping the school safe is better than something bad happening. I also would like to point out that if there was a shooting and warning signs were ignored, quite possibly the same people who are bashing the school now would bash the school for doing nothing.

No one's saying the boy shouldn't like guns. No one's saying that drawing a gun is bad. Drawing a gun on homework is not cool and can be seen as a threat by someone. It's inappropriate. I think the children of this school will be thinking twice before doing something like this again.

This is not a suppression of art. If this was done in an art class, I'd say cool. But it doesn't seem like it was. There are times to express yourself in art, even illustrating a creative writing piece with pictures but on homework that seems to not have required pictures, it's inappropriate.

Your examples are going to extremes, claiming suppression of everything. What the kid did was wrong and he paid the price.

Steps were not taken before Columbine and now people are criticizing a school that's trying to prevent another one. I'd rather people learn from mistakes in the past than just ignoring them. I mean, what's really being suppressed is the past and the history of violence in schools.

[Gemini Cricket]

Haw haw! I just found the infamous gun picture:


Hmmm. It barely even looks like a gun!

[DreadPirateRoberts]

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

Haw haw! I just found the infamous gun picture:


Hmmm. It barely even looks like a gun!

Maybe the suspension was for bad artistic talent

[wendybeth]

That cannot be the actual drawing. If so, this only proves how arts funding cutbacks have hurt kids.

[figment1986]

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

Haw haw! I just found the infamous gun picture:


Hmmm. It barely even looks like a gun!

looks like a tazer gun to me... wouldn't work, not like the random stuff i drew on my tests cause i was bored...

What gets me, they suspended him for drawing it... and not why he drew it or even had him counseled about why he drew it??

Originally Posted by wendybeth

That cannot be the actual drawing. If so, this only proves how arts funding cutbacks have hurt kids.

My generation has the cutbacks... but it might not be that, it could have simply been because he didnt have photoshop and mouse... (why take notes when you can doodle in class ) or ruler and protractor and other great tools for shortcuts... Besides not everyone is Picasso.


Still, Why was he suspended for 5, then deminished to 3 days for drawing?

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

Haw haw! I just found the infamous gun picture:


Hmmm. It barely even looks like a gun!

Y'know, I don't find that funny. At all. The idea that anyone thought that this was a threat is disgusting.

A more in-depth story

How awful for this family. How terrible for the other students. Did you catch this nugget?

A second student was also suspended Monday for a sketch on his homework. However, that student and his parents could not be reached for comment about the nature of that drawing.

I'm so sad and angry at the same time....and I'm worried about when my future kids hit school and I have to teach them about thoughtcrime, so they don't have dings on their record for simply doodling. What a disappointment our society is.

[AllyOops!]

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

Haw haw! I just found the infamous gun picture:


Hmmm. It barely even looks like a gun!

I haven't had the time to read the posts on this Thread! I'll definitely go back when I have more then just a free moment...

I will take the time to say this and only this:

I'm a gun owner. I own an actual .38 that has the ability to inflict damage and kill. The reason I own one? I've mentioned before that my Dad is a deputy. Almost all of my family works in law-enforcement. My Dad insists I own one. Almost everybody in my family does. I'm NO fan of guns, but I know how to operate and fire one. I PRAY TO ALMIGHTY GOD that I never am put in the position of having to defend myself & my family and use one. Honestly? They scare the daylights out of me. I respect them for what they are and leave it at that. However, I consider myself a very responsible gun owner. I don't bust out a Glock at the holidays whilst looped up on eggnog, hold it sideways gangsta-style and show off for the neighbors while singing the threat "Rat-a-tat said the polak with the gat."

Last time that I checked, it was completely legal for me to own my firearm. Nobody is threatened by me. Granted, I don't bring it out and wave it at people and engage in reckless behavior, but still. So, are we saying that while I own an actual gun and that's legal, if I drew a picture of it on my desk calendar at work I'd be in some hot water?

Example: Am I going to get suspended at my favorite Board because you guys know now that I'm a gun owner? And sometimes, I post that I'm really in a bad mood & pissed-off and I follow my post with this guy --> and seeing that post, while knowing I've posted about prior gun ownership, is going to make people freaked by me?? See, now this type of radical paranoia has seeped into my high-strung brain. While part of my post is meant to be facetious, I'm still rattled. Damn, where's the Exedrin.

What I'm saying is, I can see & respect the difference of opinion. Everybody has a right to theirs. However, I really feel sorry for that child & the fact that he'll probably be tortured and saddled with a new reputation when he returns to school. We all know how kind some kids can be. It was handled extremely poorly. This is why I usually avoid hot topics like this because my head literally begins to spin in 50 million directions. A high-strung person like me needs to talk about lighter subjects.

Secondly, are we sure that it's not a picture of a high-rise building tilted on it's side, complete with walk-way and rooftop A/C, and some sort of dangling charm blowing in the wind above said walk-way? Isn't art supposed to be different for everybody? I see a side-ways building. If I were that kid, I'd claim that just to end all of this nonsense.

[Strangler Lewis]

Originally Posted by AllyOops!

Secondly, are we sure that it's not a picture of a high-rise building tilted on it's side, complete with walk-way and rooftop A/C, and some sort of dangling charm blowing in the wind above said walk-way? Isn't art supposed to be different for everybody? I see a side-ways building. If I were that kid, I'd claim that just to end all of this nonsense.

On closer look, the dangling charm intrigues me. It looks like a stick figure of a person, as if the charm is the equivalent of old west notches on the gun. My searching skills don't come up with anything on the subject, but I am curious if gangbangers adorn their guns in such a manner. Anybody?