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Comments

1. #1
   On October 13th, 2009 at 12:52 pm, iamsaved said:

   It sounds like another case of Zero Common Sense…

2. #2
   On October 13th, 2009 at 12:55 pm, JDinTX said:

   I have been in law enforcement for over 31 years and this is the most ridiculous thing. Somebody needs to find some common sense to apply to these incidents. There is a major difference in a camping tool brought by a 6 year old and a hunting knife brought by a 16 year old. They also need to look at different reasons for bringing it to school.

3. #3
   On October 13th, 2009 at 12:55 pm, mojoe said:

   Church youth group? Sounds like a trouble-maker to me.

4. #4
   On October 13th, 2009 at 12:56 pm, letget said:

   I feel so sorry for this poor child and his parents. I just pray that this works out for them. I also hope the parents take Zachary out of government school and home school.
   L

5. #5
   On October 13th, 2009 at 12:59 pm, onefed said:

   Reason #435,520 to homeschool.

6. #6
   On October 13th, 2009 at 1:00 pm, b-cat said:

   When I was a child, you had a pocket-knife if you were a boy.

   They’re preparing him to be defenseless in a more and more threatening world.

7. #7
   On October 13th, 2009 at 1:00 pm, Rogue Cheddar said:

   Little Zachary would have been better off to to channel Rangel and tell the bus driver to “mind your own gd business!” Home school looking better all the time.

8. #8
   On October 13th, 2009 at 1:01 pm, Stillwaiting said:

   I support Zachary 100%. Sound judgement has followed common sense to near extinction. The boy was so excited about becoming a cub scout, he wanted to bring his boy scout knife to school. That was an innocent mistake. We used to learn by making those types of mistakes…now, apparently, we get sent to reform school.

9. #9
   On October 13th, 2009 at 1:03 pm, RedBuckeye said:

   http://help-zachary.com/

10. #10
    On October 13th, 2009 at 1:05 pm, RedBuckeye said:

    Sorry about the incorrect link – the helpzachary.com was down for a bit

11. #11
    On October 13th, 2009 at 1:06 pm, cheapseat said:

    the nanny state moving to it’s logical conclusion. no one can do anything without fear of crossing some law or barrier. this is the start of fear that made stalinist russia and north korean people stay silent despite what they see. how did germans tolerate and fall in line with the nazis, the same way.

12. #12
    On October 13th, 2009 at 1:07 pm, zyzzyg said:

    Yep, . . . this is silly.

13. #13
    On October 13th, 2009 at 1:11 pm, vinny said:

    this sounds like a good policy to turn downes elementary school into the violent scene michelle pictured from the chicago district. If zach’s father moves resigns and parents like him leave that school, who will be left to look out for the kids there? the teachers and principal who want to send this kid to a reform school for violent offenders??? the only thing that will sway these clowns is the idea that they will soon be out of a job. even that may not carry much weight as they count on unemployment benefits. take those away and they might actually care about what they do.

14. #14
    On October 13th, 2009 at 1:16 pm, TheWriteJerry said:

    Don’t they realize that a pencil can become a weapon too? Think of the children! We need to ban pencils from school. It’s not like the Dems let the kids learn anything any way.

15. #15
    On October 13th, 2009 at 1:16 pm, BadIdeaGuy said:

    3 points on this:
    1. I wouldn’t consider the knife on this device to be a weapon, let alone a dangerous weapon, unless the user tries to stab someone with it, in which case it would fold on his hand. One might inflict more damage with a pen or pencil (don’t tell the statists, or all kids will be writing in crayon).
    2. If you bring a knife to school to inflict harm on someone, what good is the threat of 45 days in reform school for someone with murder on their mind.
    3. The Christina School District is poorly managed and pretty much bankrupt. They’ve got better things to do than enter litigation.

16. #16
    On October 13th, 2009 at 1:17 pm, Southpaw said:

    Gee, just think of the useful things he’ll learn to do with that spoon/fork/ bottle opener/knife at reform school.

    What a bunch of maroons.

17. #17
    On October 13th, 2009 at 1:18 pm, AlohaGuy said:

    Idiots run our schools.
    Because we let them.

18. #18
    On October 13th, 2009 at 1:26 pm, MarcoPolo said:

    On October 13th, 2009 at 12:55 pm, JDinTX said:

    I have been in law enforcement for over 31 years and this is the most ridiculous thing. Somebody needs to find some common sense to apply to these incidents. There is a major difference in a camping tool brought by a 6 year old and a hunting knife brought by a 16 year old.

    When I was a kid, half the boys at school had their hunting knives hanging off their belt loop. A good many of them came to school straight from the deer stand this time of year.

19. #19
    On October 13th, 2009 at 1:38 pm, MooDog2 said:

    Think about it. Zero Tolerance rules are written so that anyone can enforce them without introducing any bias whatsoever. A blindfolded youngster who is able to read and comprehend knows what “no knife” means. We don’t allow any interpretation at all so that the enforcer cannot introduce bias of any type: race, age, gender, etc. A pretty sad commentary when we don’t allow a teacher or principal to use common sense or the “powers that be” don’t think they can.

20. #20
    On October 13th, 2009 at 1:41 pm, b-cat said:

    Why confiscate knives? If they have no guns, there will be no violence, right?

21. #21
    On October 13th, 2009 at 1:45 pm, sfrvn said:

    Church Group? Check.

    Cub Scout? Check.

    Must be a terrorist (under the current administration’s definition).

22. #22
    On October 13th, 2009 at 1:46 pm, elpresidente said:

    The smartest person in this story, outside of the parents and those organizing for him, is Zachary himself.

    Zero Tolerance = Zero Common Sense and the notion that discretion can never be applied, ever.

23. #23
    On October 13th, 2009 at 1:47 pm, John Deaux said:

    How long before all meals served in public schools are “finger food”?

    1. No fear of weapons.
    2. Claim to be helping the environment by eliminating plastic utensils.

    Remember, you heard it here first.

24. #24
    On October 13th, 2009 at 1:50 pm, happyscrapper said:

    I just signed the petition. This is insane! That poor boy could be affected for life over this. Hopefully, the lesson he learns will be to loath and despise liberal moonbats with no common sense. If that is the case, maybe it will be worth it!

25. #25
    On October 13th, 2009 at 1:52 pm, okiedokie said:

    If we could only get the people enforcing this no-knife policy to also police our borders, things might balance out.

26. #26
    On October 13th, 2009 at 1:54 pm, Hangfire said:

    This stupidity has been percolating in America for some time.

    I remember being pulled over by a cop when I was a teenage (so long ago that the car was a Rambler station wagon) because I had an illegal length knife in the back of the car. It’s blade was 26″ long.

    I also had a rake, a gas can, and hedge trimmers.

    My parents paid good money to have a lawyer convince the police department that a machete was a garden implement.

27. #27
    On October 13th, 2009 at 2:00 pm, hawkeye54 said:

    It sounds like another case of Zero Common Sense

    Zero Common Sense is all too common for leftists and bureaucrats.

28. #28
    On October 13th, 2009 at 2:02 pm, Ron said:

    Ridiculous, anal retentive educators seeking to exercise power over everything and everyone. This in miniature is what we’ll get as we increase the size and scope of the Nanny State, as in health care controlled by government bureaucracy, cap-and-tax, etc.

29. #29
    On October 13th, 2009 at 2:08 pm, WarEagle82 said:

    “Zero Tolerance” means “Zero Exposure to litigation.” It means “Zero thought” on the part of school administrators. It means school administrators behave stupidly in the name of some arbitrary rule regardless of the facts of the matter.

    “Zero Tolerance” is just another way of educators and administrators to avoid actually thinking while going to work.

    This is another reason we have never had our kids in public school. Take your kids out of the indoctrination mills NOW!

30. #30
    On October 13th, 2009 at 2:26 pm, scituate_tgr said:

    From what I’ve heard on our local talk radio – this Zero policy stems from another incident in the same school/district(?) where a grandmother baked a cake, included a carving knife and sent her granddaughter off to school.

    The teacher cut the cake using the supplied knife, distributed the cake to the classroom, then walked the girl down to the office. She was eventually suspended for one year.

    They’ve been bat$hit crazy before and I don’t see much in the way of PC-driven regulations stopping or changing – the bats run the cave.

31. #31
    On October 13th, 2009 at 2:37 pm, TheWriteJerry said:

    Come to think of it, pretty much anything can become a weapon in the hands of somebody willing to use it — including hands! So what they really need to do is tie all of the kids’ hands behind their backs, kind of like they’ve tied commonsense behind the administrators’ and teachers’ backs.

32. #32
    On October 13th, 2009 at 2:42 pm, Roland said:

    On October 13th, 2009 at 1:38 pm, MooDog2 said:
    Think about it. Zero Tolerance rules are written so that anyone can enforce them without introducing any bias whatsoever. A blindfolded youngster who is able to read and comprehend knows what “no knife” means. We don’t allow any interpretation at all so that the enforcer cannot introduce bias of any type: race, age, gender, etc. A pretty sad commentary when we don’t allow a teacher or principal to use common sense or the “powers that be” don’t think they can.

    You nailed it, MooDog. The insanity comes from the ‘need’ to not have to prove you did not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual preference, national origin, etc. etc. etc.

    People here seem to think it can be fixed with common sense. They don’t seem to realize once the left has its grip, common sense is zero tolerance. It is the only way to protect yourselves.

    Once our society decided people would have to prove what they were thinking, we were lost.

    The left is not wrong. The Democrats are not wrong. They are evil. Even when they are ‘nice’ or ‘charming,’ they are evil. They do not care about the consequences of indulging themselves. That is what evil is.

33. #33
    On October 13th, 2009 at 2:54 pm, graysonret said:

    He’s a scout. That compounds the punishment. We know the scouts stand for love of country and God, as well as upholding morals and values. They also learn self-discipline and being self-reliant. These are traits the liberals want OUT of the children.

34. #34
    On October 13th, 2009 at 2:57 pm, beachmom said:

    This is going on everywhere.
    This type of thing has been going on in the school district in my town for years.

35. #35
    On October 13th, 2009 at 3:01 pm, WarEagle82 said:

    This IS going on, if not everywhere, in too many places! Take your kids out of this insanity. Do it for a year or two! That would get their attention! Then, once they are reminded that parents don’t have to put up with this idiocy, we could reclaim control of the schools from the government and unions.

    TAKE.YOUR.KIDS.OUT.OF.PUBLIC.SCHOOL!

36. #36
    On October 13th, 2009 at 3:22 pm, Wayfaring Stranger said:

    On October 13th, 2009 at 1:00 pm, b-cat said:

    When I was a child, you had a pocket-knife if you were a boy…

    Heh – not just boys. I was no tomboy, but I had a jackknife that my parents had bought for me to have when we went camping, something we did most every summer, and sometimes on weekends in the autumn.

    And on more than one occasion I carried it in my schoolbag. Guess I was some kind of delinquent and never knew it….

    This is absolute insanity – those who referred to it as zero common sense are right.

37. #37
    On October 13th, 2009 at 3:38 pm, dan708 said:

    Zero Tolerance = Absence of Thought

    Incredible.

38. #38
    On October 13th, 2009 at 3:42 pm, Roland said:

    Wayfaring Stranger, how else can the school prove they did not discriminate on the basis of race later on when they kick out a genuinely dangerous young man packing a knife and who happens to be black? Or gay? How does the school prove it if they aren’t using zero tolerance?

    You can argue for more complicated rules, but at some point you have to use common sense. At that point the school’s policy must be zero tolerance so they don’t find themselves spending all of their time embroiled in lawsuits from the ACLU.

    The problem is when we first accept the idea the teacher and school should have to show they were not discriminating on the basis of race even though they had done nothing overtly discriminatory. Without the right to be presumed innocent in a civil case, and with the ACLU ready to push as far as the most nutty leftwing activist judge will allow, the only correct policy is zero tolerance.

    There is good reason the apparent idiocy keeps spreading: Bad laws regarding discrimination.

39. #39
    On October 13th, 2009 at 3:59 pm, Wrathchilde said:

    These zero tolerance policies are inherently stupid, especially when it comes to weapons.

    In reality, there is only one weapon in this world, the human mind. Everything else is merely a tool. Granted, some tools have more potential for harm than others: pistols, knives, bludgeons…etc.

    Shall we also ban pens and pencils, as they can be used as stilettos? I still have a graphite mark in my ankle from getting impaled on another kid’s pencil 25 years or more ago.

    I am literally scarred for life for trying to step over a child with a pencil in his back pocket. Is that worth money? Should I have sued?

40. #40
    On October 13th, 2009 at 4:16 pm, Wrathchilde said:

    By the way, this is essentially the tool this child had in his possession:

    http://www.amazon.com/style-folding-opener-seperates-parts/dp/B0016AROIY/ref=sr_1_83?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1255464839&sr=1-83

    Not the same model, as it appears that he had a swiss-army style device, but functionally similar.

41. #41
    On October 13th, 2009 at 4:22 pm, rightisright said:

    I’m so pissed off I can’t see straight, what bunch of idiots, elitist, self centered bastards run our schools anymore.

    So, the 6 year old is guilty of stabbing someone before he had a thought to do so…what a bunch of fools, what small lives they must live to enforce such idiotic rules. It’s a case of a small minded person with a little authority and by god their going to use it no matter the damage it does, in this case, to a fine outstanding young in his community. Must be the liberal way…IDIOTS!
    Why do these school boards get paid, they don’t or can’t make a decision?

42. #42
    On October 13th, 2009 at 4:23 pm, Wayfaring Stranger said:

    On October 13th, 2009 at 3:42 pm, Roland said:

    …There is good reason the apparent idiocy keeps spreading: Bad laws regarding discrimination.

    That’s it in a nutshell – no pun intended.

    As a woman, I am astounded by some of the idiocy that is perpetuated in the name of ‘gender equality’.

43. #43
    On October 13th, 2009 at 4:24 pm, graysonret said:

    The way our hysterical society is getting more and more involved in protecting “the children”, maybe they ought to ban schools altogether. From what I read, they are getting to be pretty dangerous places; some are like war zones, I see.

44. #44
    On October 13th, 2009 at 4:26 pm, corkie said:

    What’s the language of the school district rule? “Dangerous instrument?”

    I think the family needs to insist that many other items that classmates bring are “dangerous instruments” as well.

    It would be fun to muck things up a bit for the school system.

45. #45
    On October 13th, 2009 at 4:35 pm, Mulligan said:

    I hate to think the effect this is having on Zachary. He sounds like a wonderful little boy, who must be traumatized by what’s happening to him. It’s a travesty.

46. #46
    On October 13th, 2009 at 4:43 pm, TigerLady said:

    AlohaGuy said:
    Idiots run our schools.
    Because we let them.

    Exactly.

47. #47
    On October 13th, 2009 at 5:33 pm, thetoysurgeon said:

    This lack of CS factor is troublesome. Its the launching board for going after the 2nd Amendment. We can look forward to these kinds of wingnut decisions about guns as well.

48. #48
    On October 13th, 2009 at 6:07 pm, Truesoldier said:

    Here is another story that just popped up along the same lines (once again a scout, this time an eagle scout):

    A 17-year-old Eagle Scout in upstate New York has been barred from stepping foot on school grounds for 20 days — for keeping a 2-inch pocketknife locked in a survival kit in his car.

49. #49
    On October 13th, 2009 at 6:08 pm, CO2 Producer said:

    They did this instead of holding onto the item until after school and apologizing to the boy for not allowing items that could be perceived as weapons because suspension and school board hearings are a better use of time than considering the simple alternative. This is a case of adults looking dumber than the first grader.

50. #50
    On October 13th, 2009 at 6:13 pm, Elm Creek Smith said:

    “Zero Tolerance” better known as “Zero Common Sense” strikes an Eagle Scout. It’s not just restricted to idiots running elementary schools. This young man kept a knife that his grandfather, a police chief, gave him locked in a survival kit that was lock in his car. He was initially suspended for 5 days and, after a hearing, had another 15 days tacked on, apparently for not being subservient and apologetic enough.

    Hope is not a plan; not all change is good. WE are the civilian national security force! “Zero Tolerance” was dreamed up by “zero brains.” The resistance is here; the resistance is now! RESIST!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ECS

51. #51
    On October 13th, 2009 at 6:15 pm, Elm Creek Smith said:

    Sorry, Trusoldier. Didn’t see your post.

    ECS
    Captain, Armor
    US Army (Retired)

52. #52
    On October 13th, 2009 at 6:19 pm, happyscrapper said:

    The parents need to pull this child out of public school, permanently. Then, they need to get a lawyer. I would gladly contribute toward a lawsuit against these morons. The charge? Blatants stupidity for starters.

53. #53
    On October 13th, 2009 at 6:29 pm, Truesoldier said:

    On October 13th, 2009 at 6:15 pm, Elm Creek Smith said:

    No worries, happens to me all the time. Besides a story like this needs to be told more than once.

54. #54
    On October 13th, 2009 at 6:37 pm, CO2 Producer said:

    On October 13th, 2009 at 3:59 pm, Wrathchilde said:

    I still have a graphite mark in my ankle from getting impaled on another kid’s pencil 25 years or more ago.

    I am literally scarred for life for trying to step over a child with a pencil in his back pocket. Is that worth money? Should I have sued?

    Wrathchilde, you’re not alone.

    In a moment of carelessness back in high school, I accidentally stabbed my own hand with a pencil. Twenty years later, I have a lead dot on my palm as a reminder of that awful time. I’m still coping with PostPencil Syndrome (PPS), reliving that terrible moment over and over in my mind. If only my teacher knew that I brandished that No. 2, he could have saved me from the years of traumatizing memories and from the tiny grey mark on my palm that will stay with me forever. That mark may as well have seared onto my very soul.

    Stories like these just remind me that we all as a society need to deal with the dangers of pencils. We need to unite and get rid of these dangerous items. Together we can eliminate the dangers of writing and drawing utensils (dramatic pause) for our children and for our children’s children. Are ya with me?

55. #55
    On October 13th, 2009 at 6:57 pm, Wayfaring Stranger said:

    Truesoldier, ECS, thanks for that link. Roland (and a couple of others) mentioned the ‘fear of appearing to apply the rules differently for different students’ as a reason for both of these idiotic rulings, and this quote from the article about your Eagle Scout seems to confirm that:
    

    Whalen said he does not know why the 15 days were added, but he said a school district employee told him it was because the school wanted to apply its policies consistently.

    This part is interesting:
    

    Whalen said he took school administrators to his car because he thought their fears would be allayed when they saw it was just a 2-inch knife…

    “I showed it to them, and they told me I had a knife on school property and had to be suspended.”

    …”They brought a cop in, who told them ‘he’s not breaking any laws, so I can’t charge him with anything.’

    Whalen said he asked Macri why a 2-inch pocketknife would be considered more dangerous than other everyday items around the school.

    “I said to him, ‘What about a person who has a bat, on a baseball team? That could be a weapon.’ And he said, ‘Well, it’s not the same thing.’”

    The school district’s policy lists “Possessing a weapon” under “examples of violent conduct,” which “may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including suspension from school.”

    My son just pointed out that someone’s hands, if they’ve taken martial arts training or boxing, can be lethal weapons. As he said, what are they going to do, cut off that person’s hands?

56. #56
    On October 13th, 2009 at 7:14 pm, Average Joe said:

    So are there any adults on the Christina School District Board or are they all 6 years old too?

57. #57
    On October 13th, 2009 at 8:04 pm, Elm Creek Smith said:

    Apparently everyone associated with the running of most school districts from the school boards on down have the emotional maturity of a 6 year old.

    ECS (steam still coming from my ears)

58. #58
    On October 13th, 2009 at 8:08 pm, WarTip said:

    Meanwhile schools across the nation are making separate rules of discipline for children of different races … but in the name of “equality” and not racism … fighting any effort to get disruptive students out of the schools so that kids who do actually want to educate themselves as much as they can in a public indoctrination center are inhibited …

    Yeah, this makes perfect sense.

59. #59
    On October 13th, 2009 at 8:45 pm, travlinman said:

    On October 13th, 2009 at 6:57 pm, Wayfaring Stranger said:

    My son just pointed out that someone’s hands, if they’ve taken martial arts training or boxing, can be lethal weapons. As he said, what are they going to do, cut off that person’s hands?

    They will after Sharia Law takes effect. This kind of idiocy seen under the guise of ‘fairness’ and ‘political correctness’ is exactly what will allow a complete breakdown of common sense in this country leading to extremists from the ‘Religion of Peace’ taking over the culture. Look at Great Britain. They and most of Europe are already on the slippery slope to hell. Obama and the rest of the left are applying a ‘liberal’ dose of grease on our path at this very point in time.

60. #60
    On October 13th, 2009 at 10:52 pm, yohannbiimu said:

    I’d love to listen to a forum where the idiot school board members would actually do their idiotic best to justify their actions against this innocent child. More evidence that the world is rapidly headed for the abyss.

61. #61
    On October 14th, 2009 at 2:05 am, Republicanvet said:

    Seems some common sense eventually prevailed….likely with the help of a number of rightly PO’d parents.

    The school board voted to give him a “reprieve”.

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091014/ap_on_re_us/us_zero_tolerance_boy