The Slippery Slope to Gun Violence: Student Suspended for a Bright Yellow Water Gun

With this latest episode from the “Zero Tolerance Idiocy Files”, we may have reached the absolute peak point of stupidity. One must wonder how it could possibly get worse.

A kid in Maine got suspended for another imaginary gun. This one was so incredibly far from anything that could pass as a real firearm that no one could have possibly made that error.

The tenth grader was punished after the terrifying contraband fell out of his backpack, receiving a 10 day suspension for his infraction against the school’s “firearms policy.” The superintendent of Lewiston schools, Bill Webster, defended the action.

Although he was not at liberty to discuss the details of the case, Webster insisted that suspensions are only handed out after the situation is thoroughly investigated and all facts are considered.

“Without comments on the specifics of this case,” Webster said, “I can say that a student bringing a water pistol to school will, at first, be told that they are being suspended from school for 10 days. We then work to get more facts and complete a review that often results in a reduction of the suspension period. Also, it is not uncommon for other factors to enter into the suspension decision, including the level of student cooperation.”

The student was not identified. Webster said he would be willing to speak about the case only if the student’s family signed a release agreeing to it. He defended the move to suspend students under the school policy, which is spelled out at www.lewistonpublicschools.org.

Webster said the Lewiston school policy is more fair than many others.

“I can assure you,” Webster wrote in an email response to a reporter inquiry, “that unlike some districts, we will work to balance the discipline with the facts of the case. Some districts do not reduce the 10 days and some will even pursue expulsion.”

Webster said the policy cracks down on toy guns for a purpose. The bright yellow toy brought to the high school this week “certainly looks innocent enough on one hand, but can be used in a disruptive way and lead, perhaps, to students bringing other water pistols that may not look so benign,” he said. (source)

Yes, because we all know that a yellow water gun is atop the slippery slope to gun violence. It can only get more terrifying from there.

Here’s what is really terrifying: The people using this logic are the ones educating the next generation, and they are deliberately creating a culture of fear. Daisy Luther recently wrote for The Daily Sheeple:

The issue here is pretty clear.  The younger generation is being taught that the very sight of a gun or anything that could be related to a gun is a reason for fear.  That fear is cemented in the minds of children and parents when they are traumatized by the handling of the incidents.

Kids are getting in trouble for drawing pictures of guns. For having tools which are sharp. For wearing t-shirts with the word “gun” printed on them. For cutting their poor, defenseless food in the lunchroom. For biting a pastry into a shape that could either be a gun or the state of Florida. Maybe we should outlaw maps of Florida because the shape of that state is “intimidating.”

They are being taught to have an irrational fear of inanimate objects. And because everyone else shares that fear, that mass delusion, it becomes “normal”.  It becomes so commonplace that it isn’t fear anymore, but an accepted fact: “Guns are scary.” (source)

Note: If the parents of the unnamed student would like to get in touch with us, we’d love to share your side of the story on The Daily Sheeple. Please email [email protected].