Column: Airbrushing history — and guns — is ill advised (corrected)
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Last week in Baltimore, a second-grader got suspended from elementary school for shaping his Pop Tart into something that resembled a mountain. At least, that’s what the 7-year-old claimed he was trying for.
A teacher thought the nibbled-on pastry looked like a pistol — and in the wake of the Sandy Hook school massacre in Connecticut, folks are apparently extra-sensitive about images like that.
Something similar, though not as ridiculous, is playing out here in Roanoke at Patrick Henry High School. Rehearsals are underway for a theater production of Les Miserables.
The story is set amid the Paris Uprising of 1832. As you might expect, the script calls for some muskets. But you won’t see those in the Patrick Henry High production.
The play opens March 15 — sans any guns. Not even fake guns, or nonfiring theatrical prop guns.
How do you portray a revolution without those?
Actors and actresses will instead throw black-painted foam balls that are shaped like rocks. It sounds more like something from “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” than the Paris Uprising.
READ THE REST OF THIS COLUMN HERE.
Correction: This blog post (and the column it links to) have been updated to reflect my error in originally writing that the show was set during the French Revolution. It’s a red face day . . . a correction will be published in the newspaper tomorrow.
March 7, 2013 - 6:00 AM
Good article. while reading I thought of the parallel to sex ed. the rationalization has been to teach responsibility – you know – condoms, bananas, etc. however, witin this incident we replace harmlessrevolutionary gun prompts with snow balls??? Is pretending better than responsibility?
Speaking of airbrushing history, Les Mis isn’t set during the French Revolution, but rather the Paris Uprising of 1832.
I think that’s called “artistic license” Dan.
Dan, you are full of surprises. In all my years of reading you, this is your first score. Ridiculous is not a big enough word for the over-reactive, politically correct BS about guns in society today.
Have a great day!
if you turn the letter ‘L’ sidways, it could look like a gun, oh my gosh lets ban the letter L
I was watching the History Channel’s first installment on a miniseries The Bible Sunday night. They also pretty much did the political correction part on it as well as opposed to accurately depicting their title to the series.
When they depicted the visitors that Lot had received they only went so far as the men from the village stormed Lot’s home and demanded the visitors be handed over to them. They conveniently left out what the men from the village wanted with the visitors and Lot’s reaction to their demand.
I guess it wasn’t in sync with political correctness, which has gone way to far, thanks to over reaction these days by phobic gun nuts.
Les Misérables—novel/play/movie—is about the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris. The French Revolution was fought from 1789 through 1799.
“Airbrushing”, revising, revisiting, even improvisation is the norm, what we cannot seem to do is learn from history.
It turns out the state of Florida is shaped like a gun so we now need to ban it from all maps in order to protect us.
Thought the article was timely and informative. That said, I look forward to going to see the PH Production. There is not a better entertainment buy in the Valley for $10.00 than these High School Plays…..Now, what’s with the commercial when we sign on to your Blog Dan?
How did they depict the part about Lot offering his daughters instead, Bob H?
Wow,
Wow, pop tarts for breakfast are way more dangerous than one nibbled into the shape of a gun.
I guess I grew up at the tale end of the childhood gun culture. I vividly recall the very cool Tommy gun my parents got for me when I was about 5. It was a cap gun. You could blow away a whole role of caps in about 5 seconds,
which explains why I didn’t get very many caps. The only vestige of my maternal grandfather is a leather “Maverick” holster I got when I was two. I don’t remember him as he died the same year.
We grew up in a time when hoards of friends would spend long Saturdays playing army. We said “taters” to see who got to be the Japs or Germans, then shot each other with fake guns and fell to our temporary deaths. Twenty seconds before you got back on your feet and back into the fight.
All things considered, it was a safer game than fall acorn battles. In the later, someone always started a fight because a well thrown acorn did hurt much more than a fake gun shot.
I’m not sure how many us became in sensitized crazed killers because of this child hood.
It still exists, just without guns. Every kid on my street has a light sabre. They don’t kill WW2 enemies anymore but they do seem awfully hard on space aliens.
No snowballs, no pop-tarts, no `L`s, no state of Florida to represent a gun…Just carry the real thing….Why ? Its your right.
Sandi,
Instead of the Bible’s depiction of what occurred- that the townsmen stormed Lot’s house for the purpose of having sex with these new men (visitors) Genesis 19:5, the men just stormed the house in the TV depiction demanding they be produced (with no reason given why they wanted the visitors),
The Biblical story is that Lot even offered his virgin daughters to the men begging them to not do this wicked thing. That part was conveniently left out.
They even had the angels slaying the men by sword which is also not depcited in the Bible.
Poltical correctness amok.
Looks like Idaho to me. Time to ban Idaho. Actually that may not be a bad idea.
If prop or toy guns are a concern in schools why put on a play like Les Miserables or any other classic with violence (and most of them do have some type of violence, don’t they)?
Allen | March 7, 2013 at 9:11 am
The state of Maryland & to a degree the state of Idaho are also shaped like guns. Maybe they should be banned as well.
When you have a mass media engine that likes to stir up and literally conduct the masses over any hot topic they can, this is what you get. They have attempted to completely demonize guns in the recent wave of hysteria over mass shootings. Before Sandy Hook, msnbc.com might have one headline a week about gun deaths. Now, there is a link to a shooting story every single day, all in an attempt to kick the nest and keep the horrors of guns fresh in our mind.
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Like Mike Scott was saying above: when most of the neighborhood boys were running around pretend-shooting each other with cap guns and such, mass shootings were relatively rare. It was just part of being a kid, strengthening social bonds with our peers. Now, we have to teach our children to not nibble their food into anything resembling the shape of a gun or they could get in trouble.
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A second grader getting suspended because his food resembled a gun is ridiculous. That little boy will now think twice every time he feels like being creative because he doesn’t have 1st Amendment protection in school like we adults do. He can’t say, “It’s my right to draw whatever I want” like we can. Way to stifle young minds, people. Should we also discourage them from drawing or sculpting anything pointy or sharp – no swords, knives, harpoons, sharpened sticks or forks? Why not just outlaw any depictions of anything with an angle greater than 45 degrees? To hell with geometry.
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Keep it up, America, and you’ll get an entire generation of melodramatically over-reactive, emotionally and creatively defunct drone-children.
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You’ve sown this field. Now reap your harvest.
To your point J.M. White, and I agree with it, what we need in this country are some actual leaders who can speak and be respected. We have taken such delight in discrediting every voice of power to the point that nothing they say can penetrate.
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When all you do is denigrate the messenger, unless that messenger agrees with you, and regardless of the truth or credibility of what is being said, this will be the end result.
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It is as if once “The Scarlet Letter” is a weapon, we see the need for them everywhere. The bitter truth is that many of us have not evolved beyond the mob who was whipped into a frenzy and called for Barabbas to be freed.
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And when political points can be gained from any exploitation, “Katy bar the door”!
My kids found my old high school yearbook a few years back. One picture showed the class president (who is now an attorney) pointing a toy pistol at some of his classmates. He would probably have a criminal record for pulling the same stunt today.
My 7 year old grandson loves to draw, and aside from Ninjas, war scenes have become his favorite subject. He likes reading about the military because “exploshuns are cool.” As stupid as I know it is, seeing pictures of bloody bodies bothers me. I don’t say anything to him though, because I know he doesn’t really comprehend that real people die in wars.
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Suspending a child for food that’s shaped like a gun is beyond the pale ridiculous.
It’s stupid to suspend a child over a poptart. We have a large and real problem in this country with gun violence. I’m not going to throw out the baby (the problem) with the bathwater (this stupidity).
I believe that as long as we maintain our sound-bite perspectives, heap adoring attention to celebrity bully pulpits, continue with our propensity to vote for free stuff, and have a press which is in the tank for one party over another, then we can expect to get the leaders we get.
Context is everything and some people like making mountains out of molehills.
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In a courtroom, a defendant pointing his fingers at a witness and mimicking a gun shot would be a serious issue. Punishing a child pretending to shoot at something, or drawing a gun, dead people etc is taking the concern to far.
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I think many people are losing their perspective in our hypersensitive world.
Dan, et al,
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Look as if nearly all of us can agree on something.
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Did you see:
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http://tinyurl.com/cgdd5xe
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Deaf child’s sign language name looks too much like gun, parent says school told him
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By Jim Gold, NBC News
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Updated at 12:15 a.m. Wednesday ET: Deaf 3-year-old Hunter Spanjer of Nebraska signs his first name with a gesture resembling a gun, and his parents say his school wants him to stop. School officials say they haven’t asked any deaf students to change how they sign their names
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Hunter has used the name sign since he was 6 months old, when the school district started working with him, Janet Logue, Hunter’s grandmother, told NBC News.
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The name combines the symbol for the letter h for hunt, the thumb down along index and middle fingers extended together and waved, with the letter r, crossing the two fingers, Logue explained.
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FWIIW, don’t blame it all on the schools.
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http://tinyurl.com/cu3l8vu
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Elementary student’s homework assignment shows picture of gun
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Mother of 6-year-old whose father was killed by gun finds worksheet ‘unacceptable’
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Published 6:44 PM EST Mar 05, 2013
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POMPANO BEACH, Fla. —Shantria Smith didn’t know what to think about the homework assignment her 6-year-old son brought home from school Monday night.
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The worksheet from Palmview Elementary has pictures and letters for kindergarten students to add to unfinished words.
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But one of the pictures is of a realistic-looking semi-automatic handgun.
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SNIP
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This insanity is not limited to the US
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http://tinyurl.com/crfgd4g
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Kitchener dad arrested at school after daughter draws picture of gun
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By: Dianne Wood Waterloo Region Record, Published on Fri Feb 24 2012
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KITCHENER — A Kitchener father is angry at police after he was arrested at his child’s school and later strip-searched at the police station, all because his 4-year-old daughter drew a picture of a gun in class.
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“I’m picking up my kids and then, next thing you know, I’m locked up,” Jessie Sansone, 26, said of his ordeal on Wednesday. “I was in shock. This is completely insane.”
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The school principal, police and child welfare officials, however, all stand by their actions. They say they had to investigate to determine whether there was a gun in Sansone’s house that children had access to.
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I have sent an email objecting to this ruling to Dr. Bishop’s office. If anyone else would like to have their voice heard by the superintendent, you should email to both the below addresses (the second is Dr. Biship’s secretary.)
rdbishop@rcps.info
cpoulton@rcps.info
Not quite the same but related: http://tinyurl.com/cynn6v7
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March 05, 2013
Student suspended after disarming gunman
The teen wrestled the gun from another student when he pointed it at someone
By PoliceOne Staff
Fort Meyers, Fla. — A Cypress Lake high school student was reportedly suspended for three days after he wrestled a loaded gun away from another teen who had threatened to shoot it and pointed it in the direction of a student.
“I think he was really going to shoot him right then and there,” said the suspended student, 16, who declined to be identified.
He received a referral the following day stating he had been suspended for his role in an incident where a weapon was presented, according to Fox News.
SNIP
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Nice article, Dan. Thanks for writing it.
It’s one thing to want to shield our kids from drugs and violence. It’s another to re-script a play, and yet another to try to rewrite history to eliminate any of those pesky facts.
Really, Erin? Who cares, seriously. If you’ve seen the show, the fighting part is maybe 15% of it, at the end. Insignificant. No one’s life is going to be made whole by the kids using real fake muskets.
About guns and Walmart…I wonder if her gun was purchased at this store:
Coupon Rejected, Walmart Shopper Pulled Out Gun
Here’s the police report
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/coupon-gun-threat?page=0
From the link Hillary provided about the angry Walmart shopper who pulled a gun:
Alday, who fled the Walmart parking lot in a 2011 Ford Escape, was subsequently pulled over by a sheriff’s deputy who asked if there was a firearm in the SUV. “Yes, I have a concealed weapons permit, and you are not taking my gun.” Asked about the gun’s location, Alday replied, “You’re not taking my gun.”
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/coupon-gun-threat?page=0
From the Associated Press, and another brilliant legislator on guns and the mentally ill…
Ga. Backs Relaxing Gun Laws for Mentally Ill
In Georgia on Thursday a bill was introduced that would relax gun restrictions on people who have been treated for mental illness. The measure would also do away with fingerprinting requirements for license renewals and permit guns in bars, churches and college campuses.
“[Republican] State Rep. Rick Jasperse told The Associated Press that his bill — titled the “Safe Carry Protection Act” — would allow people who have voluntarily sought out treatment for mental illness and substance abuse to get a firearm
license.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ga-debates-relaxing-gun-laws-mentally-ill
Addicts with concealed handguns! It’s about time!
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/snark off
It doesn’t matter how much is left out of the Bible information because of political correctness, it will not change the end result of the judgment that will fall on the perpetrators. God’s grace for repentance is always extended to the sodomites, whether in Abraham’s day or our present twisted and depraved culture. His grace is there but His judgment is also there whether it come via Aids, violence of whatever. The important thing as Christians is to hate the sin but not the sinner. That is difficult but very possible if our heart is in e right place. Just do not bless what God has cursed and do not curse what He has blessed. His grace is a great blessing.
Re: Virginia:
FYI See: http://tinyurl.com/amvmlch
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§ 18.2-308.1:3. Purchase, possession or transportation of firearm by persons involuntarily admitted or ordered to outpatient treatment; penalty.
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B. Any person prohibited from purchasing, possessing or transporting firearms under this section may, at any time following his release from involuntary admission to a facility, his release from an order of mandatory outpatient treatment, or his release from voluntary admission pursuant to § 37.2-805 following the issuance of a temporary detention order, petition the general district court in the city or county in which he resides to restore his right to purchase, possess or transport a firearm. A copy of the petition shall be mailed or delivered to the attorney for the Commonwealth for the jurisdiction where the petition was filed who shall be entitled to respond and represent the interests of the Commonwealth. The court shall conduct a hearing if requested by either party. If the court determines, after receiving and considering evidence concerning the circumstances regarding the disabilities referred to in subsection A and the person’s criminal history, treatment record, and reputation as developed through character witness statements, testimony, or other character evidence, that the person will not likely act in a manner dangerous to public safety and that granting the relief would not be contrary to the public interest, the court shall grant the petition. Any person denied relief by the general district court may petition the circuit court for a de novo review of the denial. Upon a grant of relief in any court, the court shall enter a written order granting the petition, in which event the provisions of subsection A do not apply. The clerk of court shall certify and forward forthwith to the Central Criminal Records Exchange, on a form provided by the Exchange, a copy of any such order.
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As long as the patient has been adjudicated in a court of law “not likely act in a manner dangerous to public safety and that granting the relief would not be contrary to the public interest”, what’s the problem?
FWIIW, I know of an individual that was “involuntarily admitted to a facility” for what turned out to be an accidental reversible poisoning (hydrargyria, i.e., Mercury Poisoning) that created serious emotional instability, etc.
See: http://tinyurl.com/4xhxxvr
Would you deny him his rights for ever, once he was cured?
Having been one of those theater kids back in the day, improvisation and work-arounds are the norm.
We were not allowed to do “Butterflies are free” because “this is the Bible Belt”.
Well we all know that courts cannot make mistakes so sure let the batterer and the bully and the ‘only unstable when he drinks’ all get their guns back….and tell me again how concerned you are with “the wrong people” getting guns?
I agree that it is silly to ban gun props from the stage. Your thought process, however, is tortured and too, “American”. Specifically, you should rethink your rankings of what is acceptable and what is not. You agree that banning the depiction or mention of sexual topics is appropriate. Your conclusion seems to be that sex is worse than violence. Very American. It would seem to me that representing the horrific taking of another human life should be too terrible to show to our youth. Of course since we are all desensitized, such horrors are almost meaningless.
It could be argued that in telling the story of Fantine, and to come close to understanding the desperation of a human who has fallen into hopelessness; we must be exposed to her reasoning and decision to sell her body so that her young daughter might survive. How can the story of the miserable masses be told without such information? Is this too much for our youth? Perhaps. But is it worse than being exposed to killing on stage? I don’t think so. Probably the story of Les Miz is too terrible for youth at all.
I was a theater kid, too, Sandi. I did a fair amount of drama from age 11 to 20. The first role I played was Brutus in a play called “Great Caesar’s Ghost.” I had to stab Julius Caesar. My weapon was a cardboard cutout of a knife, which had a tin foil-wrapped “blade.”
Re: Sandi Saunders at 10:23 pm
Assuming that you addressing me, I am very concerned about “the wrong people” getting guns.
However, I do believe that cured folk should have a vehicle to have their rights restored once they are restored to good health and when “… the person’s criminal history, treatment record, and reputation as developed through character witness statements, testimony, or other character evidence, that the person will not likely act in a manner dangerous to public safety and that granting the relief would not be contrary to the public interest.”
There is a big difference between that and your strawman of “only unstable when he drinks.”
http://tinyurl.com/avobgud
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New bill on school discipline introduced to Senate
Jennifer Allard Staff Writer jallard@stardem.com
EASTON-In light of recent headlines highlighting more incidents of administrators removing students from school for seemingly harmless acts of childish imagination, state Sen. J. B. Jennings, R-7-Baltimore and Harford counties, said he thought the time was right to introduce a bill he hopes will put a dent in “zero tolerance” discipline policies in Maryland public schools.
“We really need to reevaluate how kids are punished,” he said in an interview with The Star Democrat Friday.
Jennings put Senate Bill 1058 together and introduced it Thursday. From kids getting kicked out of school for playing games with fingers pointed like guns on the Eastern Shore, to chewing their breakfast pastry into “gun-like” shapes in Baltimore, Jennings said the local trend is getting worse not better.
“These kids can’t comprehend what they are doing or the ramifications of their actions,” he said. “These suspensions are going on their permanent records and could have lasting effects on their educations.”
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Here we go again:
http://tinyurl.com/ad9cfwc
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[Video]
Soldiers on school cupcakes cause uproar
WNEM|Added on March 8, 2013
A third-grader took cupcakes to class in celebration of his 9th birthday and was told the toppings were inappropriate.
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As a veteran I find this nearly as ridicules. Is war, combat, troops, etc excluded from schools discussion?
No more school trips to The Wall? The D-day memorial? Gettysburg? Valley Forge?