The “Pledge of Allegiance” is Just More Evidence of the Religious Nature of the State

The following correspondence originally took place upon the Facebook wall of my friend, Brooke N…

Brooke N.: Nuff said

The Whitest Kids You Know – Pledge of Allegiance:

Rayn: When I was [around 9 or 10 years old], I asked my mother if I was required to participate in this bizarre religious ritual at school, because it made me very uncomfortable. When she said, “no,” I was very relieved to no longer to participate, ever again, which satisfied my conscience, greatly! I also stay seated for the “National Anthem” for the same reason. 🙂

Support Public School Policy that Punishes All Students Food Sharing, or Reject Policy as an Unnecessary Regulation of Peaceful Activity?

The following debate originally took place on my Facebook wall, upon my post, “Public School Lesson #666: Students Will Not Engage in Acts of Charity With Their Food“…

Rayn: Public School Lesson #666:

Students Will Not Engage in Acts of Charity With Their Food, Nor Will They Share Food With Each Other While On School Grounds

‪#‎JustStatistThings‬

Detention slip Kyle Bradfod received for "misconduct" of sharing his lunch with another student who was hungry

Detention slip Kyle Bradfod received for “misconduct” of sharing his lunch with another student who was hungry

Jessi C.: That is ridiculously outrageous…the boy was trying to be good and caring for another…what a world we live in…punished for being a good person…smh

Marilyn W.: SMH!

Stacie T.: I agree with that rule. My son had a milk allergy and reading ingredients showed me that there is milk and milk product in a lot of things you wouldn’t expect. He could end up eating something need not supposed to have. I also wouldn’t want my kids eating from someone else because I don’t know who they are. I’ve never been in their kitchen. I don’t know if they are clean. I know someone who hid her kid’s medication in his applesauce. She did it in the morning before school, but what if someone sent their kid to school with it like that and my kid ate it? If a kid isn’t getting a decent lunch from home, it should be the school’s responsibility to make sure the kid is fed.

Patricia G.: The reason is food allergies. The kid could have died.

Rayn: I don’t agree with this rule because it indiscriminately punishes peaceful and dangerous activity, alike, as though both were equal. That only confuses the issue of food allergies, and trivializes the dangers of such, in the process. Plus, since the school mentions hygiene as another factor, the same effect applies there, as well. And, with only about 7.7% of school-aged children having food allergies (equaling an average of roughly two students per classroom), it would be MUCH MORE reasonable to make sure that the FEW children within the stated risk group are actually being protected through policy, instead of of going about harassing, punishing and violating the rights of the almost 93% of the student body left unaffected. The only lesson here seems to be that “zero tolerance is best,” though it is precisely this sort of thinking that has been systematically turning public schools into veritable prisons, for decades!

In State schools across the country, including parts of New York, New Jersey, Maryland and North Carolina, children can’t even enjoy a consensual hug or hold hands without punishment… all in the name of “safety”!

Healthy social activity between students is slowly being condemned at school, while children are being taught to treat their peers with undue suspicion, to bow to accusatory rules from coercive authorities, to mindlessly comply with arbitrarily orders from “superiors,” and to accept pre-crime as legitimate. Yet, interesting enough, “socializing” is one of the MAIN reasons that parents even subject their children to the torturous, humiliating, nightmarish hazing ritual known as “public school,” instead of teaching them at home.

And, I’m sure this fact will mean very little to the authoritarians out there, but neither of the two children involved actually HAS allergies to speak of! And, this both illustrates the accuracy of the above-quoted stats, and renders most excuses for this policy absolutely moot!

“And, not one child was saved that day!” 😉

Meanwhile, astute readers will note that BOTH BOYS had gotten their food from the school cafeteria menu, which offered them each the same exact options, as allergy-free students. The boy who shared his lunch implied that the second boy was given a low-quality item from the menu (cheaper), and that “he couldn’t get normal lunch” (i.e. the burrito), leaving him dissatisfied with his meal. There’s more to this part of the story, I’m sure, but it seems to have been tidied up a bit… possibly in the interest of protecting the other student involved, or to protect the reputation of the school. (Click Here to Continue Reading This Post)

Public School Lesson #666: Students Will Not Engage in Acts of Charity With Their Food

As I scrolled through my Facebook news feed, I discovered the following photo here, on the page, “News 4 San Antonio,” and originally posted it to my own wall…

Detention slip Kyle Bradfod received for "misconduct" of sharing his lunch with another student who was hungry

Detention slip Kyle Bradfod received for “misconduct” of sharing his lunch with another student who was hungry

Rayn: Public School Lesson #666:

Students Will Not Engage in Acts of Charity With Their Food, Nor Will They Share Food With Each Other While On School Grounds

‪#‎JustStatistThings‬

Are the Terms “Zero Intelligence” and “Brain-Dead” Really Considered Offensive, Now?

The following debate originally took place on my Facebook wall, upon my post, “Zero Tolerance? Try Zero Intelligence! Brain-Dead Bureaucracy in Action!“…

Amy Parham sits with her son, Rhett, who displays the cartoon Bomberman64 picture he drew and brought to school, which resulted in his suspension

Amy Parham sits with her son, Rhett, who displays the cartoon Bomberman64 picture he drew and brought to school, which resulted in his suspension

Rayn: Autistic Student Suspended for Bringing Drawing of Cartoon Bomb to School:
http://www.wyff4.com/upstate-mom-special-needs-son-suspended-for-drawing-bomb/-/9324882/22444084/-/jkpxttz/-/index.html

And, THIS is brain-dead bureaucracy in action, my friends!
“Zero tolerance”? Ha! Try: ZERO INTELLIGENCE!

Besides, No Victim, No Crime, control-freaks!
Get a grip on yourselves, already!

Adam G.: I think it’s more ableist, victim blaming structures in action that support bullying. Rather than being concerned that there are things pushing students to mass violence, they just want to focus on the mass violence, so they have these asinine no tolerance policies against anyone who makes reference to violence instead of bring the (sometimes metaphorical) actual bullies down to the office for torturing students so badly that they try to kill themselves or others.

Adam G.: Also, can’t help but nitpick, but “brain dead” and “zero intelligence” are kind of ableist.

Genaire: I don’t disagree with your first comment, Adam, but how are Rayn’s words ableist? It does seem pretty brain dead to suspend a student for a harmless picture. I’ve drawn several pictures of guns, bombs and other weapons while in class never would I have imagined getting suspended for it.

RaynI understand where you are coming from with your first comment, Adam, although I’m not so sure this has to do with student bullying. In order to punish the student mentioned in the article, the school utilized their “zero tolerance” for weapons on school grounds policy. And, apparently, according to this mindless set of rules, a drawing of a weapon is virtually indistinguishable from the real thing…

As a matter of fact, the “zero tolerance” for weapons on campus policy is so cold and thoughtless, it has even been used by school officials to demand that a deaf child modify the way he signs his name, since one of the letters involved apparently “resembles a shooting gun” to these bureaucratic robots…

Hunter Spanjer, 3-Year-Old Deaf Boy, Told By Preschool To Change Way He Signs His Name:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/28/hunter-spanjer-3-year-old_n_1836159.html

Also, to clarify my words, since their meaning appears to be completely lost on you: bureaucracy isn’t actually alive, so it doesn’t really have brain function, while a policy isn’t actually capable of intelligence, so it registers as “zero.” With this in mind, understand that I very purposely labeled these two non-corporeal entities with the thinking and reasoning level of THE DEAD – utterly and completely non-existent! And, I spent a while tweaking my comment, in order to get the results you see, trying out multiple terms in the process – including “zombie,” “mindless,” “brainless,” and so on. However, none of them did my sentiment any justice, and so, were rejected in favor of my final two choices. I fail to see how they could be viewed as “kinda ableist,” since I have never before seen or heard either of these two terms being used to describe the disabled. (Click Here to Continue Reading This Post)

“Pledge of Allegiance” in School is Statist Indoctrination

The following correspondence originally took place upon the Facebook wall of an acquaintance, after she shared artwork from here

Tara M.: As long as there are exams, there will be prayer in school……

"Prayer was never banned from our public school. In fact, the courts have repeatedly upheld the right of student prayer (it just can't be led in any way or required by the school). We trust our teachers to provide education, not indoctrination. Religion is a freedom. Let's keep it that way."

“Prayer was never banned from our public school. In fact, the courts have repeatedly upheld the right of student prayer (it just can’t be led in any way or required by the school). We trust our teachers to provide education, not indoctrination. Religion is a freedom. Let’s keep it that way.”

Rayn: Indeed! Nonetheless, so long as teachers in US public schools continue to lead students in reciting the “Pledge of Allegiance,” they are still guilty of indoctrination! 🙂