# Kids, criminals, and common sense. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 5, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-criminals-and-common-sense/527817 "2010-02-05T18:08:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-criminals-and-common-sense/527817/1 "2010-02-05T18:08:07Z")
Why do people insist on treating kids at play like they were criminals? [Here](http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/761054--girl-12-handcuffed-and-arrested-for-doodling), we learn that a 12-year-old was arrested and then taken away in handcuffs after being caught drawing on her desk. Handcuffs. And, [here](http://wcbstv.com/local/toy.gun.school.2.1471046.html) is a truly unbelievable tale (the principal\* of which has perhaps already been denounced on this good Board). Not much of a rant, I admit. But sometimes things are so obviously stupid that you don’t need too many words to show it. \*note clever pun ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-criminals-and-common-sense/527817/2 "2010-02-05T18:13:05Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > And, [here](http://wcbstv.com/local/toy.gun.school.2.1471046.html) is a truly unbelievable tale (the principal\* of which has perhaps already been denounced on this good Board). I almost did a literal spit take when I saw the photo in the article. Good lords, that guy’s wedding band is larger than the “gun.” ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-criminals-and-common-sense/527817/3 "2010-02-05T18:26:32Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I almost did a literal spit take when I saw the photo in the article. Good lords, that guy’s wedding band is larger than the “gun.” No kidding. There is an actual hazard with that gun, though - a kid might choke on it. One of the parents in the article - > [@](#): > > “This is violent; it’s terrible, a little boy carrying this to school,” Magadalini Manessis said. “The parents are supposed to be responsible for that, you know.” Magadalini, my dear, you’re stupid. ---
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-criminals-and-common-sense/527817/4 "2010-02-05T18:28:31Z")
But it will corrupt their little innocent minds! We can’t let them see anything remotely resembling guns cause then they will turn into murdering psychopaths! 😛 ETA: Here’s a [story](http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20102040372) where a 1st grade home-schooler got suspended (home-schooler suspended?) for bringing a live shotgun shell to school. That’s one where I have to say - seriously mom and dad, you think its ok to give a 1st grader a shot gun shell as a toy / collectible? There is a tiny chance that it could go off if handled inappropriately. This is closer to a borderline case than the ones in the OP, but still seems over the top-ish. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-criminals-and-common-sense/527817/5 "2010-02-05T18:36:58Z")
I don’t think that one’s really that big a deal, is it? I mean, sure, it could go off if you hit it with a hammer, but there are all sorts of objects that can injure you if you hit them with hammers and we don’t usually worry about kids having them. Pressurized canisters, for example. The Lego gun thing is just beyond retarded. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-criminals-and-common-sense/527817/6 "2010-02-05T18:40:28Z")
This cracks me up: “It’s a two-inch gun, all right? I mean you have to squint to even see if it looks like a weapon. She went a little overboard with this.” ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-criminals-and-common-sense/527817/7 "2010-02-05T18:43:49Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Why do people insist on treating kids at play like they were criminals? > > [Here](http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/761054--girl-12-handcuffed-and-arrested-for-doodling), we learn that a 12-year-old was arrested and then taken away in handcuffs after being caught drawing on her desk. Handcuffs. > > And, [here](http://wcbstv.com/local/toy.gun.school.2.1471046.html) is a truly unbelievable tale (the principal\* of which has perhaps already been denounced on this good Board). > > Not much of a rant, I admit. But sometimes things are so obviously stupid that you don’t need too many words to show it. > \*note clever pun > [@](#): > > Gonzalez has been assigned eight hours of community service, a book report and an essay on what she’s learned from the experience. Proposed essay title: “Give a scrap of authority over others to some adults and they go crazy” 😉 Thinking back on the shit I pulled as a teen, which I _should_ have been busted over … 😃 ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-criminals-and-common-sense/527817/8 "2010-02-05T18:44:47Z")
I’d love to see the actual wording of the school policy in the “gun” case. I’ve seen policies which, if read literally enough, would pretty much ban bringing any newspaper or newsmagazine into school since they almost certainly have a picture of a gun somewhere in them. If I was a highschooler, I’d be tempted to write the word GUN in large letters on a piece of paper and carry it around, just to see what happened. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-criminals-and-common-sense/527817/9 "2010-02-05T18:54:12Z")
The Lego gun thing is a non-story. The kid was called down to the principal’s office and told not to bring the thing in again. He did not receive a suspension, so if there is some sort of zero-tolerance policy in place, there is obviously some room for administrators to use their discretion, which is what we all want to see happen, right? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-criminals-and-common-sense/527817/10 "2010-02-05T19:27:32Z")
It’s a bit more than a non-story. The parents were called in and forced to sign an infraction letter (she called it an A-4 infraction in today’s NY Daily News, but I don’t know what that means). Personally, I would have told the principal where to file that infraction, unsigned. Theoretically, the principal apologized to the parents, but the parents say they haven’t received an apology. Regarding the doodling on the desk, the child thought, when caught, she would get detention and be forced to clean the desk. That wouldn’t be too hard, as it was erasable marker. But to be led out of the school in handcuffs? Fortunately, the City Education Department spokesman called the move boneheaded\*. The Daily News recounted two other instances of tweens and young teens being arrested for doodling on desks. \*okay, he may not have used that word, but he didn’t stick up for the school. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-criminals-and-common-sense/527817/11 "2010-02-05T21:26:21Z")
> [@C3](#): > > The Lego gun thing is a non-story. The kid was called down to the principal’s office and told not to bring the thing in again. He did not receive a suspension, so if there is some sort of zero-tolerance policy in place, there is obviously some room for administrators to use their discretion, which is what we all want to see happen, right? The story is some of the other parents’ reaction to the infraction, in my opinion. “People with no damned sense raising kids! Story at 11!” ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-criminals-and-common-sense/527817/12 "2010-02-05T22:32:35Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > It’s a bit more than a non-story. The parents were called in and forced to sign an infraction letter (she called it an A-4 infraction in today’s NY Daily News, but I don’t know what that means). Personally, I would have told the principal where to file that infraction, unsigned. Theoretically, the principal apologized to the parents, but the parents say they haven’t received an apology. Not a _gasp_ infraction letter!! Dear God how will that child ever survive! I wouldn’t wish an infraction letter on my own worse enemy!!! You know who else gave out infraction letters? Hitler. \*Note: the principal messed up for sure, but the recreational outrage that seems to be flooding the Pit is getting annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-criminals-and-common-sense/527817/13 "2010-02-05T22:53:12Z")
Since the OP acknowledges there isn’t much of a rant, I’m going to move this to Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share. **Gfactor** Pit Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-criminals-and-common-sense/527817/14 "2010-02-06T18:09:26Z")
[http://www.nola.com/superbowl/index.ssf/2010/02/in\_new\_orleans\_saints\_country.html](http://www.nola.com/superbowl/index.ssf/2010/02/in_new_orleans_saints_country.html) not looking good for educators these days… when i train new guys i always tell them to get the facts prior to making the arrest… on several occasions i’ve had to pull managers… principals… bossess aside and advise them that 1) what occurred was not a crime… and 2) you better apologise to him/her cause your ass is hanging out… Newer cops just slap the cuffs on sometimes and never ask and get the details… i never would have arrested that doodling girl… i would have advise to have her mother come to school and did a report…thats unneccesary…