Circle the wagons...

[Dryrot]

Silence gives consent.

[Jake H]

Brian wrote:

 

I do realize Oregon is 'Californias Canada'- but geesh- it really is still in the USA.

Why the need to throw mud on Canada Brian?  

Even in urban (with all anti- hunting, anti-gun mindset that implies) southern Ontario, my daughter is not only FREE to talk about bows and hunting and such, but she has a very well shot-up raccoon target hanging in her locker.  

If anything, we're about 5-10 years BEHIND the US on that particular variety of insanity (oh, my God, that child has a crudely drawn picture of a gun, call a SWAT team!!!)    If anything we're catching it from the US (well, to be fair, from certain big US Cities) rather than the other way around.

You folks don't deserve that nonsense either and I've been nothing but supportive of our COMMON problem of citified idiots being scared of their own shadows, but I'll thank you to clean up your own back yard without throwing your crud in MINE.

Incidentally,  I like the US. I've always been treated well there.  You're suffering a great deal from the people you keep electing to power (doesn't matter from which party) just like WE are up here and I think that we'd do better to support each other than to point fingers.

Normally I let that sort of ignorant country bashing slide, but I'm getting pretty tired of it especially when it's as wrongheaded as this.

Jake
(who has absolutely nothing more to say on this subject and hopes we can get back to talking about how to preserve ALL our rights rather than picking on each other to the delight of our enemies)

[John Scifres]

Any of you all got 6 year old boys?  Any of them ever do something like say "I've got a bow and I'm gonna shoot you with it!"  I can picture all kinds of scenarios where a little boy could get himself into trouble talking about weapons in school.  

There are 2 sides to every story.  We have one side and you all are writing letters and calling newspapers.  Talk about kneejerk and hypersensitivity.

[bowfiend]

You all are making some good points, and it's easy to get fired up over this. Unfortunatly, I'm not only geographically seperated from the situation but also in a familial sense. If it were my son, I'd be down there in an instant raising a stink. But all I can really do is talk with my sister and hopes she handles it in such a way that may open the administrations mind to acceptance.

True John - I really don't know the details of what happened. All I know id what my sister shared with me. I DO know, however, that my son talks about that stuff all the time and I've never gotten word one from a teacher or administrator. So it makes me sad that my nephew is seemingly being deprived of something that is in his family purely because of his location.

It also saddens me that there is such a disconnect between urban and rural America. It seems that "liberal" locales, such as portland, are far more accepting of their perception of "worldly" culture than they are of what is traditionally American.

 This really opens a box of worms and probably does go well beyond the idea of a kid missing a few days of school due to a disciplinary action, regardless of the offending behavior.


Thanks for all the posts - and letting me know that I'm not just a crazy redneck.

[Talondale]

Really- there should be something we can do that adds to this kids opinion of himself.
Nothing that has been said here so far does that; and I know that's not right!  

I like Brian's suggestion.  Rather than making a stink, which really isn't our position to do, why not do something to enforce a positive image of archery to this little boy?  Send him a card or maybe a small piece of archer equipment you don't use or might be fun (indian headress, fun little target, etc.) Feel the love!

[30coupe]

As a teenager, I almost always had a gun and/or bow in my car and ALWAYS had a pocket knife in my jeans. I grew up on a farm and the knife was a tool I used every day while doing chores. Most of my friends did exactly the same thing. The guns were for hunting, the knife was for work. If we had disagreements, we argued. There were times when the argument failed, and we settled those with our fists. No one thought of going to get a gun or pulling a knife. They were not the proper tools.

For my friends and I, every waking moment was spent thinking of, talking about, or doing some form of hunting or fishing. If I would have been suspended for talking about weapons, I never would have gotten out of elementary school.

Now I am a teacher, and I am appalled at the type of things mentioned in this thread. Common sense is a thing of the past apparently. Zero tolerance is the buzzword most often used by schools in an attempt at looking tough on violence. Zero tolerance frees administrators from the responsibilty of actually thinking, a painful thing for many of them.

Make no mistake, our constitution is under serious attack. If we allow part of it to fall, the rest will soon follow.

Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
This statement was used as a motto on the title page of An Historical Review of the Constitution and Government of Pennsylvania (1759). It holds true today as well.

[gregg dudley]

As a public school administrator it is so affirming to read the high regard with which that position is held (tongue super-glued to cheek).  There are some interesting and thoughtful comments here right alongside of some gross generalizations.  

Every decision that a public school administrator makes is subject to public scrutiny and is bound to make someone unhappy.  Consider the topic at hand.  If the administrator at the school in question did a 180 and decided to initiate an archery program on the campus of his/her school, there would be a group of people on another internet site bashing them for making such an irresponsible and unsafe decision.  It really is a fun job.

The best way to handle this situation is to rationally and politely approach the administrator in a face-to-face meeting.  From my perspective, that works best if done before you call the newspaper, hire an attorney, etc.  People in all walks of life are fallible.  Most folks are generally more willing to admit a mistake or see your point of view if you don’t rip their head off in the process.

Take a serious look at your local public school and I have to bet that you will find that the majority of the folks there are hard working and dedicated individuals.  If not, ease on down to my neck of the woods and I will show you how it is supposed to be. ;o)

[Brian Krebs]

Jake: calm down. Geographically Oregon is north of California; as Canada is of the USA.

 Thanks Talondale- I should hope that we can reach out and touch when its needed....

[Cutty47]

Well, just as an illustration of the difference between MT and Oregon...in my son's Darby preschool class, it's common for kids to bring in hunting "trophy" pictures for show and tell.  

And at my other son's preschool class, on of his teacher's (female) was proud to show me her 24 pound spring gobbler!

[camocowboy]

Jake she might be able to talk about those things now, but in Canada preachers can't talk about homsexuality because it is considered hate speech. How much longer will she have those rights in that sort of climate. that's the bottom line of this thread. We have do deal with these issues now before the "door" is thrown open to the the total liberal agenda.

[madness522]

Isn't it nice to live in a free country where freedom means we are free to have our own ideas as long as they agree with the social elitists making the rules....

There were several occasions where I accidentially took my pocket knife to high school.  All I had to do to stay out of trouble was take it to the principles office and then I could pick it up after school was out.  And the only word said was thanks.

[Brian Krebs]

When I was in high school we had a rifle team and had a rifle range: in the basement of the school...

[pintail_drake2004]

ya know, I have not been out of High School very long, im in my 3yr of college, and our school had a rule in the handbook that "students are allowed to possess a knife, only if the blade is 4" or less."  most pocket knives fit this description. We all had a knife on a clip in our pocket...the teachers actually liked that we had a clip because they could see it.
Our rural community we got away with alot...driving tractors to school, 4-wheelers on school property, hell we were allowed to shoot our bows on school property. we all carried a shotgun, and most of us shot every day (weather permitting).
Ya know, that was how it was back when our dad was in school. and i am really thankful that was how it was when i graduated 3 years ago. It was easier to have a shotgun in the truck, or a knife on your hip, than to have a pack of smokes in your shirt pocket.