Most of us have seen the "Lord of the Rings" movies and the "Hobbit" movies. I mean, we all must have since "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" made a pant-load over the holidays. Anyway, I'm sure that everyone seeing the movies can appreciate the fact that they are works of fiction. Everyone, that is, except apparently the Kermit Independent School District in Texas.
Sadly, this is not from The Onion.
From the Odessa American...
A Kermit parent said his fourth-grade student was suspended Friday for allegedly making a terroristic threat.
His father, Jason Steward, said the family had been to see “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” last weekend. His son brought a ring to his class at Kermit Elementary School and told another boy his magic ring could make the boy disappear.
Steward said the principal said threats to another child’s safety would not be tolerated – whether magical or not. Principal Roxanne Greer declined to comment on the matter.
Because that damn magic ring of power is so a weapon of mass destruction. Just ask Smegol. Hey, there's a thought. When Bush was looking for WMDs, maybe he should have went to Mordor instead of Iraq.
Sadly, this isn't this kid's first run in with the stupidity of the KISD. Since his family's move within the district six months ago, Aiden (the kid's name) has been suspended three times before. The first two were for referring to a Black kid with the heinously racist slur of "Black". The third was for bringing his "Big Book of Knowledge" to school because it illustrated a pregnant woman. Because not only is knowledge of anything outside of the Bible forbidden in Texas, knowledge of pregnant women is absolutely taboo.
The scary part of all of this is that Texas is the state that wants to be able to tell everyone else what to teach our kids. These are the people who produce and distribute the textbooks that are given to our children. Yet they seem to be ok with stifling knowledge, imagination, and the acknowledging of obvious racial traits (not to mention basic biology). It would seem that when it comes to education, the Texas state motto is "Keep 'em dull and stupid".