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A pointed comment on our gun culture
Milwaukee J-S ^ | 14 mar 2014 | Leonard Pitts

Posted on 03/14/2014 5:32:18 AM PDT by rellimpank

A few words about Nathan Entingh's hand gun.

Meaning, you should understand, not a gun you hold in your hand but, rather, the hand itself, thumb cocked and index finger extended to resemble a pistol. One afternoon late last month, Entingh, who goes to school in Columbus, Ohio, was goofing off in science class when he raised such a "hand gun," pointed it at another kid's head and said "Boom."

Not a good thing to do, and Entingh, who is 10, certainly should have been reprimanded. Instead, he was suspended for three days. His father, Paul, says he's been told that if it happens again, the next suspension may be permanent.

Nobody involved has accused the boy of making a serious threat, posing a serious danger or, indeed, of being anything except an average adolescent. Doesn't matter.

Ohio, you see, has a zero-tolerance policy toward guns or look-alike guns in schools, zero tolerance being the favored new millennium approach to keeping schools safe. As in, remove human judgment from the equation. Pretend all infractions are created equal. Treat the girl who brings Midol to class like a heroin dealer. Treat the kindergartner who kisses a classmate on the cheek like a sexual predator.

And send Nathan Entingh home because, like virtually every American boy who ever existed has done at one time or another, he pointed his finger and made shooting sounds. If you think that's crazy, you probably don't want to hear about the Maryland second-grader who was suspended last year for chewing a Pop Tart into the shape of a pistol.

Surely we all will sleep more peacefully tonight, knowing our schools are safe from pointing fingers and Pop Tart violence.

(Excerpt) Read more at jsonline.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: Wisconsin
KEYWORDS: banglist; fingergun; rkba
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--not quite what one expects from either Pitts or the J-S--
1 posted on 03/14/2014 5:32:18 AM PDT by rellimpank
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To: rellimpank

May be he is growing a brain of his own.


2 posted on 03/14/2014 5:35:13 AM PDT by WayneS (Respect the 2nd Amendment; Repeal the 16th (and 17th))
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To: rellimpank

Perhaps... Just perhaps, they might have an inkling that their position and views have gone a tad too far and that a MAJOR backlash has been building and is about to come crashing down on them.


3 posted on 03/14/2014 5:35:15 AM PDT by The Working Man
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To: rellimpank
I read this in the local fishwrap yesterday.

It's a rare day when I agree with Leonard Pitts on anything. Perhaps the times, are indeed, a'changin'.

Or, more likely, Nathan Entingh is African-American and thus more worthy of concern than others.

4 posted on 03/14/2014 5:37:14 AM PDT by wbill
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To: rellimpank

The only problem I see here is that The Pitts continues to use “gun culture” without reasoned explanation as to what is meant by its use.

“Gun Culture” is journalistic mental masturbation (self-gratification in its use).


5 posted on 03/14/2014 5:37:17 AM PDT by Cletus.D.Yokel
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To: rellimpank

If you read to the end of the article it goes the other way, calling for more gun control. The normal stuff from that rag.


6 posted on 03/14/2014 5:38:01 AM PDT by buffaloguy
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To: rellimpank

7 posted on 03/14/2014 5:39:27 AM PDT by smokingfrog ( sleep with one eye open (<o> ---)
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To: wbill

I suspect you didn’t read the whole article. He’s attacking states allowing CC.


8 posted on 03/14/2014 5:40:06 AM PDT by gitmo (If your theology doesn't become your biography, what good is)
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To: rellimpank
These crazy people should never attend a college football game in Lubbock, Texas. Their heads might actually explode.


9 posted on 03/14/2014 5:42:13 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: rellimpank

This gets a pass.

10 posted on 03/14/2014 5:45:19 AM PDT by nonsporting
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To: Cletus.D.Yokel

“Gun Culture” is one of those so called “whistle words” the left loves to use.

The left will use this shibboleth against anyone they disagree with (using whistle words) but when they do exactly the same thing they are to be held blameless. If you point it out you are racist, a redneck, a hillbilly, a non-thinker, knuckle dragger, or any of a whole host of other adjectives that carry negative connotations.

Remember when “coarsening of the discourse” was all the rage, that the use of surveyor’s marks on political literature (”targets”), the mere use of the term targeting, name calling and all the rest that only the right was supposedly doing was causing the coarsening of discourse?

Yeah, free speech for me, but not for thee... and of course, no consequences for me, but if you do it you will be excoriated in the press comrade.


11 posted on 03/14/2014 5:49:45 AM PDT by jurroppi1 (The only thing you "pass to see what's in it" is a stool sample. h/t MrB)
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To: rellimpank

My 3 year old grandson fashions guns our of anything he has at hand. Legos, Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, Cookies, Sandwiches ... and then runs around making shooting noises.
And his favorite show is the old “Lone Ranger” series via Hulu.


12 posted on 03/14/2014 5:50:21 AM PDT by BuffaloJack (Freedom isn't free; nor is it easy. END ALL TOTALITARIAN ACTIVITY NOW.)
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To: rellimpank
zero tolerance being the favored new millennium approach to keeping schools safe.


13 posted on 03/14/2014 6:22:14 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (Do I really need ot use the sarcasm tag?)
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To: rellimpank
Never point the gun finger at anything you don't intend to destroy.
14 posted on 03/14/2014 6:37:00 AM PDT by showme_the_Glory (ILLEGAL: prohibited by law. ALIEN: Owing political allegiance to another country or government)
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To: rellimpank
we could require real gun-safety training and real background checks for gun owners; we could mandate they carry insurance on their weapons.

Yea, insurance and safety training would have prevented Sandy Hook.

15 posted on 03/14/2014 6:39:51 AM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (Haven't you lost enough freedoms? Support an end to the WOD now.)
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To: rellimpank

I seriously propose what can be called a state “common sense authority” law. That is, public employees, including school administrators and teachers, are granted considerable authority to perform their jobs.

However, “zero tolerance” policies represent an evasion of this authority and judgment. Thus the purpose of the law would be in effect a “mandamus”, an order that they must carry out their duties, including judgment, instead of relying on blanket and unjust policies.

If a student is suspended, while it is based on policies, it is done at the authority of the principal. He alone is responsible for the suspension, based on his judgment that it is an *appropriate* punishment. He cannot blame the policy in and of itself, because he could have decided that it was inappropriate.

This means that, as it should be, authority is always paired with responsibility.


16 posted on 03/14/2014 7:13:51 AM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy (WoT News: Rantburg.com)
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To: wbill
It's a rare day when I agree with Leonard Pitts on anything. Perhaps the times, are indeed, a'changin'. Or, more likely, Nathan Entingh is African-American and thus more worthy of concern than others.

Do we know if Nathan Entingh is black? It matters - matters if press bias runs that deep...

17 posted on 03/14/2014 10:39:42 AM PDT by GOPJ (From a bellwether to an "oh-whateverrrr" in less than a single news cycle. -freeper Fightin Whitey)
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To: rellimpank

I agree with Leonard Pitts? On anything? Somebody slap me back to consciousness.


18 posted on 03/14/2014 10:42:24 AM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: jurroppi1
“Gun Culture” is one of those so called “whistle words” the left loves to use.

Kind of like a 'honky whistle' rather than a 'dawg whistle'.... Interesting concept there jurroppil... I think you've got a winnah!

19 posted on 03/14/2014 10:43:04 AM PDT by GOPJ (From a bellwether to an "oh-whateverrrr" in less than a single news cycle. -freeper Fightin Whitey)
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To: GOPJ

I guess I’d prefer the term “Patriot whistle”, but if we really want to “own” it then I guess “honky whistle” works well enough.


20 posted on 03/14/2014 11:32:10 AM PDT by jurroppi1 (The only thing you "pass to see what's in it" is a stool sample. h/t MrB)
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