[Dr. Sivana]

I think when someone sneezes, I would start saying “In God we trust”.

[wbill]

How about "Kiss my A**, you fascist pig!"?

Is that allowed? 'Twould have been my response, as a less polite and mature teen.

[Slyfox]

Hey!! The girl did not preface her "bless you, " with the word "God."

So, why did the teachers get her nose all out of joint?

[King_Corey]

I think it may be very hot where these petty bureaucrats end up after life is over. VERY HOT and unpleasant.

[dhs12345]

Situations like this one are why we have the Internet, blogs and most importantly, the First Amendment.

I bet the teacher and everyone involved are feeling pretty embarrassed and stupid right now. Not including, of course, the fact that they have to scorn of a large percentage of the American population.

[Billthedrill]

If she’d said “Gaia bless you” she’d have been fine.

[Hoffer Rand]

This is stupid. There are some things that are idioms and so ingrained in people’s automatic responses that you just say them without thinking about it. Saying “bless you” when somebody sneezes is one of those things. It’s a conditioned response. Making it punitive is asinine.

[lastchance]

No she wasn’t. She disrupted the class room by arguing with the teacher. The teacher requires total silence in the classroom which includes responding to sneezes. Seem silly but I can see 30+ students deciding to shout out “Bless you” all at once and interrupting the class for several minutes. So from a teacher’s view point it is probably necessary to instill a total ban on talking. The point is that saying “God bless you” is not forbidden because it is “godly speaking”.

[zeugma]

I wonder if gesundheit was verboten as well.

[SandRat]

Should have maybe tried “Got Zu Heiht” or in fractered American"GAZUNDTIGHT!". The Teacher/Administrator wouldn't have understood what was said.

[Some Fat Guy in L.A.]

I guess “Bless your heart” is right out then.