So It's Come To This: Seven High School Students Arrested For Throwing... Water Balloons
from the overreaction-is-our-only-reaction,-which-always-starts-off-a-chain-reaction dept
The weather's (mostly) hot. School's almost out. And what better way to celebrate summer being almost here than being arrested and charged with a misdemeanor for throwing water balloons.Hail academia, forever teaching our youth that anything and everything will be punished to the fullest extent of the law, even childhood hijinks our parents would have approved of, if only they weren't so busy being arrested themselves.
Seven teenage students in North Carolina were arrested on Thursday and charged with a misdemeanor for throwing water balloons during a school prank. A parent was also arrested during the incident.You've got to respect the uniform -- even if that uniform is a 50/50 polyester/ugly blend. If other students, teachers and administration staff get hit, that's a
The seven boys, all between the ages of 16 and 17, threw balloons filled with tap water as an end-of-year prank at Enloe High School in Raleigh. The balloons were rumored to be filled with “other substances,” but Wake County Public School System spokeswoman Renee McCoy said “all indications” were that only water was used.
Six of the teens were charged with disorderly conduct. The seventh was charged with assault and battery for hitting a school security officer with a balloon.
Kevin Hines, the parent who was arrested, was just acting out of concern for a student's wellbeing. No good deed goes unpunished, not when we're sending cops after kids armed with water balloons.
Kevin Hines said saw Raleigh police officers acting aggressively towards a student they were arresting when he drove up to the school.Swell. An unarmed parent who's concerned that someone (NOT A COP) might get hurt is handcuffed, threatened with a taser and charged for "causing trouble," which apparently goes on the books as "second degree trespassing."
"Being lifted up by the neck and taken down hard," Hines said.
Hines said he tried to intervene was but was told he didn't know the whole story. Hines complied and said he wished to speak to the principal.
"You're just trying to cause trouble. Get out," Hines said an officer told him.
Hines said he then attempted to talk to a lieutenant but was approached by two officers and threatening with a TASER. Hines said he told the officers that wasn't necessary.
"They arrested me on grounds of trespassing," Hines said. "So, they put cuffs on me and carried me away."
Another parent is "causing trouble" as well, although this might be the kind of trouble that sticks:
The mother of an Enloe High School student has filed a complaint with the Raleigh Police Department after an officer threw her son to the ground Thursday as police responded to a water balloon battle at the school.Call me naive, but I never thought I'd ever read a sentence this incongruous in my life: "...as police responded to a water balloon battle..." Tase me. Tase me now, lord. At least it wasn't a water pistol fight. Martial law would have been declared and the National Guard called in.
Here's the school's official statement on the "event."
Renee McCoy, a representative of Wake County Public Schools, said they rely on the training of the Raleigh Police Department in these situations. "We leave those decisions up to Raleigh PD," McCoy said.Punt.
Seven kids with misdemeanors on their records ("released on bail" -- I am not kidding) for throwing weaponized water. I'm not really sure what schools are teaching kids at this point -- that every minor infraction must be dealt with swiftly and brutally? That violating school policies is a criminal offence? Whatever they're trying to teach by jettisoning critical thinking and replacing it with zero tolerance cops on speed dial, it's not getting through. All students are going to learn is that school administration has farmed out its disciplinary responsibilities to a variety of humorless, uniformed thugs -- some private, some public -- and that there really is no crime too small.
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Filed Under: arrested, north carolina, pranks, students, wake county public schools, water balloons
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We'd be burying 6 students.
Police States of America, coming to your local neighborhood! Misleading News at 11!
/ugh
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Aren't people supposed to say something if they see something? What if they were more than just water guns and balloons? You can never be too careful.
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As hard as it is for me to type, we are now in dire need of a return to the '60s, even if it requires hippies and bell-bottoms.
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1. Suspect demanded to meet at place of his choosing (apparently so he wouldn't be scanned for weapons)
2. Suspect was mixed martial arts trained
3. Suspect had previous history of violence, including putting a man in the hospital over a parking space dispute
4. Suspect lunged with a knife, wounding a LEO
Sorry, if I'm a gun-toting LEO and a suspect is stupid or dangerous enough to successfully attack me with a knife... even a scratch, I think it's perfectly appropriate to go all "Rambo, First Blood" on them. At that point I see it as "him or me", and I vote "me".
High school kids and water balloon pranks? Not so much. Any sensible officer would have done some quick sanity checks to make sure it really was water, maybe help identify the pranksters, make sure nobody had gotten hurt, then just offer to "be on hand" for school officials to do their job. If the students really were violent or dangerous, that would become evident pretty quickly.
It would probably be appropriate to "educate" the educators as to the difference between law and school policy, and what level of response is appropriate for each.
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If this were sensible I don't think any officers would have even been dispatched.
"I'm sorry, you said water balloons?"
"Right."
"Sir, this line is for emergencies only. Goodbye."
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I remember as a high school senior, driving by the local movie theater while my friends super-soaked the crowd from the other side of the car that were waiting in line...
Glad I never got caught for this post-9/11, I'm sure I'd be detained as a terrorist.
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Re: Police State
Warrant less wire taps, no-knock entries, confiscation of cameras, arrest and indefinite detention with no charges or even probable cause, torture, rendition of prisoners, and stop and frisk at will. Are those the actions of a free country?
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And we aren't even trying to stop it. Then again, the Corporatists in power want those cops doing exactly that: stomping the populace with their jackboots, grinding us underfoot and keeping us afraid.
Just like their counterparts in 1934 in Germany...
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"Hitler will have no war (does not want war), but we will force it on him, not this year, but soon." - Emil Ludwig Cohn in Les Annales, June, 1934
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Re: "Weaponized Water"
I invite everyone to learn about this dangerous omnipresent substance at:
Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide! -and-
Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division - Dihydrogen Monoxide info
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Don't answer a cop's question? DC.
Ask a cop an awkward question? DC.
Sneeze too close to a cop and forget to cover your mouth? DC.
Any hint of not respecting the authoritah... DC.
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Not sure if trolling or just stupid...
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> "disorderly conduct". That's what it was.
Weird. I've never been able to find the section of the law that requires every citizen to be orderly at all times.
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respect authority for the sake of authority...... circlejerk of the stupid submissive
People who willfully bow down to, and make excuses to be submissive to "authority" for authoritarians sake, disgust me too.
"disorderly conduct" my ass.
The school authorities conduct ?????
The security guards conduct ?????
The police officers conduct ?????
To serve the people
or
To serve the circlejerk of authority serving authority for authorities sake
/\.... pick one ...../\
Also implying kids having a water balloon fight is not proper conduct for kids.
Next up : Baby tazered for shitting in diaper. Charged with "Disorderly Conduct"
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Response to: dennis deems on May 22nd, 2013 @ 8:56am
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Authoritarians and the sheeple following them are complete assholes.
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Bloody hell
Water balloons are utterly harmless and water balloon fights are merely a way to pass the time and cool down on a hot summer's day. I honestly don't see why anyone would have a problem with it.
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Re: Bloody hell
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Epic face palm there.
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Re: Face palm
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That's it?
And we won't even get into the material surrounding the water. The balloon itself... Just look at the argument. The balloon is made from chemicals (so a charge of chemical warfare is obviously in order now). Chemicals are made of elements. There are elements in atomic bombs, too. So basically, they're throwing nuclear bombs filled with poisonous, bio-hazardous liquid at people!! OMFG!!! What kind of terrorists do that??? HELL YES, ARREST THEM!! In fact, what is the legal system doing?? They shouldn't even get a trial or a sentence. They're so guilty they should have been shot on the very spot on which they stood. Several times. That way, another terrorist plot could be averted and the FBI could pat themselves on the back for stopping more nuclear, chemical, *and* biological attacks all at once!!
And the final horror? It was done around a school!! For crying out loud, they didn't even THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!
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Re: That's it?
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//Baddum-Tssh!
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Where's that zero tolerance policy? Oh it's not "on the internet" so it's OK lol
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Questions
2) Why in the name of Cthulu were the cops involved?
$) Don't the cops know how to gain control of a situation without arresting everyone in sight?
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Re: Questions
Seriously. "The next person that throws a water balloon is going to juvie..."
That should handle it and nobody has to have a criminal record...unless they throw one more balloon.
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The cop was on a classic authoritarian power trip. "respect my authority"
The real crime here is that the "institutional authoritarian regimes" will not be punished or have a higher authority police them. convenient and a coincidence of authoritarians in general
Cops,principal and security guards should all be sued, fired, maybe even thrown in jail and be granted a criminal record.
It's what they would do to the kids if people didn't stand up in outrage.
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We must protect our kids from imaginary threats!
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Barney
"I say this calls for action and now. Nip it in the bud. First sign of youngsters going wrong, you've got to nip it in the bud."
Of course, these days, I don't know if we shouldn't replace "youngsters" with "governmental agents".
Also, remember, "don't just mollycoddle them."
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Bare in mind that I was an adolescent and I thought ti was cool; but, she recognized me and I ended up getting kicked up out of school for three days, ended up with a weeks detention and I had to apologize to the young girl.
Boys will be boys.
However, in the aftermath of Columbine shooting, school districts have to take a "zero tolerence" policy when it comes to juvenile antics and I have no sympathy for what these 17 years olds did. They knew exactly what they were doing and this was no prank, despite what others may think. It takes calculated thought to plan something like this and I have to support the school administrators and the school district because this amounts to an assault.
While some of us may find it funny, it's not. Water balloons are something you do when you're at home, not on school property. These students knew what they were doing was wrong and now they'll have to live with the consequences. They're going to find out now because they're not only just starting to become adults living in the real world but they're going to learn a valuable lesson that everything you do has consequences.
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No, they don't. Getting suspended for hawking a loogie in a girl's face. Seems fair. Getting arrested for throwing a water balloon... not so much.
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Holy fuck. Please don't procreate.
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Just like when two boys pointed fingers at each other and made gun noises? That's right, that's what really happened. Two boys pointed their fingers at each other, made noise, and were promptly suspended, thanks to zero tolerance. Do you support that too?
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I'd say you got off easy.
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You did something way worse than this (being covered in saliva and snot is significantly worse than being covered in water; think 'rain'), and you received a simple, short suspension. You seem to have learned your lesson.
Yet NOW, you are agreeing that being hit with water is an ASSAULT?
You sir, are a big, gigantic hypocrite.
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Moreover, why should a punishment change simply because someone else committed some other crime. A punishment should fit the crime. How can that change because of something else? Why are we re-defining what fits the crime? It's the same crime. Who cares what someone else did. Why is that related? Same crime? No. Same person? No. Why is there an impact? That boggles my mind. Something terrible happens and some people lose the ability to be reasonable.
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> coming up the steps and caught her in the face.
> I have to support the school administrators and
> the school district because this [water balloon fight]
> amounts to an assault.
It's ironic that what you did to the girl was actually more of a criminal assault than a couple of kids engaging in horselplay with water balloons. And yet you only got suspended for it. These kids now have criminal arrest records.
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If you are trolling, well played sir... if not may dog have mercy on your soul.
Zero tolerance policies are the hallmark of punting responsibility by the very people we are supposed to be relying on to have sound judgement and exercise discretion with the education and well being of our children. This trend in our schools is extremely disturbing and needs to be corrected. I am typically never a fan of additional legislation, but no amount of local or even national backlash is getting any of these schools to back down from these ridiculous policies. I thin there is a strong argument that can be made that this behavior could be construed as unconstitutional as a violation of the 8th amendment.
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Heres a question, why dont you have a record now? you used a biological weapon and potentially put anothers life in jeopardy. You should be at the police station asking to be locked up.... Or is this another cause of you dont deserve it but everybody else does... which is it sunshine...
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Its people like you and your attitude that have stripped modern children of their childhood.
Every action has its consequence....AHHHHHHH!
(Imagine a "Lewis Black" frustrated scream)
They were water balloons. WATER BALLOONS
How much "calculating" would it take to err... let me see, fill up a frikin' balloon with water and chuck it at someone? Like maybe none?
And, to call this an ASSAULT? For god's sake get a grip. I certainly hope you do not (or ever have) children, because to be raised by you would completely suck.
10 bucks says this is either a cop or married to one.
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"no crime too small" IS A CRIME.
But that IS assault and battery, kids. Your right to toss water ballons ends where someone else's person begins -- in fact, well clear of it: adults don't wish to run a risk merely because you're idiots. So don't throw water ballons --- at somone NOT agreeing to the "fun" -- unless you want a CRIMINAL record.
Someone else's, whether intellectual property or physical body, seems to be the key concept that the kids here at Techdirt just can't grasp.
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Re: "no crime too small" IS A CRIME.
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Re: "no crime too small" IS A CRIME.
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Re: "no crime too small" IS A CRIME.
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Re: "no crime too small" IS A CRIME.
I agree 100%. The problem is that not everything requires an arrest.
There are ways to stop behavior or punish people that don't involve slamming them to the ground unnecessarily and arresting them.
By this logic it's ok to arrest and charge someone who intentionally pushes past you in a rude manner and makes you stumble: He has no right to push someone, therefore crime, therefore arrest the asshole!
This sort of thinking does not allow for a functional society of people.
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Re: "no punishment too large" IS A FINE WITH OOTB
Do you support capital punishment for pirates? What about for people guilty of playing their radio loudly enough to be considered a "public performance" without having a license for public performance?
Should enhanced interrogation techniques be used to find out of they know of any other students who may be planning to throw water balloons or play the radio too loudly?
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This has nothing to do with the definition of assualt and battery.
"adults don't wish to run a risk"
There isn't any risk.
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> NOT agreeing to the "fun" -- unless you want
> a CRIMINAL record.
My god, you're an utter twat.
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Re: "no crime too small" IS A CRIME.
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Re: "no crime too small" IS A CRIME.
But that IS assault and battery, kids. Your right to toss water ballons ends where someone else's person begins -- in fact, well clear of it: adults don't wish to run a risk merely because you're idiots. So don't throw water ballons --- at somone NOT agreeing to the "fun" -- unless you want a CRIMINAL record.
Someone else's, whether intellectual property or physical body, seems to be the key concept that the kids here at Techdirt just can't grasp.
OOTB, I'm usually with you brother, but we diverge on this. Back in the day, my last week of high school a buddy of mine burst a water balloon over the head of the assistant principal who was trying to restore order after an epic water balloon battle broke out in the bus area. Her blue rinse was ruined and he got suspended for a day. That's it. The participants had to police up the popped balloons and the only real consequence was for engaging a non-combatant. Our community resource officer wisely took cover and was reportedly seen laughing at the soaked assistant principal. If I'd been charged for every water balloon, egg or roll of toilet paper I've ever thrown, I'd doubtlessly be doing life in prison right now.
You can't put shit back in the donkey. The kids never should have been charged and unless the prosecutor is a complete loser, this case is going nowhere.
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Just yesterday, 7 students were refused to receive their HS graduation certificates nor to be allowed to attend the graduation ceremony after releasing 10,000 crickets in school as a prank.
During my end of the year senior days, someone released a dog in the hall with a tin can tied to his tail and a few small pebbles in the can so it rattled wherever the dog went. No one arrested, no cops called, not even the dog pound. The dog was caught, the can untied from his tail, the dog was taken off school property and released.
All of this zero tolerance has gotten out of hand. Way out of hand. Those kids now have an arrest warrant and a first strike. The parent of a kid taken to jail? For what other than being on the scene and worried about the kids.
Our modern day police force is now turning into the Gestapo.
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History repeats. Human nature doesn't change.
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Also, some reports are saying there was a lot of hype about the balloons filled with "dangerous" substances (lol).
One hell of a well pulled off prank. One hell of a poorly managed incident by the police...
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Yeah. If you are an adult from the outside and don't have any legitimate reason to be there, the school administration has every right to deny you access to school grounds.
Of course, Kevin Hines, as a parent of a student, certainly had every right to be at the school.
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Eventually things will change, but not before the people get involved in the fight.
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The Establishment still needs to Fall !
The Moral Majority are Assholes !
Boy, The times have not changed much................almost sounds like Classical HS, Lynn, Mass Circa 1972
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I don't want to live on this planet anymore.
Hopefully the Raleigh Police don't realize that water is actually H2O, or else those teenagers could find themselves on a one-way trip to Guantanamo Bay for being "enemy combatants".
I can see it now:
Detainee: ...So, what are you in for?
Teenager: Throwing water balloons at my High school security officer.
Detainee: What, did you fill the balloons with acid or something?
Teenager: Nope, just plain water.
Detainee: And you're locked up here why?
Teen: Because the chemical compound of water is H2O.
Detainee: ... You have got to be fucking kidding me.
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Re: I don't want to live on this planet anymore.
Detainee: I violated Facebook's terms of service
Tax Payer: Why are the costs of law enforcement going up and our prisons over-crowded?
Former Military Officer: TERRORISM!! AHH!! TERRORISM!! RUN!
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Hopefully some of these parents start doing more than just file complaints that can be tucked away. I'd like to think the school will change it's tune quick when they realize they are actually on the line for this.
It's insulting how smug they are about kids being injured because they didn't like how the way they were behaving and then on top of that they seem like they are patting themselves on the back for a 'smart plan' to sidestep responsibility and any decision making.
If the school employees are too incompetent to handle kids with water balloons without police involvement, the school simply needs new employees or to do without those positions at all.
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That parent wasn't happy at all. I, like you, read lawsuit.
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seems fair
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> water balloon. Hint: they hurt. A LOT. Yes that's assault.
So is an arrest and criminal record warranted? Is violence by police warranted?
How about just a suspension?
Clue: getting snapped by a towel in the shower hurts too, but I don't know anyone who got arrested and injured in a police takedown over it.
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Give it some time.....
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Are you seriously freaking serious? What the christ are you made out of? 100% lithium, sodium, and potassium?
The *ONLY* way water balloons can hurt is if you leave them in the freezer for 2 hours before throwing.
Yes, I *HAVE* been hit with water balloons. An uncountable multitude of them over my 50 years on the planet. Not one of them has EVER hurt, even when I was hit in the face, ears, throat, and nads. Soaked? sure. Pain? gimmeafrackingbreak.
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Bless him aw diddums did the nasty boys throw water balloons at you and hurt you?
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I have many times and they don't. At all. Spitballs hurt worse and are more dangerous.
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> been hit with a water balloon.
I have. Many times. It's fun.
> Hint: they hurt. A LOT.
Man up, Sally.
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Still traumatized by high school, eh Nancyboy? You must have been a regular crime victim in school. Assaults (wedgies); kidnappings (stuffed in gym locker) robbery (lunch money). You may wish to consider that your opinion of what constitutes assault can all be traced back to the fact that you are a douchenozzle.
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Are you f'ing insane? They weren't frozen, for dog's sake. My 18 month old granddaughter was hit by a water balloon this weekend. No tears, only giggles and "again!". So either she's tougher than Wolverine, or you have the pain threshold of an amoeba.
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Oh thank god...
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How the mighty have fallen.
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Re: How the mighty have fallen.
Others say the downfall of America can be traced back to when the Mars company introduced the blue M&M.
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Littering also?
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omg
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B.S
The whole police department and school should have charges brought against them and they should have to pay monetary penalties to the students and parents involved.
Have we forgotten that it is we the people, not me the government.
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lol
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Clearly school districts have to much money
That's rent-a-cop better find a good lawyer.
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Exactly when did school administrators become THIS incompetent
To the admins who decided they need to call the cops: just quit. You SUCK as school administrators and would better serve society in another capacity where zero critical thinking is involved (maybe collecting golf balls at a driving range, perhaps?).
What are you teaching our children? That adults are such PUSSIES that they need goofs with weapons in order to have some semblance of order? What do you do when your OWN children misbehave? Same thing, I presume?
I feel sorry for kids today - the school to prison pipeline is alive and well it seems.
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Re: Exactly when did school administrators become THIS incompetent
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What does it sound like?
DOUCHE!!!!
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Thieves in the night
This is just another example of what happens when you give up freedom for safety.
In the end you lose both.
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I'm glad they actually arrested these guys
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Re: I'm glad they actually arrested these guys
Because boys will be boys, you fucking salad tosser.
I guess things weren't very rambunctious over at the chess club, huh? Obviously the memories of 'kick me' signs and wedgies has left an indelible mark and sped you into geezerdom.
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Re: Re: I'm glad they actually arrested these guys
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Re: Re: Re: I'm glad they actually arrested these guys
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Good going
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Militarization
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Re: Militarization
http://www.infowars.com/video-hundreds-of-dhs-armored-trucks-on-the-move/
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Oh, please
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Even if it was just water and it ruined the clothes you just spent your money on and you were heading to an interview?
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Zero tolerance is the result of the 60's not cured by it
Schools are full of some not-so-bright people sometimes, but they see the writing on the wall. If they try to fix it themselves, they get sued, pay money, are easy targets. Instead it's "Zero Tolerance" and call the cops -- see we did all we could, didn't touch any one, didn't restrain anyone, didn't tolerate something we should have stopped. It's Zero Tolerance bullying, Zero tolerance touching, zero tolerance of anything that might make someone sad... it's 5 year olds with Behaviour Contracts because they won't play well with other, it's suspending a kid for biting his poptart into a gun shape, a 12 year old boy is a sex offender for trying get a girl he likes to talk to him, on and on and on. Parents do the same, saying my kid needs to be protected from everything, no traumatizing events like being called a name or having to deal with someone she doesn't like talking to her.... that is what it is coming too.
We get what we incentivize. We sue people, organizations, entities at the drop of a hat, even if they win it's costs thousands - millions of dollars. All because someone couldn't tolerate being called a name. We make children who can't deal with a confrontational situation, parents who overreact to everything. We incentivize stupidity and intolerance in the very name of the tolerance of diversity we preach. Now we are getting the society of call the cops for everything, I mean in school for that last 30 years, whenever there was a problem we had to get a teacher involved, not resolve it ourselves, we might get punished. Now those kids they run the schools and they still do that but a teacher is now a cop.
The end result -- all the protected, nurtured individuals cease development, by pure numbers, they squeeze out the stronger natural order breeds and the civilization as a whole get's weaker.
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Re: Zero tolerance is the result of the 60's not cured by it
Yes people go too far with political correctness. But there is still so far to go. It's just getting the balance right.
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Re: Re: Zero tolerance is the result of the 60's not cured by it
We don't let children learn and develop responsibility and life skills, we don't let them make decisions so they learn what it's like to make a mistake or a bad decision. It takes work to teach those skills and keep them safe. But most of the world is "risk adverse" because they were taught from the beginning to let someone else be responsible. Don't let little Jimmy climb a tree, don't let little Sarah walk next door to the neighbors house.. "You'll put your eye out with that thing"!!! is the mantra of our children's world.
I don't think anyone should be discriminated against, but I also think if you don't learn how to handle discrimination yourself, you will be a failure. I believe that while discrimination is bad, bullying is bad, etc.. it happens so you better know how to deal with it. A bully will always be there, so will a racists, intolerant religious figure, etc. To legislate morality is to ingrain discrimination. Exactly the opposite of what we want.
If you are intolerant of a KKK member how does that make you any less racist than he/she is? Just because you feel your viewpoint is right? I am sure they do too...
Tolerance is a 2 way street and you have to learn how to handle intolerant people w/o calling the cops. Instead we have been teaching kids for the last 30-40 years that they can't handle something on their own, they have to get a higher authority involved. We remove judgement from their lives with "Zero Tolerance" policies. It's coming back to haunt us. I've been bullied, I wasn't great at sports, I've fought, I've lost, I've won. I learned how to not to be a spoiled brat like a lot of folks. I learned I don't always get my way, I don't always win. I like to think it's made me a balanced person who after 50 years can handle pretty much everything that comes my way.
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Re: Re: Re: Zero tolerance is the result of the 60's not cured by it
I agree with most of what you are saying - I think we're coming at it from different angles. However, appeal to some sort of authority for assistance is one thing, having to blindly obey authority is another. Whilst you Americans have an admirable 'can-do' attitude, sometimes it seems you are a bit knee-jerk for or against when it comes to authority (and in some people in both directions).
And yes, children should be free to be children as much as possible, and learn their own consequences.
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It funny to read all of this
The real issue at hand here is that society as a whole has lost respect for each other, and in doing so, has also lost the tolerance for youthful exuberance and learning to play with others. Teachers feel so disrespected, principals feel so powerless to stop anything, that the only way they deal with things is by involving a higher authority, the police.
Imagine the outrage if these kids got suspended. Lawsuits from the parents claiming the kids are being denied an education. You could be sure one of them was "not white" and would play the race card, and perhaps if there was a girl involved she would claim that the school security guard touched her inappropriately somewhere along the line. The schools don't want to resolve anything at their own level because the students and the parents don't respect them and attack them at every turn.
So what happens? When anything out of the ordinary happens, they call in the police. They don't deal with it, they call in the authorities. Getting a photocopy of tomorrows math test a day early is now theft, treated by the police. It's all out there.
Where does it come from? Generation Disrespect. We are slowly but surely sinking down to where the whole world is being ruled by people who will use the legal system, guns, and worse to get everything their way, no matter what.
Sort of like the anti-copyright anti-patent people, it's all about pulling the covers there way no matter what, even if they don't deserve it.
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Re: It funny to read all of this
We could just as equally say "calling the cops and making harmless fun an arrestable offence is just the kind of overreach that content controllors and copywrong maximalists and patent trolls buy laws for".
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ummm where to start?
Also ummm did no one think to train the police that a taser uses electricity and that doesn't mix well with water? And since when has it been trespassing to pick ur kid up from school
I'm not saying the students were rt but I don't believe the police should have been called for h2o.
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Yeah but
Enloe High School is a large school in a "disadvantaged" area of Raleigh and has a reputation of "problems" gangs, drugs etc. It is also a very highly respected magnet school that is pretty over crowded with mobile trailers added to the campus to make room for more kids.
So when you look at the situation as a whole. 2500+ kids in a building with several punks throwing waters balloons rumored to be filled with bleach, Nair and urine you are looking at a very volatile situation that could easily lead to something very serious.
So while I understand that is sounds outrageous to arrest the kids for water balloons what they were really arrested for was the chaos and disruption of the peace and safety of the high school campus. After all the real terror situations we have seen on the news over the last few years it is understandable why schools and police work together so closely to keep our kids safe.
I do not believe in zero tolerance policies as they leave no room for common sense but I also do not believe anyone should be allowed to yell fire in a crowded theater just to watch the fear and chaos take over. There needs to be a middle ground but I'll be damned if I know what it is.
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Re: Yeah but
But you have a point, now that this major crime has been dealt with the "disadvantaged" "problem" school can go back to the usual drive bys, drug deals, and gang fights without further disruption to the school day.
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Re: Yeah but
Chickens and eggs come first.
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Safety
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I for one got vinegar all over my clothes.
And also a very large bruise on my arm (still fading, mind you) from a full bottle of something. (gatorade? juice? don't know, it was a red liquid).
Our principal DID make an announcement. Actually, several. He said that if they turned over there ammuntion that they would be punished in any way. He came on later to warn that that police were going to be involved if this did not stop.
Learn the whole story before going of on some rant on how it was overreacting, mkay?
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Waterballoons
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Re: Waterballoons
Parents should know their children.
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Water Baloon
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so this is clearly a blatantly biased article that just demonizes the police. i went to the school (albeit joining the year after this event happened, but my bus had pulled into the school that day to pick up some high schoolers) and there certainly were substances other than water. several kids got injured and many more might have been if the police did not intervene and the forensics done at the school was minimal at best.
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Makes sense...
Lets discuss the facts.. a bunch of almost adults ages 16 and 17 were throwing water balloons on and at a school campus, which is private property and proceeded to then assault a security officer within the property by hitting him with water balloons without his consent or involvement.. and you guys are wondering why they were arrested and charged with misdemeanors... I'd say based on these facts alone, they got exactly what they deserved.
Would you guys prefer to teach these young adults that it's okay to disrespect other people's property and to assault the innocent and any other bystanders they feel like attacking, non the less the person being security, so better to teach them to ignore and assault authority figures? This is exactly why our youth is becoming unruly and why we have so many problems in schools.
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