Opinion: Hysteria seems to be the norm in our schools

Pinellas school district spokesman Ron Stone said that the 11-year-old boy was handcuffed by campus police for his own safety and not because he was violent or out of control. "That's normal procedure in a case like this." Normal for whom?

How could it be for his own safety? That's ridiculous. If a petty bureaucrat tries to fool the public, at least he should come up with something convincing. The campus police obviously had some kind of hidden agenda in their small-time power play over a little kid who drew pictures of weapons.

Some 35 years ago we used to run around the neighborhood in Clearwater playing army with toy rifles that went rat-a-tat-tat. Nowadays the same child's play would bring a company of helmeted riot cops wearing Kevlar vests and brandishing assault rifles.

Kids aren't any different today. Improved media coverage has exacerbated a few unfortunate and uncommon events into a high level of popular hysteria. The hysteria will get worse before it gets better, if that ever happens.
-- Shane Hunter, St. Petersburg

What are we teaching our children?

Re: Student's drawings lead to his removal.

An 11-year old fifth-grader is arrested (he was handcuffed -- that constitutes arrest) and removed from his Oldsmar school because he drew pictures of weapons. Let's hear what principal David Schmitt has to say: "The children were in no danger at all. It involved no real weapons."

Nancy Zambito, a school district director of operations, suggested the incident was a "threat" and that it's "not unusual." Really? It's usual for elementary students to be led away in handcuffs for felonious crayoning? Is she serious?

Now, despite the fact that he understands no one was in any danger, the principal gives us his learned opinion on the First Amendment: "We just need to get it through kids' heads that there are certain things you don't say and there are certain things you don't draw."

With people like this in charge of our schools, we should not wonder when our children grow up to be mindless little drones devoid of the ability to make rational judgments and unaware of our nation's tradition of individual freedom. We should, instead, be startled when they don't.
-- Frank Clarke, Oldsmar

No-bullying policy could easily go awry

Re: Hillsborough crafts a no-bullying policy, May 12.

We have all laughed at the idiocy of children being kicked out of school for drawing a picture of weapons or being forbidden from playing tag or dodgeball, or a school's "eliminating" Mother's Day.

Now Hillsborough County has adopted a no-bullying policy that, among other things, could result in punishment for "manipulating friendships, ostracizing classmates and spreading malicious rumors."

So imagine that June and her friends are having lunch together. Jane wants to join in. No one says anything, but June just makes a face and rolls her eyes. Jane is encouraged (by the policy) to report this "ostracizing behavior," and the principal, deciding it's better to be safe than sorry, suspends June for three days. Or even the entire group of friends.

I can see it now: Jim asks John a question at his locker, and John tells him to buzz off. Detention for a week.

I don't have children in Hillsborough schools, but the people who do should be really concerned about this.
-- Ernest Lane, New Port Richey

We need a missile defense

A nuclear missile explodes out of the ground, heading for the blackness of outer space. As it soars miles above the Earth, it begins adjusting to hit its target: Washington D.C. The U.S. Air Force detects the launch but can only warn Washington, because the United States has no defense against nuclear missiles. A few minutes later, the missile detonates above the city, killing millions of American citizens, as well as wiping out the federal government.

This, of course, is a hypothetical situation -- but nonetheless a believable one. Even if the launch described above had been accidental, we still can do nothing to stop it. That is why it infuriates me when President Bush's missile defense plan is attacked by Democrats in Congress.

Already, North Korea, China and Russia have nuclear missiles pointed at the United States, and the CIA reported that it doesn't know how far along Saddam Hussein is with his nuclear weapons program. Imagine if Hussein invaded Saudi Arabia tomorrow and then held a news conference to announce that he has 12 nuclear missiles. He then uses these missiles as blackmail to keep the United States and any other country from foiling his plan of Middle Eastern dominance.

The strategy of MAD (mutually assured destruction) would not intimidate Hussein, who doesn't care about the well-being of his fellow countrymen. This is perhaps the single best argument for a missile defense system: a madman with nuclear capability. Of course, Saddam Hussein having nuclear weapons is purely hypothetical -- for now.
-- Scott Layden, Brandon

Don't let FBI set a precedent

If you were being tried for murder, how would you feel if the FBI failed to give your defense attorneys all the documents they should have before your trial? That's what happened to Timothy McVeigh. At his trial, his attorneys and the jury knew nothing about thousands of FBI documents.

If McVeigh is executed without a fair trial (even if he doesn't want one) and the FBI's failure is not thoroughly investigated, terrible precedents will be set. Please speak up for the sake of constitutional rights and the future of our country.
-- Mary Moore Boulay, Clearwater

Unforgiveable FBI negligence

I firmly believe that Timothy McVeigh is guilty as charged. The only reason I can think that he might have confessed to a heinous crime he didn't commit is that he's hiding a huge, airtight alibi, which would be revealed after his martyrdom by injection. Let's put that remote possibility aside.

The FBI and prosecutors have withheld some 3,100 documents from McVeigh's defense attorneys when they had absolute proof and a confession in hand. I believe that is an unforgivable act of criminal negligence. I'd suggest Congress force the feds to fire all concerned, but that would unleash another 200-plus legally trained bumbling idiots on the general population. Better we should keep them on the job where they are subject to some media scrutiny.
-- Norman A. Peterson, Clearwater

Bill could make child support worse

Re: Felony for deadbeat parents, May 5.

This small article had the news that a bill has been sent to the governor making a non-custodial parent (read: father) who is in arrears of $5,000 in child support for a year's time subject to a felony charge. He could also get five years in jail and a fine of another $5,000. And there is not supposed to be a debtors' prison in America!

No relief is given to the non-custodial parent who has lost his job, been laid off or demoted, etc. The state's Child Support Enforcement Agency doesn't care about those details; it just keeps piling up arrears and charging compound interest.

No one seems to care that ruining a father's life and sending him to prison does not result in any benefit to the children. In fact, it is much worse for the children to be denied the right to two parents and to receive no child support at all.

No one also seems to care that the child-support guidelines have nothing whatsoever to do with actual costs of raising children. It is merely a percentage of gross income and can be up to 65 percent of the father's take-home pay, forcing him into poverty. If the child-support awards were reasonable, there would be no such thing as deadbeat parents, beyond a very, very small percent -- possibly 1 or 2 percent!
-- Don Delaney, St. Petersburg

She's just a nuisance

Re: George W. gave me a slick nickname, May 1.

I was amused to read that Maureen Dowd says President Bush has nicknamed her "Cobra." Having read her diatribe, I suggest that either she or the president overestimates her. A cobra's venom is fatal. Her air-headed comments should aptly bring the name "Mosquito." Her bite is just a pesky nuisance.
-- Joseph Groesbeck, Clearwater

A safe space is needed

Re: A prom for everyone, April 30.

Thank you for the article.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth continue to be one of the most alienated and victimized groups in our community. In recent school climate surveys conducted by local gay/straight alliances, students report hearing anti-gay comments two to 10 times per week. A majority of youth report hearing negative comments on a daily basis without adult intervention.

Thanks to the courage of individual students, teachers, parents and community members, we are working to educate the community about the damage hateful words and actions have on our youth, schools, families and communities.

Until it is safe for all youth to be who they are, it is necessary to create healthy "safe space" where they can socialize, interact and express themselves. Instead of criticizing these efforts, the members of our community should all work toward eliminating the hate and fear. That is our real problem.
-- Gary Sanford, Chairperson, Sexual Minority Youth Committee, Juvenile Welfare Board, Children's Services Committees, Pinellas Park

Prohibitions go overboard

Re: cell phone use while driving.

Yes, I think we should have laws against cell phone use while driving. While we're at it, let's also create some laws against eating, drinking, smoking, listening to the radio (especially changing stations), CD players and talking to passengers. And speaking of passengers, there should be no kids in the car. These are all definite distractions while driving.

Isn't it time we stop tying to make laws against everything and instead take some personal responsibility?
-- Beverly Schane, Largo

Language problems abound

I enjoyed the article by Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post (April 27) entitled It's enough to raise your dandruff. In the article, Weingarten complains that dictionaries now accept changes in the pronunciation, spelling and meaning of many words, which have evolved because of popular usage.

In one of his paragraphs he uses the word trash as a verb. His quote, "Now I was leafing through it (meaning the dictionary) only to discover that barbarians have trashed the place." My Webster's New World Dictionary (1978) lists the word trash as a noun only, but through popular usage it has also become a verb.

Incidentally, one of your letter writers commented on her agreement with Weingarten while also using the word trash as a verb. None of us can point a finger at one another, can we?
-- Al Zolt, Sun City Center

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