[cuchulainn]

Political correctness runs past the deep end and dives into the abyss.

from the Ottowa Citizen

http://canada.com/national/story.asp?id=%7BDE06E5E3-685B-4751-841C-FAB8B263AADD%7D

Gun control: Schools ban even the word
Sarah Ruttan
The Ottawa Citizen

The Upper Canada District School Board has removed the word gun from all spelling tests in its schools as a result of a complaint by parents of a Grade 1 student.

Every Monday, Chloe Sousa, 7, comes home from Lombardy Public School with a list of 10 words to learn, and each Friday her class is tested on these words. By last week, the class had worked its way through the alphabet to the letter G.

Amanda and Mark Sousa, who consider themselves to be pacifists and who are raising their two young children with this governing belief, were shocked when Amanda's spelling list last week included the word gun.

"I realize people hunt in this area, but I still don't think that warrants the teaching of this word to my daughter or any other child," said Mrs. Sousa.

The Sousas relocated to tiny Lombardy, about an hour west of Ottawa near Smiths Falls, from Kingston, where Mr. Sousa still works, to be closer to family.

Mrs. Sousa wrote a letter to her daughter's teacher describing her views on the word gun, her unease with any child learning to spell the word, a few alternatives, and the wish to speak to the teacher about its inclusion on the list.

"The word gun is synonymous with death. I'm racking my brain trying to figure out why a seven-year-old would need to learn this word," said Mrs. Sousa, who admits she was hesitant to bring her views forward for fear of backlash from the school toward her daughter, and because some may view her problem with the word gun as another political correctness issue gone too far.

"For a split second I considered whether or not I should raise this issue, but I knew I had to stand up for what I believe in. This was not right," she said.

"I don't think this is an issue of political correctness. It's an issue of protecting your child from violence. Guns are violent. End of story," said Mrs. Sousa.

The Sousas did not hear from the teacher. Then Chloe was sent home later in the week, again with her list, which now came complete with pictures beside each word.

"It wasn't a water gun or a toy gun, it was a pistol," said Mr. Sousa.

"I was horrified that not only were we ignored, but now my daughter is carrying around a picture of a gun," he said.

Mrs. Sousa then decided it was time to call the school to speak to the principal.

Not long after she placed the telephone call yesterday, the teacher returned her call and apologized for the word being part of the test, as did Terry Simzer, a public relations specialist for the school board in which the Lombardy Public school belongs.

Mr. Simzer explained that the word gun had been in the curriculum for a number of years, but as of yesterday, gun has been removed from the spelling test because of the Sousas' complaint.

"I can't say how many years it's been used, but a number of years, yes," said Mr. Simzer, and he defended the word as being a good phonetic word and short vowel word that is easy for young readers to learn.

"We do appreciate the sensitivity around the word, especially in these times, and have taken the word from the list because of this parent's complaint," he said.

"But children do hear this word every day on the news, particularly about blank registration -- I don't want to say the word so I don't offend anybody," added Mr. Simzer.

"We are quite happy that the whole matter has been resolved and the word will no longer be included in our curriculum."

Although the Sousas remain disappointed the word was ever included in a Grade 1 spelling test, the family is happy with the outcome.

"Even after all of the obstacles I'm happy with the conclusion," said Mrs. Sousa.

"I accomplished what I set out to do and that was to have this word removed from my daughter's spelling list."

© Copyright 2003 The Ottawa Citizen

[Ian]

"In order to outlaw guns, you must first outlaw knowledge of guns. To outlaw knowledge of guns, you must outlaw knowledge itself." - L. Neil Smith

Well, I suppose they're willing to give it a try...

[TarpleyG]

I can only comment with this... :banghead:

[cuchulainn]

You have to wonder what will happen when little Chloe starts to learn how to shoot baskets in gym class.

[dev_null]

I here there're a lot of people of French descent in Canada. *ducking* :D

-0-

[Leatherneck]

The mind absolutely boggles.:rolleyes:

TC
TFL Survivor

[SDC]

These a**holes live about an hour from me, near one of the province's busiest IPSC clubs; I'm still shaking my head that these idiots have managed to survive to reproduce.

[Boats]

Ottawa? Isn't that Chippewa for "Land of the Twits?"

[Ted Bell]

This was the last thing I needed first thing in the morning.:mad:

[Pawcatch]

I hear there're a lot of people of French descent in Canada.

dev_null,
please explain how that is relevant,since France has one of the highest gun ownership rates in Europe.
About 20-25% of homes in France have a firearm in them.
That is about the fourth highest in Europe behind Norway,Switzerland,and Finland.

If we're talking about French descent,then we ought to mention Louisiana which according to one of the latest studies has the highest gun ownership rate in the U.S.

[TheOtherOne]

"But children do hear this word every day on the news, particularly about blank registration -- I don't want to say the word so I don't offend anybody," added Mr. Simzer.
That is something I would say to mock the lady. It's hard to tell if Mr. Simzer is serious or not. Maybe he's just going along with this because he knows how ridiculous it is and is fully expecting a good backlashing from rational people. That would be my strategy! I would play up the sarcasm hardcore on how evil a word like that can be.

[Russ]

What are they going to call them in history classes? I've always been partial to Firesticks.

[AZTOY]

If thay ban the word:( "gun "

Thay are also baning the "history" of the world!!:confused: :cuss:

[Gnull]

"I don't think this is an issue of political correctness. It's an issue of protecting your child from violence. Guns are violent. End of story," said Mrs. Sousa.

My oh my! I am so glad that the stalwart defenders of peace and safety caught this. I'll sleep better knowing that a dangerous word has been locked away in the PC prison where it cannot cause any more violence.

So what happens when her child goes to a history class and has to learn about things like the World Wars... *Gasp!* She will learn about violent things like war and genocide... So Let's ban all history containing incidences or mention of war and genocide.. but that does not go far enough.. no.. her child might decide to go to English class.. and we all know how violent those "books" are, Especially that Shakespeare guy.. So Let's ban Literature! Hmm.. this is all good work.. but the real culprit is the school system, teaching them all these violent things.. sooooo... Let's ban education!

It's for the children you know!

:rolleyes:

[Pendragon]

I am counter balancing these people. My 14month old son already has a fascination with the gun cases at Wally World.

I whisper "four more years" in his ear. :D

[jmbg29]

Bomb Kanada! France has one of the highest gun ownership rates in Europe.Might as well have paperweights.:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Betty]

My head hurts. :banghead:

[Pawcatch]

Might as well have paperwights.

So you're saying that the French or people of French descent don't use their firearms for anything?
I bet all the cajuns in Louisiana would beg to differ.
And I guess this wild boar in France just commited suicide.
www.gourmetfly.com/Huntco.htm

[jmbg29]

I bet all the cajuns in Louisiana would beg to differ.Precisely how did cajuns become involved in this? The French are French. Cajuns are Americans. Try really hard not to confuse the two, OK?

The remark refers to the French inability to do anything other than surrender.

Unless of course one counts collaborating with Nazis as "doing something". :rolleyes:

[Hutch]

This is astonishingly stupid, even for pacifists. Lesson for our parents:

1) The map is not the territory.

2) The word is not the thing.

3) Guns do NOT equal violence, any more than ropes equal lynching, or knives equal stabbing.

Sheesh, I'd almost believe this was a parody. Can anyone truly be this misinformed? Upon further consideration, it reminds me of the French UN ambassador suggesting that the Iraqis pass a law to outlaw the possession of weapons of mass destruction.

[DeltaElite]

Some people just want to be prey.

[griz]

The non offensive History of World Blank II, European theater:

An ambitious man in Germany tried to take over a large part of the world. His soldiers blanked a lot of the allied soldiers. Sometimes they used blank to shoot each other and sometimes they used blank to blow each other to blank. Then the allies invaded Germany and won the blank. The ambitious man blanked himself. The world was then safe for ninnies to say the word blank and think that their kids could not figure out what was being said.

*No actual soldiers were blanked in the writing of this narrative. However, the author does have a loaded blank so don’t believe a word he says.

[Baba Louie]

Ahhh, Mommies

They would protect you from everything including the realities of the world.

Adios

[Pawcatch]

Precisely how did the cajuns become involved in this?

Well,if you had bothered to have read dev_null's comment then you would have known that he specifically refered to those of French descent.



The remark refers to the French inability to do anything other than surrender

What does that have to do with the fact that the French own a lot of firearms for sporting purposes.Any reasonable person would take from your comment that the French can't use firearms for anything.

[ctdonath]

Observation: Upper Canada is near the southern border of Canada.

Need I say more?

[alan]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WEAPONS OF CHOICE
School board bans 'gun' from spelling tests
Action taken after 1st-grader's parents complain to officials

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: February 11, 2003
5:00 p.m. Eastern



© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

A school board in Canada has banned the word "gun" from all spelling tests in its district after the parents of a first-grader complained about the word appearing on a spelling list distributed by her teacher, reports the Ottawa Citizen.


Chloe Sousa and the offending word. (Photo: Ottawa Citizen/Canada.com)

According to the report, 7-year-old Chloe Sousa, a student in the Lombardy, Ontario, Public School, came home with a list of spelling words last week that included "gun." Her parents, Amanda and Mark Sousa, who consider themselves pacifists, were shocked that the offending word was on the list.

"I realize people hunt in this area, but I still don't think that warrants the teaching of this word to my daughter or any other child," Mrs. Sousa told the Citizen.

"The word gun is synonymous with death. I'm racking my brain trying to figure out why a 7-year-old would need to learn this word."

According to the report, Chloe's mother was hesitant to bring her views forward for fear of backlash from the school toward her daughter, and because some may view her problem with the word as another political correctness issue gone too far.

"For a split second I considered whether or not I should raise this issue, but I knew I had to stand up for what I believe in. This was not right," she said.

Mrs. Sousa wrote to her daughter's teacher about the issue, but didn't hear back. Instead, Chloe brought home another list later in the week that included the word "gun" along with an illustration of a pistol next to it.

"I was horrified that not only were we ignored, but now my daughter is carrying around a picture of a gun," Mr. Sousa told the paper.

Mrs. Sousa then decided it was time to call the school to speak to the principal.

After her call yesterday, according to the report, she received an apology from both the teacher and Terry Simzer, a PR person representing the school board.

Simzer explained that the word gun had been in the curriculum for a number of years, but as of yesterday, gun has been removed from the spelling test because of the Sousas' complaint.

"I can't say how many years it's been used, but a number of years, yes," said Simzer. He defended the word as being a good phonetic word and short vowel word that is easy for young readers to learn.

"We do appreciate the sensitivity around the word, especially in these times, and have taken the word from the list because of this parent's complaint," he told the Citizen.

"We are quite happy that the whole matter has been resolved and the word will no longer be included in our curriculum."

Said Mrs. Sousa, "Even after all of the obstacles I'm happy with the conclusion.

"I accomplished what I set out to do and that was to have this word removed from my daughter's spelling list."

[10-Ring]

Geez, something else I can shake my head at Canada about! :banghead:

[Yohan]

I guess Glock would be an acceptable replacement. *Kudos to everyone who stopped and thought about it and got it*

[Blackhawk]

Chloe really needs to learn about other 3 letter words with one vowel too, including "gun". Words like:

"Bun"

"Nun"

"Sex"

"Fun"

That way, she won't have to ask her little friends what they mean.

[Guyon]

Anybody thinking 1984 here?

I'll bet that kid can already spell "socialism." :rolleyes:

[TexasVet]

_________________________________________
I still don't think that warrants the teaching of this word to my daughter or any other child.
_________________________________________

"Mommy, Mommy! There's a bad man outside with a ...? Never mind."

"I still don't think" should have been the end of that sentence.

[Zundfolge]

The irony is these people are shooting themselves in the foot (pardon the pun).

If they don't allow their child to be taught the word "gun" how can they teach her of the joys of gun control :neener:

[4570Rick]

It must be the FRENCH CANADIAN influance.:evil:

[jmbg29]

Well,if you had bothered to have read dev_null's comment then you would have known that he specifically refered to those of French descent.In Kanada. If I am not mistaken, they are refered to as Quebequois or Acadians.

Cajuns are American.

P.S. The 2nd Amendment isn't about hunting. I don't give a tinker's damn whether the French hunt with firearms or not. I say that as a lifelong hunter and hunter ed. instructor. Hunting doesn't require guns. I kill big game all the time with my bow. I could kill wild boars quite easily with a boar spear. Hunting and R.K.B.A. cultural attitudes are not synonymous, ergo they do not provide any insight whatsoever into national attitudes about guns.

When the going gets tough, the French in particular (that you brought up, not me) may as well have paperweights. At least paperweights don't get all scratched and dented when they are dropped.

One of my hunting buddies is a Cajun from Avery Island/Derouen LA. he's as gun-totin' a good ol' boy as they come, and a former Army Ranger to boot. That comes from being AMERICAN. That he is 90% French in ancestry is immaterial.

Had his family remained in La Belle Fronce, he might have absorbed the spineless culture of the French and become a paperweight dropper of the first order. Either that, or like his ancestors, he would have noted that he was surrounded by losers and fled post haste to AMERICA.

Ethnicity doesn't predispose one to any particular character traits. Nationality OTOH (like the toxic collectivist environs of Fronce) can and does dispose many people to a loser/collaborator attitude. The history of the last century attests to it.

[hansolo]

"911..what's the problem, eh?"
"There's a bad person holding a, uh...metal 'thingee' to my wife's head."
"A metal thingee?"
"Yes. It has a hole in one end"
"How big a hole, eh?"
"Let me get my calipers. It's 9mm in diameter"
"Doesn't ring a bell. Is it some kinda knife?"
"NO, it's got a round part where the bad person has his index finger."
"I,m sorry, don't ring a bell, Bub. If it ain't a knife it just sounds
like a tool of some sort...can't send the RCMP out....
KABOOM!
"Oh, jeez! Now I remember! It was something they wouldn't teach us about it school. My sister, Chloe, got our parents REAL upset, eh......it's a gun! :banghead:

[Oleg Volk]

Can't say "gun".

How about "mortar"? The kind that goes with bricks?

How about "naval rifle, eight inch"...talking about the ship equipment, not the sailors'.

How about Heckler and Koch, carried by the friendly school officer?

How about "musket"?

I can just see their dictionary, black marker over 5% of the entries...Newspeak in the works.

Ah, to teach in American schools, where students discuss just how machine gun tripods and camera tripods differ :)

[Sleeping Dog]

Can't teach how to spell "gun"?

Ok, but they also can't teach how to spell "fusil". Gotta spread ignorance in both English and French.

That's the law. Or at least that's how it was presented in the classic movie "Canadian Bacon".

Regards.

[WhoKnowsWho]

Gotta stop using my nail gun This house is going to take forever to build, good those pacifists don't mind being robbed while they are out in the open!

No more staple gun for me either.

No gun-ho.

No Gunsmoke on TV. :)

Glad I am south of that border and north of the other one!

[DamnedDirtyApe]

Read my sig line.

I was born there...have lived in US more than 30 years, proud citizen for a long time.

I'm angry and ashamed at what's going on up there. Canadians have completely abrogated their rights to self-determination and self-reliance.

Still curious to hear how much nose candy, sports cars, Lear jets, male strippers, leggy hookers, and tropical villas that billion-plus "registration" money paid for.

Code Orange or not, I'm very glad to be here, for a lot of reasons.

[Carlos]

One day I'm going to read some PC BS like this and have a $*&#* stroke.

[Betty]

There's a duplicate thread in L&P, I'm going to try to merge the two....

[Pawcatch]

When the going gets tough,the French in particular(that you brought up.not me)may as well have paper weights

No,your first comment implied that the French were not capable of using firearms for any purposes and I'm sticking to my guns on that.



One of my hunting buddies is a Cajun from Avery/Derouen LA. he's as gun totin' a good as they come,and a former Army Ranger to boot.That comes from being AMERICAN.That he is 90% French in ancestry is immaterial.

Well,that is your opinion,not fact.I also am of French ancestry and have a few friends that are as well.In one of my friends homes there is a French flag hanging right at the door and I can assure you that he is no coward since he is the most short tempered person I know.He considers himself as French as he does American.

[Pawcatch]

P.S. the 2nd Amendment isn't about hunting.

I never said it was,I didn't even mention the 2nd Amendment.
I'm also well aware that you don't need a firearm to hunt.
Ferreting is common in Britain and France and the rabbits are usually quickly and humanely killed by neck breaking.I've killed many snapping turtles by cutting off their heads as well.


In Kanada if I am not mistaken,they are refered to as Quabquois or Acadians.

Cajuns are Americans.

I have a map of the different sections of LA. and Cajun country is also called Acadia.
BTW,dev_null said descent,so that could be applied to anybody of French descent.

[cuchulainn]

There's a reason Cajun country is called Acadia.

When the British took over Canada after the French and Indian war, they displaced many of French speaking people of Acadia, who ventured south into Louisiana. The word Cajun is a bastardization of the word Acadian. IOW Cajun is Acadian, but contracted and pronounced poorly. Cajuns are the descendents of French Canadians.

[Pawcatch]

Thanks cuchulainn ,
I new about that,but I wasn't sure and I didn't want to put my foot in my mouth.

[BamBam-31]

We need to go through the Bible and delete every mention of "swords" or "spears" or "slings." We don't want our seven-year-olds exposed at Sunday school to words synonymous with death and violence. :rolleyes:

How do you tell the story of David and Goliath? :banghead:

[Chris Rhines]

Wow, a real, thriving, insane society!

- Chris

[natedog]

It would be funny if it wasn't so sad.

[ctdonath]

Isn't just the region of Upper Canada. My 8-year-old niece-to-be in Montreal just made some comment about refusing to say "gun" - "because it's a bad word".