TCTI: Too Crazy Too Ignore
 Dave Ross
gunkid.jpg
It's just the price of living in a heavily armed nation - that what used to be cute, isn't anymore. (AP Photo/File)

Fair warning, kids

BY Dave Ross  on January 4, 2013 @ 12:27 pm (Updated: 3:50 pm - 1/4/13 )

At Roscoe Nix Elementary in Silver Spring Maryland, Rodney Lynch, age 6, has been reprieved. But for a while he was in pretty big trouble.

On December 20th, six days after the shooting in Connecticut, he was, as he puts it, fooling around.

"I went into my desk, and I got scissors and I just pretended it was a gun," said Rodney.

That got him immediately sent to the office. He got his scolding, and went back to first grade class, but then he did it again, and finally another student, a little girl made a gun gesture at HIM and said "POW", he did it a third time.

"She did the pow sound and I just went like that! And then I got sent to the office again. I'm the one that gets suspended for just nothing," Rodney told a local news station.

The school argues it was Rodney who made the "pow" sound, and that he had been warned such things are inappropriate. That's why he was suspended the following day.

His parents are saying, come on, he's just a cute little kid.

"They're saying 'He threatened a student. He threatened to shoot a student.' He was just playing," said his dad.

His mom agreed, "I don't think the punishment fits the crime."

Rodney said his teacher even wanted to know what video games he played. Which come to think of it, would be interesting to know.

But good news for Rodney - the school system has decided to expunge his first grade rap sheet. This will not follow him for life, except for all the stories about him on the internet. It's just the price of living in a heavily armed nation - that what used to be cute, isn't anymore.

Dave Ross, KIRO Radio Talk Show Host
Dave Ross is co-host of The Ross & Burbank Show on KIRO Radio (weekdays 9-Noon) and never too far from the spotlight.
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Comments (60)


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  • Newton wrote...
    This tears it.
    January 5, 2013 3:14 am
    Its OK to five six wars at a time but little boy pretends to have a gun. How stupid are these teachers.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Newton
    January 5, 2013 9:44 am
    Exactly!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    Flounder Alert : Ron P just hacked my Account - yours is next . . . .
    January 5, 2013 3:55 am
    Who Who at the zoo? Maybe MNW is doing this? AJ, please give it a rest. We Americans are mad as-hell and we are not going to take this anymore. Stop with the flounders already. Your not funny anymore. Quit Quit Quit !!! When is flounder's day? I said Quit ! That's it I quit I'm going to another site. Hope your happy Ace Jackwagon :( going to have a good cry :(
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    GIVE IT UP, LAWN !
    January 5, 2013 4:05 am
    Or whoever you really are.

    It's sad to know that MYNW ran be ruined by one self centered idiot running amok.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    BTW Lawn/CH/whoever............
    January 5, 2013 5:55 am
    I ain't smart enough to hijack an account. I'll leave that all to you 'geniuses'.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Cameron wrote...
    It's sad to know that MYNW ran be ruined by one self centered idiot running amok.
    January 5, 2013 6:01 am
    But enough about Dave Ross. Given the standard outlined in the article, no children..or adults for that matter could attend a Texas Tech University sporting event. Guns Up!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    BINGO - LOL
    January 5, 2013 6:26 am
    But Dave has the 'help' of Luke (whenever he shows up).
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Not one of your finer moments,
    January 5, 2013 9:14 am
    Ron
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  • ron prevost wrote...
    come on, Chuck. Camerom made a good joke.
    January 5, 2013 10:11 am
    And you know I dig on Luke whenever.

    BTW - I see most William Lawn posts have been deleted.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HLC wrote...
    I would like to see the position of the thumb on this finger gun.
    January 5, 2013 7:09 am
    If the thumb was straight up it would be a six shooter revolver but if the thumb was down that would mean it was a semi auto or god forbid full auto. The charges should have been more clear. I fully support armed guards in schools but this proves it should not be teachers. I guess you could put all the teachers in a room with loaded guns and the one that walked out can actually handle a gun. And we wonder why the kids aren't getting any smarter?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • wsualumn wrote...
    "OH Come On, He's Just A Cute Little Kid."
    January 5, 2013 7:18 am
    Words that many failed parents have said about their kids. If I got a call from the school and said that my kid was going around and was pretending to shoot kids and that it was disruptive, my kid would learn from his mom and dad that it stops. If he continued on with this behavior, he would be in trouble. I wouldn't be complaining to the media about the school and saying "oh come on, he's just a cute little kid." This parent will have problems with this child down the road and this kid has a failing parent. I clearly remember this growing up: the parents that I knew that bad mouthed the schools because of the choices that kids made, more often than not had kids that grew up to have a lot of problems.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Nothing is any sweeter than the forbidden fruit....
    January 5, 2013 8:38 am
    Kids, sometimes boys more than girls, have played cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, Protestants vs. Catholics, Crusaders vs. Arabs, (and probably before that Legionnaires vs. Goths) since time began. Let it be. Let them grow through it. Making guns or gun-based games forbidden only makes them more desirable.

    None of the nut cases who have jumped the rails to commit mass murders in our schools did so because they weren't scolded for saying "Pow!" in kindergarten.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Chuck Gould
    January 5, 2013 9:48 am
    You are absolutely correct! Great post. Unfortunately, the pathetic uber-liberal teachers in Seattle, have already sent grade school kids hoe for drawing PICTURES of guns. So the stupidly started years ago in this pussy city.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    If the republicans wants teachers to have, why not kids in kindergarten? . . . .
    January 5, 2013 9:30 am
    you won't take my flounder away from me! Just try! We Americans will not stand for it! How is King Obama doing today?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    Use of that picture is despicable.
    January 5, 2013 9:33 am
    What else would one expect from the commie left? Propaganda. It's their favorite political tool. Look at Al Gore. He just made $100 million providing the perfect propaganda machine to the Muslims who wish nothing but death to the infidels. Dave is no different. Both are hypocrites.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • rational wrote...
    HPD 5-0
    January 5, 2013 11:21 am
    Look at Al Gore. He just made $100 million providing the perfect propaganda machine to the Muslims who wish nothing but death to the infidels.

    More than that, Al Gore stated he was more politically in line with the muslim extremists than he was with Americans who tendered a competing bid.

    Now look at all the photos of Palestinian children not only holding guns but wearing replica explosive vests...that's the sort of people Dave and Gore support...talk about epic levels of hypocrisy!

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    More than that
    January 5, 2013 4:45 pm
    Algore was trying to dodge Obama's tax increase ...he failed to do so.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Citizen of Krazy Town wrote...
    When I was five, back in the early 70's, a bunch of us kids were outside playing "guns"
    January 5, 2013 12:40 pm
    I can't remember if it was cowboys and Indians or cops and robbers but something like that. My dad saw us out there pointing our fingers and yelling "bam, your dead!" At each other and called us all into the garage.

    He proceeded to show us his tools and how, with a saw, hammer, sandpaper and nails, he could put together a pretty neat little rubber band gun. We all got a chance to use the tools and we worked at it until we each had our own gun and then he sent us back out to play.

    After that, we still played "guns" often but we pointed me at each other less because, getting hit with a rubber band hurt and no one wanted to instigate another to shoot them with one. But we also started to spend more time with those tools, building ramps for our bikes, tree forts, boxes for our treasures, etc.

    You see, my dad also grew up with guns and knives, back in the early 40's and he knew that boys were either going to do it right or do it wrong, but they were going to play with stuff that could be dangerous. So, he embraced that and taught us how to be a little safer as well as gave us some skills that ignited our imaginations and gave us more productive outlets for our natural boyish curiosity and energy.

    Now, I have four sons, and each one of them has gotten a pocket knife around 7 years old, and of course there are play guns, whether they are nerf or Star Wars blasters or whatever, and they get to shoot aliens in video games, etc. They also know that weapon play is out of bounds in school and we tell them that, in that culture, even drawing a gun is not OK and if they want to do that, save it for home, so they do. I recently took my two older sons, now in their early teens, to the range and showed them how to handle and fire my two handguns. They now have a healthy respect for the real thing and rather than being more gun crazy, they are actually less.

    Young kids can understand there is a time and a place, and if you take the time to teach them rather than shield them from everything, they WILL follow the rules. My kids also have access to my tools and we build pine cars for scouts, birdhouses, or sometimes they just go and pound a hundred nails in a board.

    Hopefully the things they learn from me will be passed down to their sons someday and the tradition of teaching safety and respect, rather than banning and mystic, will continue.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sportsguru wrote...
    Citizen of Krazy Town
    January 5, 2013 2:14 pm
    That's the best post you have EVER made on this blog and I concur with your dad and you as well. Good job caring enough to share your experience.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Citizen (& Guru)
    January 5, 2013 2:19 pm
    Ditto & Thanks for the post
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sportsguru wrote...
    I guess the hood was a little different
    January 5, 2013 2:45 pm
    We actually created our own type of ammo with bottle tops amd those alluminum/metal soda can tops, our triggers use to be those clothes pins with the rubber band and bottle tops in the rubber band like a sling shot and clothes pin mounted to hold the bottle top and rubber band until you released it with the clothes pin. We all ran around the neighborhood shooting each other and had little crews and would take on other neighborhoods. Sh!!!t, we would jump from rooftop to rooftop looking for something to shoot at with neighbors yelling at us to get off there roofs.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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