6th Grade Teacher Attempts to Ban Pencils and Pens...

"Wendy Scott, a teacher of at North Brookfield Elementary School in Massachusetts, tried to ban pencils and pens in her classroom. It's completely ridiculous because you sorta need them to do schoolwork and because it's just a freaking pencil and pen.

Students would no longer be allowed to bring writing implements to school. It said pencils would be provided for students in class and any students caught with pencils or pens after Nov. 15 would face disciplinary action for having materials 'to build weapons.'"

Attribution: Gizmodo.

There were a couple of hot threads over on EDC Forums about the TSA arresting someone for carrying a writing instrument that they had on their paranoid watch list of items to be confiscated. You see, if a writing instrument is marketed as a self-defense weapon, Big Daddy Government won't let you fly with it. You understand, slave?

I have always maintained that if they are going to do that, then all writing instruments should be banned from flights because targeting and acting upon only those pens with "tactical" marketing hype is just cosmetic. It's meaningless. So, in a way, this teacher is much more sane than the people at TSA who decide what is "OK" and what is to be banned. I disagree with this teacher's desire to ban pens and pencils from her classroom, but I have to say, at least she realizes that all rigid writing instruments can be weaponized. Even in the hands of a maniacal child.

There are Patents you can search for, for rubberized writing instruments that were developed with an eye towards use in prisons and other restrictive environments. Perhaps TSA should just ban everything except these types of pens and then they could get kickbacks from the airport kiosks that sell only Government/TSA Approved writing instruments.

I mean, they did that with bottled water for a time. Must have been a wonderful time to own a airport kiosk peddling water at scalper's prices.

Oh yeah, let's make shoes checked luggage only as well and issue Government Approved flip-flops. Outstanding!

I'm just being sarcastic...about some of it. This country is scared of its own shadow now, how sad. Terrified of the world around it and desperately trying to control it and more fearful of the Citizenry than terrorists and illegal aliens. Sad days.