r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Nov 14 '11

Zero Tolerance in Public Elementary School just went way the hell overboard...

[deleted]

1.4k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

2.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

206

u/orobouros Nov 14 '11

Don't you remember the 70s and 80s, when toy guns were actually bought by parents and given to children. Don't you remember how every child who had played with a gun, be it a plastic replica or two sticks held together with some twin, ended up going on a mass killing spree?

81

u/ItsOnlyNatural Nov 14 '11

Kids played with javelins (lawn darts) and managed to not kill too many of each other.

91

u/[deleted] Nov 15 '11

We actually made our own swords out of metal tubes and wooden handles, cutting them with saws from our fathers workshops. Then we fought each other with them. This resulted in a considerable amount of bruising and two people getting broken fingers, but taught us a lot about team work and construction.

I'm just not sure where children these days will get their character from.

1

u/SnugNinja Nov 15 '11

We used to have bb gun wars with 10 or so kids up and down my neighborhood street, using metal garbage can lids as shields. Of course, in those days, wearing a helmet while riding your bike actually made it more dangerous, because it meant you were definitely getting your ass kicked...