Boy Suspended For Playing With Imaginary Weapon
A Boy Pretended to Shoot a Classmate With an Imaginary Bow and Arrow — This Is What Happened Next
If you heard that a child was innocently playing cops and robbers with a toy gun and got in trouble for it, you might disagree with it, but you also might understand the reasoning: these days, fake weapons can look a lot like the real thing. But what if that fake weapon wasn't made of kid-friendly plastic? What if it was made out of thin air?
A 6-year-old boy in Cincinnati was suspended for three days after playing with an imaginary bow and arrow. According to Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School administrators, first-grader Malachi Miele pretended to shoot another student with the invisible bow and arrow.
"We were told, 'This cannot be tolerated in the world we live in today,'" Matthew Miele, the boy's father, said in a Facebook post late last week. "What I find unacceptable is that this school is so scared that they are unable to distinguish the difference between a credible threat and a boy pretending to be a Power Ranger, playing with an imaginary bow and arrow."
Following the incident, Principal Joe Crachiolo sent a letter home to all parents, defending the school's handling of the situation.
More than a few people, whom do not know my son, have questioned his discipline. This is a zero tolerance policy. No...
Posted by Matthew Miele on Wednesday, November 4, 2015
"It is not 'fun' and certainly not Catholic to pretend to harm another person," he wrote. "I have no tolerance for any real, pretend, or imitated violence . . . I understand the perception that this is excessive, but any words or actions to harm another child is simply not going to be tolerated regardless of age."
For Matthew, he holds firm that his child did nothing wrong: "His imagination can go limitless places. We try to encourage that as parents."
