Turns out, cupcakes really are controversial

[ElizabethB]

I thought of the hive...

 

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/03/08/cupcakes-with-army-soldiers-get-kid-in-hot-water-at-school/

 

Please, no fighting about the actual article or someone might have to post pictures of cupcakes.

[justamouse]

Ugghhh I saw that. Utterly ridiculous.

[MomtoCandJ]

It's so ridiculous

[ChristusG]

What??!! Crazy!!

[duckens]

"No tolerance" policy = no good judgment.

[Spryte]

Now I want cupcakes.

[Desert Rat]

I mourn the loss of common sense. And I want cupcakes, too.

[Jeannie in NJ]

actually I just ate a strawberry cupcuke

[Word Nerd]

The school where a kid who made a gun shape with a Pop Tart and got suspended sent a note home with students offering counseling if any kids were disturbed by the incident. I'm disturbed by the lack of sense in so many administrators.

[FaithManor]

Uhm....I hate to admit this, but we have relatives there and we do know a thing or two about the principal. She's a piece of work! Total control freak and the biggest drama queen you've ever seen.

 

I will not regale you with the horror stories, suffice it to say she considers herself to be the judge and jury over everyone and she is the Tzarina of her territory. The complaints against her are startling and the former local sheriff was quoted as saying, "She needs to have her head examined." Since her over the top behavior is common knowledge, he was not sued or reprimanded for the comment.

 

On a philosophical note, I'd almost guarantee that not one single child in that school equated those little green army men to some feeling of fear of being shot or attacked. In that neck of the woods, probably every one of those kids has a pack of little army guys to play with at home. Military service is HUGE in that community... Army and National Guard in particular with National Guard being the most common choice. It's the county seat and the recruiter is a favorite amongst teens and parents alike. These children did not think to be traumatized by the cupcakes! Seriously, if anyone had an issue, it was BECAUSE of the drama this woman creates. Left well enough alone with maybe a private note to parents, "In light of recent events, we should probably not choose military or other similar images for decorations", the whole thing would have been just fine. Of course, these same kids are all going home and shooting 4-10 rifles with their dads on Saturday...very different culture here and not one that is easily scared by plastic WWII figures on the top of children's treats.

 

Faith

[fraidycat]

That's almost as bad as the 7 year old who was suspended because he bit his pop-tart into the shape of a gun - according to the teacher. The boy said he was trying to make a mountain.

[Joker]

It's so ridiculous. I almost feel as if these stupid no tolerance policies in regards to firearms are going to cause some kids to focus more on them - because they're soooo forbidden. The very idea that ARMY men are bad just blows my mind as well.

[Ruby Rose]

Odd man out here, but I don't think army men belong in school. I don't like my kids playing with toy guns. Guns are not toys.Sorry, but have them at your private party if that's what you want.

[ElizabethB]

Uhm....I hate to admit this, but we have relatives there and we do know a thing or two about the principal. She's a piece of work! Total control freak and the biggest drama queen you've ever seen.

 

Interesting! Maybe a lot of the crazy things out there have explanations like this and there is hope!!

[Truscifi]

I ate a cupcake today. It was red velvet. :drool5:

[LibraryLover]

I don't know the back-story, but I would never send in cupcakes decorated with guns. I respect the military, but I do not think such 'decorations' at school are appropriate.

[melmichigan]

If you mention green army men to my DC the first thing that comes to mind is the movie Toy Story. They love the parts with the little green men. :)

 

Maybe they should change the mascot. That lion is ferocious, and one did just kill a woman the other day.

[FaithManor]

Odd man out here, but I don't think army men belong in school. I don't like my kids playing with toy guns. Guns are not toys.Sorry, but have them at your private party if that's what you want.

 

 

I really do respect your opinion. Many parents feel this way. That's fine and it might not have been appropriate for the cupcakes to be decorated in that way. The issue is that I know the community and unfortunately, this particular principal is legendary. See, while she may have been quoted in such a way that she sounded "calm and cool" even possibly level headed, she did in fact have her usual, hysterical fit at the child in question. This was not a quiet matter of taking the cupcakes and quickly removing the decoration. This woman is the Lucille Ball of education! Everything is a drama, everything requires yelling, everything is a scene. She's quite the diva.

 

It's the total lack of commonsense. If she felt there was a need to remove the decoration, there is a peaceful, low key, non melodramatic way of handling that and certainly an innocent little boy doesn't have to be screamed at until he's crying so hard he can't get his breath.

 

Faith

[LibraryLover]

This is only hearsay.

 

We don't get that from the article, and I would have been very upset if my little one had brought home a toy gun at this age.

 

I've come a long way with this, but 18 years ago? I would have cried, and considered removing my child from that school. As silly as that seems.

 

 

I really do respect your opinion. Many parents feel this way. That's fine and it might not have been appropriate for the cupcakes to be decorated in that way. The issue is that I know the community and unfortunately, this particular principal is legendary. See, while she may have been quoted in such a way that she sounded "calm and cool" even possibly level headed, she did in fact have her usual, hysterical fit at the child in question. This was not a quiet matter of taking the cupcakes and quickly removing the decoration. This woman is the Lucille Ball of education! Everything is a drama, everything requires yelling, everything is a scene. She's quite the diva.

 

It's the total lack of commonsense. If she felt there was a need to remove the decoration, there is a peaceful, low key, non melodramatic way of handling that and certainly an innocent little boy doesn't have to be screamed at until he's crying so hard he can't get his breath.

 

Faith

 

[melmichigan]

This is hearsay.

 

We don't get that from the article, and I would have been very upset if my little one had brought home a toy gun at this age.

 

I've come a long way with this, but 18 years ago? I would have cried, and considered removing my child from that school.

 

 

It wasn't a gun, it was one of the little army men you buy by the pail

[LibraryLover]

It wasn't a gun, it was one of the little army men you buy by the pail

 

 

 

I know. I would have been horrified.

 

Not saying that makes sense to many, but I am being honest. If it happened today, I would not freak out, but I would be disappointed.

[Alte Veste Academy]

This is only hearsay.

 

We don't get that from the article, and I would have been very upset if my little one had brought home a toy gun at this age.

 

I've come a long way with this, but 18 years ago? I would have cried, and considered removing my child from that school. As silly as that seems.

 

 

You would have cried if your son had come home with a toy gun at the age of 9? These are not preschoolers.

[Alte Veste Academy]

I know. I would have been horrified.

 

Not saying that makes sense to many, but I am being honest. If it happened today, I would not freak out, but I would be disappointed.

 

 

So, is it the gun the little Army guy was carrying or the mere depiction of a soldier? And at what age would it be OK to teach kids that soldiers carry/use guns? Is it OK if a soldier goes in uniform to school on career day (not armed, of course)?

 

How about a cake decorated with little policemen? Still a problem, or no? Can the cop come in uniform on career day? With his weapon?

 

I am perplexed.

[FaithManor]

This is only hearsay.

 

We don't get that from the article, and I would have been very upset if my little one had brought home a toy gun at this age.

 

I've come a long way with this, but 18 years ago? I would have cried, and considered removing my child from that school. As silly as that seems.

 

 

I understand your position. However, again, there is more to the story than just what little is in the article and it isn't hearsay. My cousin has a child in the school and is a parent volunteer. She was there when it happened..

 

So because of what I know not only personally about the principal, but from an eye witness to the event, I can honestly say what she did was patently uncalled for.

 

Faith

[LibraryLover]

You would have cried if your son had come home with a toy gun at the age of 9? These are not preschoolers.

 

 

 

My oldest? Born at home, breastfed, organic diapers, family bed, and all that hippie jazz? Yes. I am not expecting people to agree with me. I was pretty intense about not wanting my child not to be exposed to guns as toys. I'm a bit more relaxed now.

 

I don' t think toy guns belong in school. I didn't think so all those years ago, and if I were a first time mother today, I still wouldn't like it. Guns- schools. No.

 

I would not cried in front of my child, of course.

 

I'm fine with sugar, gluten -free, or whatever. But leave the weaponry at home.

 

OTOH, I have no issues with a child chewing a pop tart into a mountain/gun.

[melmichigan]

 

 

So, is it the gun the little Army guy was carrying or the mere depiction of a soldier? And at what age would it be OK to teach kids that soldiers carry/use guns? Is it OK if a soldier goes in uniform to school on career day (not armed, of course)?

 

How about a cake decorated with little policemen? Still a problem, or no? Can the cop come in uniform on career day? With his weapon?

 

I am perplexed.

 

 

Especially when the school is just down the street from the Army, Navy and Air Force recruiting station. I guess I just don't understand.

[Alte Veste Academy]

My oldest? Born at home, breastfed, organic diapers, family bed, and all that hippie jazz? Yes. I am not expecting people to agree with me.

 

I don' t think toy guns belong in school. I didn't think so all those years ago, and if I were a first time mother today, I think I would have an even greater negative reaction. Guns- schools. No.

 

I would not cried in front of my child, of course.

 

I'm fine with sugar, gluten -free whatever. But leave the weaponry at home.

 

OTOH, I have no issues with a child chewing a pop tart into a mountain/gun.

 

 

You are a paradox wrapped up in a riddle. :lol: Why not cry in front of your child if you are disappointed or upset? I would throw "it's alright to cry" into the "hippie jazz" category. :tongue_smilie: When one of the kids or I need a good cry, I actually put on the song "It's Alright to Cry." Surprisingly, I am part hippie myself.

 

The pop tart gun has me LOLing too. It is inherently more likely to have an accidental discharge than plastic Army guy's weapon. I hear that gooey syrup is deadly too. Slow release, but still. ;)

[LibraryLover]

Especially when the school is just down the street from the Army, Navy and Air Force recruiting station. I guess I just don't understand.

 

 

I understand this.

 

I think these little Toy Story guys are fine at a personal party.

 

I question whether it is something everyone in a public school would accept easily, especially given the current climate, and worries some children might have about being hurt at school. Would a toy gun trigger worries about personal safety for some children? I would think it better to err on the side of caution. (Sorry for the cliche.)

 

There is a difference between private party favors, and sharing such things in a public school.

[melmichigan]

 

 

 

I understand this.

 

I think these little Toy Story guys are fine at a personal party.

 

I question whether it is something everyone in a public school would accept easily, especially given the current climate, and worries some children might have about being hurt at school. Would a toy gun trigger worries about personal safety for some children? I would think it better to err on the side of caution. (Sorry for the cliche.)

 

There is a difference between private party favors, and sharing such things in a public school.

 

Thank you for sharing your honest opinion. We're a military family so I don't think anythng of the little green army men unless I'm stepping on them.

[LibraryLover]

Thank you for sharing your honest opinion. We're a military family so I don't think anythng of the little green army men unless I'm stepping on them.

 

 

I appreciate that. I do. And I thank you for hearing me out. :)

[Alte Veste Academy]

I appreciate that. I do. And I thank you for hearing me out. :)

 

You never answered my CopCake and career day questions! :D I am an Army wife and know that actual soldiers, in uniform, pick their kids up at school. Should this principal throw them out? ;)

[LibraryLover]

You never answered my CopCake and career day questions! :D I am an Army wife and know that actual soldiers, in uniform, pick their kids up at school. Should this principal throw them out? ;)

 

 

I think if these folks are well known to the children, and the parents and kids know who carpools, it's all good! :)

 

We live in an area where we never *never* see fatigues/soldiers with guns etc. If we did, it would be scary/unusual. Or, we would get used to it.

 

The US is a very diverse bit of real estate.

[Joker]

 

 

I think if these folks are well known to the children and the parents and kids know who carpools, it's all good! :)

 

We live in an area where we never *never* see fatigues/soldiers with guns etc. If we did, it would be scary/unusual. Or, we would get used to it.

 

The US is a very diverse bit of real estate.

 

What about policemen? Surely those are seen often and they have visible guns. I've never lived in a place where I didn't see a variety of police and military personnel so it seems so odd to me that it would be scary.

[LibraryLover]

What about policemen? Surely those are seen often and they have visible guns. I've never lived in a place where I didn't see a variety of police and military personnel so it seems so odd to me that it would be scary.

 

 

OK. I will keep going. I have never in my life seen an officer pull out a gun.

 

I am being honest, and I know its not very TV-friendly.

 

I know violence is unpredictable, so I am so grateful.

[MrsBasil]

The school where a kid who made a gun shape with a Pop Tart and got suspended sent a note home with students offering counseling if any kids were disturbed by the incident. I'm disturbed by the lack of sense in so many administrators.

 

If I had been a student in that school and was 4th-6th grade I would asked if I could have counseling to get over the lack of sense the adults who are supposed to be in charge of me showed.

 

It's why I spent a lot of recess time indoors and why I'll be homeschooling. *sigh*

 

I don't even like guns but, to me, plastic army men and pop tarts bitten into a right angle aren't really representative of guns or violence.

[Joker]

 

 

OK. I will keep going. I have never in my life seen an officer pull out a gun.

 

I am being honest.

 

 

Don't they wear them at their hip where you're at? I haven't seen one be pulled either but you can still see the gun on their person.

[LibraryLover]

Don't they wear them at their hip where you're at? I haven't seen one be pulled either but you can still see the gun on their person.

 

 

You know, maybe?

 

It's not something common/ I notice where I am.

 

I don't mean to be obtuse. I have very little opportunity/experience to answer. (knock wood?)

[Parrothead]

 

 

 

OK. I will keep going. I have never in my life seen an officer pull out a gun.

 

I am being honest, and I know its not very TV-friendly.

 

I know violence is unpredictable, so I am so grateful.

 

The vast majority of LEOs never have to draw their service weapon. In 10 years of LE I only had to draw down on someone once.

 

Most law abiding citizens rarely see a cop out of a patrol vehicle unless one lives in an area where there are beat cops.

 

If you ever see an on duty LEO just know there is at least one deadly weapon within arm's reach, along with possibly multiple non-lethal weapons.

[Parrothead]

I've been around guns, cops and military personnel all my life. Dd is the same way. She only has one friend whose parent doesn't carry a weapon to work. So if she had brought home the prize from the cupcake that was a little green army man it wouldn't have fazed anyone.

 

 

From the article I got the impression that the principal might be a nutter. The "lengthy statement" sounded like code for a tirade.

[Jenny in Florida]

I understand this.

 

I think these little Toy Story guys are fine at a personal party.

 

I question whether it is something everyone in a public school would accept easily, especially given the current climate, and worries some children might have about being hurt at school. Would a toy gun trigger worries about personal safety for some children? I would think it better to err on the side of caution. (Sorry for the cliche.)

 

There is a difference between private party favors, and sharing such things in a public school.

 

I'm sure it will come as no surprise to anyone who has ever read anything I've written on similar topics that I agree.

 

I have a busy weekend coming up, and I've already stayed up too late. I don't have the time or emotional energy to get into a thing about this. Again. But I also don't want to leave LL hanging out in the wind on her own.

 

My personal line here would be drawn at weaponry or depictions thereof. I would have no objection to a kid bringing in cupcakes decorated with figures dressed in military attire (or as police officers or fireman or whatever), as long as those figures were unarmed. If my kid's public school allowed my child to be presented with a treat that included a toy weapon, the school would hear from me about my disappointment and frustration.

 

Of course, my kid couldn't eat the cupcake, anyway. So, he would already be excluded from the celebration. It's one of the many reasons neither of mine attends public school.

[Laurie4b]

I agree with the person in the article who said that "army guys" are heroes and should not be equated with people who commit criminal acts with guns. It's like equating a pharmacist with a drug dealer.

 

It's even worse that this was a military community in which kids know that their principal regards depictions of their fathers or mothers in such a way.

 

Would the principal tear off figurines of policemen, too?

 

Imo, an "army guy" is totally different than a toy gun, which people keep saying is what was on the cupcakes. An army guy carrying a gun with which he defends his country is totally different.

[Laurie4b]

And for some silliness: I saw a tongue-in-cheek proposal after the poptart incident to ban US maps that include the state of Florida from classrooms. It's shaped like a gun. :scared: :svengo:

[LisaKinVA]

And for some silliness: I saw a tongue-in-cheek proposal after the poptart incident to ban US maps that include the state of Florida from classrooms. It's shaped like a gun. :scared: :svengo:

 

Hey, if you turn Idaho on it's side, it looks like a gun, too ;)

[8circles]

I appreciate, understand, and respect the decision to not allow toy guns. I'm very much part-hippy myself. However, I do allow toy guns. It would never, in a million years, occur to me that army men would be considered toy guns. Never. I mean, the gun part is barely even recognizable.

 

As I said, I understand & respect the no-gun-toy choice. But it makes me incredibly sad that its lumped-in with military heroes.

[FaithManor]

You never answered my CopCake and career day questions! :D I am an Army wife and know that actual soldiers, in uniform, pick their kids up at school. Should this principal throw them out? ;)

 

 

It's an interesting question. We have police officers, sheriff's deputies, and military personnel that pick their children up from school all.the.time. I don't know what the rules are about guns on school property, but my guess is that these individuals are allowed to carry because public safety is what they do as a service to their community. On any given day, someone is on that campus to pick up a child and they are packing a piece, but obviously they are holstered.

 

Faith

[I talk to the trees]

This is so absurd, it almost sounds like an "Onion" piece. Sadly, it isn't. My next door neighbor's favorite saying for such cases of lunacy is, "They walk among us."

 

Those children were in far more danger from the toxins they might have ingested from licking the frosting from cheap, Chinese, molded-plastic toys (or, now that I think about it, from the chemicals in the frosting itself) than they were from being exposed (Oh! The horror!) to a tiny figurine, most of which would have wound up in the garbage after the treat was consumed.

[Dmmetler]

This is so absurd, it almost sounds like an "Onion" piece. Sadly, it isn't. My next door neighbor's favorite saying for such cases of lunacy is, "They walk among us."

 

Those children were in far more danger from the toxins they might have ingested from licking the frosting from cheap, Chinese, molded-plastic toys (or, now that I think about it, from the chemicals in the frosting itself) than they were from being exposed (Oh! The horror!) to a tiny figurine, most of which would have wound up in the garbage after the treat was consumed.

 

 

 

That's my first thought-too-are those plastic army men designed for food use? I'd be more worried about that than the tiny plastic protrusion that is intended to be a gun, and breaks off at the slightest provocation!

 

I strongly suspect my entire mythology class would have been expelled from school-given that the second I released them from class, they were outside battling titans! I'm really surprised, now, that the PS teachers at the school across the street didn't call the police about the mob of nerf weapon armed, sheet clad kids each Wednesday.

[Word Nerd]

Odd man out here, but I don't think army men belong in school. I don't like my kids playing with toy guns. Guns are not toys.Sorry, but have them at your private party if that's what you want.

 

 

There are a lot of toys that different parents object to for one reason or another. I wouldn't like it if my DD came home with a Bratz doll or Jayhawk (just kidding...sort of) cupcake topper, but I wouldn't complain to the school about it. I'd just toss it.

[melmichigan]

We live in an area where we never *never* see fatigues/soldiers with guns etc. If we did, it would be scary/unusual. Or, we would get used to it.

 

The US is a very diverse bit of real estate.

 

 

I guess some of it is location and exposure.

 

My DC don't blink an eye when they pass a group of humvees in desert camo rolling down the road, other than to wave at the soldiers. They love when the fighter planes are on maneuvers or big supply planes are coming in for a landing right over their heads. They especially love when the CG is doing search and rescue drills in the river. They equate the little green men with service men fighting to protect them, not some crazed gunman.

[LibraryLover]

I did not say that I would bother complaining about this had it happened to us.

 

However. being the type of young mother I was all those years ago, it would have upset me greatly. I can think of b'days being celebrated during snack at school, but I don't recall any particular decorations on cupcakes .Are sprinkles enough anymore? ;) I was also that mother with organic food, and no sugar. Oh, and very few plastic toys. I do recall being bothered by sugary confections at school, but I tried not to make waves there. I fed my child the best food I could, and let the other stuff go.

 

Today, I really don't blink at other peoples' junk food, but when my oldest was in K, it really did upset me, although I never complained to people at the school.