Out of Harm's Way

Some of my more conservative readers who have complained about the images I’ve taken a hammer to in the past will be surprised to note that I read columnists such as George Will, of the Washington Post and columnists equally on the other side of the ideological fence. In fact, Will has likely peeked over that fence a few times in recent months when he has cited a few slightly left-of-middle ideas. His Jan. 11, 2009 column was not only quite on point, but also humorous in what it told.

For example, he mentioned a ferocious 40-pound, five-year-old kindergartener who was led off in handcuffs by Florida police in Broward County because the child was “disorderly.” As Will explained, “No official at the Florida school would put a restraining arm around the misbehaving child lest he or she be sued, as a young member of Teach for America was, for $20 million … because the teacher put a hand on the back of a turbulent seventh grader to direct him to leave the classroom.” He continued, “A 2004 survey reported that 78 percent of middle and high school teachers have been subjected to legal threats from students bristling with rights. Students, sensing the anxiety that seizes schools when law intrudes into incidental relations, challenge teachers’ authority.”