Of all the recent developments in American life arising from state lockdown orders, perhaps none is so sinister as public officials encouraging people to inform on their neighbors and community members for perceived violations of supposed safety protocols. This trend is made all the worse by the fact that people are getting an unprecedented glimpse into each others’ homes through pervasive online video conferences now being used to facilitate activities like work, school, and religious worship. For one family in Pennsylvania, the “discomfort” a schoolmate’s parent felt about seeing a toy gun in a Zoom call even resulted in police showing up at their home.
A segment on the May 15 edition of the Todd Starnes Radio Show included an interview with Sheila Perez Smith, the mother of a 7–year—old first grader. Perez Smith recounted how the child had received a plastic toy gun as a gift, which quickly became the boy’s “favorite new thing.”
During a school-related Zoom call with his classmates and teacher at the Cumberland Valley School District, she said, the boy was seated with the toy next to him. He was not, however, interacting with it in any way.
After the call concluded, the family received an email from the child’s teacher “basically saying that another parent of another classmate had been very uncomfortable by the fact that the gun had been in view of the Zoom call.”
But that was not the end of the incident.
Within a couple of hours, Perez Smith said, an officer from the Hampden Township Police Department came to their home and asked the family to step outside so he could question them about a complaint involving a child and a gun.
ht/ jd hasty
During a company check-in one of the others asked about the hammock chair in the corner of my room, which I happily demonstrated. Nobody has mentioned the gun safe, which is visible in the conference call I’m on right now although not obvious.
badge-dindus keep your punk-ass out
A shot at point blank range can make your face wet!
I live in a rural county that has a lot of Bay Area transplants moving in. Last summer our Sheriffs department had a notice at the top of their FB page that said something to the effect “If you live in a rural area your neighbors are allowed to discharge firearms. Please do not call our department if this is the case.”
So, I blame the department here. They should push back. And intrusive as hell for the parents. I think I would have told the cop we don’t allow guns on our property so please leave yours in your car from now on and oh by the way, GO GET A WARRANT.
were i ever to participate in a skrewl related zoom call, I would do it in the “gun” room where they are hanging on the walls and have for years.
Stupid sissy parents afraid of a child’s toy! when I was a boy me and all my friends had play guns yet none of us grew up to shoot people. We learned from those toys how dangerous the real guns were.
God save us from Nanny A-Holes pretending to care about us!
Reading the article in its entirety now, I’d call that one step shy of SWATting. The Karen who called the cops had to have said that it was a real firearm. I cannot imagine the cops choosing to visit the home had she said ‘It’s a plastic toy gun but it’s really scary!’
It’s like the people on NEXT DOOR.
These people were reporting gunfire all day long on July 3rd, 4th and 5th.
SERIOUSLY!!!!
I quit the site when I read 2 women and some pussy of a man commenting about people they saw at the grocery store. The pussy chased out a woman because she wasn’t wearing gloves and a mask or something.
Then, 2 skanks said they were at a store and heard some guy cough (out side, mind you) and they both said if they had a gun or pepper spray they’d shoot him if the manager didn’t do anything about the cougher. (like call the cops for coughing. No, really.) When someone told them all to calm the fuck down, they turned on the person in the thread.
At that point, I got sick of the months and months of whining and the gossip and snitching and GUN SHOTS!!!!11!!! and other useless bullshit, so I quit. But I was offered a chance to say why I was leaving.
Oh, and I sure told them. I told them what I had read and that the users were rabid, disturbing people. And the ‘neighborhood captain’ or whatever the fuck got a copy of the note, too.
Musta been a scary black toy gun…
This is exactly why I’m not on social media of any kind, with one exception. I love hanging with the peeps on iotw. 😎 😘 ❤️
Demand the identity of the informer…and adjust the matter personally..in about seven to eight years.
sending your child to public school is abuse. close the public schools and save your child from lucifer
I’d bet they would shit kittens if they saw a kid playing with a Mattell Fanner 50 toy 6 gun with Greenie stick em caps like we had when we were kids back in the 60’s. Thank God that I was a kid when a kid could be a kid and not have nosy Nate neighbors (now called Karens) ratting/finking you out for playing with toy guns. My almost 4 year old granddaughter got her 1st black eye the other day playing with one of her little friends throwing small rocks at one another, they were just being kids. No one was hurt other than her pride and I don’t think they’ll do it again because next time I’m sure that she and her friend will both get swatted on the butt by their dads. Kids gotta learn to be kids and all the Karens and other busy bodies (biddies) can just butt out and mind their own damn business.
I had a gun that had a wooden bullet in it. Packed it all over town when I was a kid.
Later on my first stop on weekend mornings was at the police station for a donut on my way out to shoot crows and rabbits. I would frequently wave at them while packing my Daisy 880 out or back from a morning hunt.
I was a huge fan of the 880. I think they still make them.
Gee, Toto, tell me again when was it was we left America.
WTF is with Pennsylvania lately?
COMEDY OF ERRORS
1. If a parent feels uncomfortable, so what, ignore it.
2. The stupid teacher didn’t use adult discretion and ignore it, or tell the parent to ignore it, called the police.
3. The stupid police dispatcher didn’t use adult discretion and ignore it, or tell the teacher to ignore it, tells police to show up.
4. Stupid police didn’t use adult discretion and ignore it, or tell the dispatcher or teachers to ignore it, and ACTUALLY show up at someone’s house to ask about a toy.
It would be great if the child just said, “Why are you people here? It’s my house, my toy, now get in your car and go back where you came from….” SLAM!
Never trust the police, they seem just incapable of independent rational thought.
GOVERNMENT!
“Do you have a warrant? No? Is anyone within the house in imminent and direct deadly danger? No? Then you may not enter. Guns in the house? So what? Are they illegal? No? Have we broken any laws? No? We hurt someone’s feweengs? Not my problem. I am not responsible for the feelings of Gladys and Karen. Especially if they are looking inside my house. During a conference call. Did we threaten that person? No? Rob that person? No? Assault that person? No? By the way, just WHO is this offended Karen or Gladys who is accusing me of such heinous crimes? I have the right to confront my accuser. You can’t or won’t tell me? Then why are you here? ‘Bye. Have a nice day.”
HEALTH TIP FOR BUSYBODIES: Avoid needless fractures & contusions, keep your mouth shut!