Idiocy in the Name of Correctness

Who says adults have common more sense than children? Apparently a boy in Sweden has been the victim of a gross abuse of school authority, in the name of ensuring against discrimination. When handing out invitations in school, everyone has to be invited, or no one at all. In doing so, the school has discriminated against this child in their quest, and doesn't appear to think him capable of inviting his own friends to a party.

Swedish school confiscates boy's party invitations STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP)

A school has confiscated an 8-year-old boy's birthday party invitations after they were handed out during class because it said it had a duty to ensure against discrimination.

The boy handed out invitations to classmates at his school in Lund, southern Sweden, but did not invite two boys because they were not his friends, the Sydsvenskan newspaper reported earlier this week.

The school, 360 miles south of Stockholm, confiscated all the invitations, saying it objected because it had a duty to ensure against discrimination.

I think this falls into the same category as rules that ban valentines on Valentine's Day and games such as dodge ball. We're raising a generation of kids who will never be able to deal with rejection and conflict because every opportunity to experience and grow under it has been removed. In a way though, kids are still experiencing rejection and conflict, but unfortunately now it's happening because of the intrusive measures of schools, courts, and local governments to supposedly "eliminate" it. I find this to be many times more harmful.

The report on Friday did not name the boy or his family. It said the boy's father has filed a complaint with the parliamentary ombudsman. The father told the newspaper that the two classmates were not invited because one had bullied his son and the other had not invited his son to the classmate's birthday party.

"My son has taken it very hard," the father told Sydsvenskan of the school's decision. "It's like taking someone's mail."

The parliamentary ombudsman has asked the school board to decide on the issue before Sept. 8.

If the people who confiscated this boy's party invitations really cared about the wellbeing of children, they would give him back his right to invite who he wants to his party, followed by a sincere apology. Please kindly see to it that his party has not been completely ruined by this school board, and that he's still able to enjoy himself with his friends.

A little common sense goes a long way.