Culture

Little Girl in trouble for bringing Wonder Woman lunchbox to school

 Jonah Goldberg writes about a little girl who got in trouble with school authorities for bringing a Wonder Woman lunchbox to school (front and back pictured at right). Why the trouble? Because the school’s policy is that children may not wear clothes or carry gear with pictures of persons who use violence to solve problems. So Wonder Woman was ruled out of order. Jonah Goldberg’s commentary is spot-on. He writes:

If you know anything about superheroes, the underlying morality is pretty much everything. Supervillains use their powers for evil ends. Superheroes use theirs to protect the vulnerable and uphold the good. Teaching kids that there’s no difference between the two is the very opposite of moral education.

It reminds me of William F. Buckley’s famous retort to those who claimed there was no moral distinction between the United States and the Soviet Union. If you have one man who pushes old ladies in front of oncoming buses, Buckley explained, and you have another man who pushes old ladies out of the way of oncoming buses, it simply will not do to describe them both as the sorts of men who push old ladies around.

A country, and a civilization, that actively chooses to render such distinctions meaningless has lost the confidence to sustain itself.

Read the rest here.

12 Comments

  • Ian Shaw

    Funny, I never saw Linda Carter really pummeling her enemies…..

    This sick, twisted individual that created the school policy clearly has no idea about superheroes.

    • michelle vaughn

      But that person doesn’t exist, because that policy doesn’t seem to exist. So, the outrage over the policy is essentially dishonest, isn’t it?

  • Curt Day

    Then again, Buckley was either blind to or deliberately whitewashed American crimes during the Cold War.

    But part of the problem we see today as with this little girl being in trouble can be explained by noting new approach and rules that seek to correct the deficiencies of old approach and rules sometimes use all-or-nothing thinking and thus are unable to make good and necessary distinctions.

    • Curt Day

      I also have an idea for a new comic, new to the comics that is. It can be called Rich Young Ruler man. Here, one can be creative as one wants as long as they use the Biblical parable on the Rich Young Ruler as a guide.

  • Michelle Vaughn

    Is this story true? I don’t think so, and snopes agrees ( http://m.snopes.com/wonder-woman-lunchbox/)

    It also appears that Jonah Goldberg made no effort to investigate this improbable rumor before passing it on as evidence of political correctness run amok. Unfortunately, neither did you.

    Mr. Goldberg’s is a political pundit. We don’t expect him to be scrupulous with the truth; spinning rumors is pretty much his job.

    We are Christians, though, and we’re about truth. No matter how well a rumor fits our narrative or makes our point, our Boss demands we stick to the truth.

    • Gus Nelson

      Michelle: I agree wholeheartedly that if the story is a fraud, we must not use it, even if it makes an appropriate point. The ends don’t justify the means.

  • Ian Shaw

    Unless you agree with the article in the Houston Press back in May, which was titled, “That awkward moment when you realize Heath Ledger’s Joker was the hero”. It was pretty convincing actually….

  • Christiane Smith

    I suppose if it were true, the offended parties would come forward openly . . . because the lack of actual information is so bizarre, I have to think it’s probably a hoax. Why? Pot stirring, I suppose. OR, could be someone has got a boat load of Wonder Woman lunch boxes to sell and couldn’t think of a better attention-getter. πŸ™‚

    (As a former teacher, I can tell you that not many school systems or even private schools are so unprofessional as to forego using formal titles when addressing parents or guardians of students. And as far as this country’s public schools, they have enough serious troubles to worry about that are REAL and something like this lunch box caper wouldn’t measure up as important by comparison.)

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