The Puritans of Massachusetts
One never knows what sort of stories one might encounter in the Wall Street Journal. This week I came across one with the title:
Cigars, a Canceled Lacrosse Season and the Scandal Rocking a Massachusetts Town
It seems some young lads gathered for a photo on a Massachusetts beach in celebration of their high school graduation. However – those lads had cigars in their mouths. And, some of those lads had medals draped over their graduation robes. Those medals were the result of being on the Ipswich High lacrosse team. And, some clueless parent got their hands on this picture and – yep, you guessed it, posted it on Facebook. Took it down fast, apparently, but – too late. A local Puritan saw it, and reported it to the school.
There were six fellows from the lacrosse team in the photo, and, to quote the WSJ, ‘administrators suspended all six from a playoff game two days later for violating state athletic association rules against tobacco use.’
Of course they did. One local resident, echoing Puritans everywhere, is quoted thusly:
“Kids have to learn the consequences when they do something wrong,” she said. “You have to abide by the rules. It just takes one slip [to] ruin everything.”
I absolutely agree that kids have to learn that there will be consequences if they do harm to others.
Another quote from the article:
The digital trail triggered a district investigation that included interviews with students and parents. Authorities said they leaned on the athletic association’s strict chemical health policy, which is incorporated into the Ipswich Student-Athlete Handbook.
Yes, a full investigation was triggered. Lots of well-paid people put time and effort into ascertaining that indeed, those lacrosse players had smoked stogies. And, having determined that they had, well this violated a ‘strict chemical health policy’.
May the Lord deliver us from strict chemical health policies.
There is more, too sad to tell. Some parents jumped in and apparently lied, saying the cigars were actually made of clove, and produced a receipt to show that’s what had been bought. Bogus receipt, it seems. A lacrosse Dad went to the principal’s office, the local cop was called – no fisticuffs, no damage, fortunately. One local is quoted as saying that a cigar is a long-standing HS graduation ritual in Ipswich. Too bad about that chemical health policy.
The battle continues in the little town on social media, naturally.
A final quote from the story: apparently from a social media post:
“The biggest villain in this story has to be the parent that posted the pics to Facebook.”
No. The ‘biggest villain’ is whoever ran to the authorities with those photos after they were posted, and made a stink. No doubt they did this anonymously, so no one but their righteous self and the authorities knows who they are.
That posting parent? Maybe ‘most clueless’.
It is the 21st century, you know? Impossible to imagine any parent could not see down the road to where that posting of the photo(s) was likely to lead. The Puritans are everywhere. Always have been, but now they have the internet as a nice complement to their flaming torches.