Teen Girl Suspended for Saying ‘Bless You’ After Classmate Sneezed

Not to be outdone by
Summerville High School in South Carolina—where
writing about shooting dinosaurs can get you arrested—Dyer
County High School in Tennessee has suspended a teenage girl for
saying “bless you” after a classmate sneezed.

That’s according to the girl’s account of events,
reports CBS Charlotte:

Kendra Turner, a senior at Dyer County High School, said
bless you to her classmate who sneezed and the teacher told her
that the term was for church.

“She said that we’re not going to have godly speaking in
her class and that’s when I said we have a constitutional
right,” Turner told WMC.

When she defended her actions, the teacher told Turner to see an
administrator. The student said that she had to finish
the class period in in-school suspension.

The girl’s parents were told by school leaders that
their daughter shouted “bless you” across the room and that it was
a classroom distraction.

School officials told her parents Tuesday that the teacher
claimed that their daughter was aggressive and disruptive.

If she was truly aggressive and disruptive, I suppose that’s
grounds for suspension. Maybe the girl was looking for a showdown,
and knew this was the best way to get one.

But given all the nonsensical excuses school administrators find
to hand out suspensions, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the
officials are the ones exaggerating matters.