Break the Wind, Break the ... Law?!

Okay.

Student arrested for 'passing gas' at Stuart school

Saturday, November 22, 2008

STUART, Fla. (AP) -- A student at a Florida school has been arrested after authorities say he was "passing gas" and turned off his classmates' computers.

According to a report released Friday by the Martin County Sheriff's Office, the 13-year-old boy "continually disrupted his classroom environment" by intentionally breaking wind. He then shut off some computers other students were using.

The Spectrum Junior-Senior High School student was arrested Nov. 4.

A school resource officer placed the boy under arrest after he confessed about his behavior, according to the report. He was charged with disruption of school function and released to his mother.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All right reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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People have passed wind throughout the ages (according to a famous story, the Earl of Essex accidentally farted in front of Queen Elizabeth I and was so embarrassed he went away for seven years), and farting is one of the quintessential methods of generating humor. Joke books and plays from as far back as the Roman Empire and earlier show that.

In school passing gas is the occasion for shame, embarrassment and of course laughs, but this is the first time I've EVER heard of it being the cause of arrest.

This is political correctness and sensitivity run amok. Farting is a bodily function and in some cases is inescapable - people have to vent noxious gases overboard.

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