An elementary school in Texas has suspended a fourth-grader for possessing a ring like the one in the Hollywood blockbuster "Lord of The Rings" (LOTR) and threatening to make a classmate vanish.
On Friday, Jan. 31, Kermit Elementary School in Texas suspended 9-year-old Aiden Steward after he got the "one ring" to school and playfully told a classmate it would make them disappear.
Reportedly, on Thursday, Jan. 30, Aiden told a friend that he was able to put the ring on the classmate's head, which would make him invisible just like the fictional Bilbo Baggins in J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy series.
According to the kid's father, Jason Steward, Aiden was likely influenced by the movie in the series -- "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" -- that he had seen over the prior weekend.
When the older Steward confronted the school authorities, principal Roxanne Greer insisted that threats to a child's security would not be tolerated irrespective of whether they were magical or otherwise.
Steward was also told that Aiden's make-believe claims were tantamount to a terrorist threat.
"It sounded unbelievable," said Steward who is certain Aiden "didn't mean anything by it."
Steward also asserts that Aiden "lacks the magical powers necessary to threaten his friend's existence" and even if his son did "he'd bring him right back."
The father also reveals that he is unable to fathom why Kermit Elementary School authorities did not send a complaint letter to his residence and instead suspended Aiden. Steward has asked the school to send across "something in writing" which corroborates that they suspended Aiden and the reason behind the same. Kermit Elementary School has said it will send the letter in the mail.
This is not the first time Aiden has been suspended since the family shifted to Texas in August 2014. He was earlier suspended for calling another student black and getting a children's encyclopedia to school which had a chapter on pregnancy.
Principal Greer has chosen to stay mum on the suspension issue and cites the school's confidentiality policies.
