A fourth grader in Texas was expelled from elementary school because, in the eyes of the school administration, he threatened a classmate with “the one ring” from Lord of the Rings. He told a friend he could make him disappear. Quite a terrorist act, in a way.
Jason Steward, the father of the fourth grader, shared this bizarre yet true story with a newspaper in Texas last week. His nine-year-old son had watched the third part of The Hobbit over the weekend (The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies). The next day, he brought a ring to school and told a classmate he could make him disappear if he put on the ring.
As a result, the student was expelled from school with the announcement from the principal that threatening other children would not be tolerated, regardless of whether those threats were of a magical or other nature.
As the boy’s father assured the newspaper, his son does not possess the necessary magical abilities to make his friend disappear. And if he did make him disappear, he would certainly bring him back right away.
