A confused dad in the UK has taken to Reddit’s AskUK sub to ask what constitutes “obscene language” after his 11-year-old son was suspended from school. As OP explained, he received a call from his son’s school explaining he’d been suspended for the remainder of the day for saying “obscenely sexual” language in the middle of class. However, the father didn’t think what his kid said was all that bad, even if it was slightly inappropriate. The post sparked a debate between users, many of whom argued about what really constitutes obscenity.
- The word the son used was “teabagging.” As OP explained, the kids were talking about World War I in class and asked his son “what would happen when an enemy soldier was captured in the trenches.” Because the son is a “joker,” he replied, “They teabagged them.”
- The dad admits it wasn’t okay but thinks the teacher took it too far. OP says that while the son should have given a serious answer, he feels it’s “a tad extreme” to call it “obscenely sexual” language and send him home.
- Some people think the son’s version of events probably wasn’t the truth. As one person commented, “I wouldn’t take his word for it, that that’s what he actually said.” However, the dad pointed out that his son wouldn’t tell him what he said and that it was the teacher who did.
- Others thought it was so inappropriate given the topic. While saying “teabagging” isn’t the end of the world, the fact that the son was joking around during a conversation about a horrible point in history was offensive to others. On one hand, it’s just a word etc. “On the other, trench warfare and war in general is horrendous. The teacher is trying to talk about some of the most harrowing things that a human has been through and ensure that children treat that with the necessary gravitas,” one person wrote. “Teaching your kid about context, empathy, and treating serious things with respect is as important (if not more important) as teaching the history itself. As a parent, I’d argue that in this instance it’s an opportunity for you to get on board with that lesson rather than minimizing and pushing back. And you know, sexual violence in war zones is a thing. It’s not a funny thing either.”
- There were plenty of people who thought “teabagging” is definitely “sexually obscene language.” As one commenter pointed out, “You know that tea bagging means dunking your balls on a person’s face repeatedly?” However, playing devil’s advocate, another user was quick to point out that in online gaming, the term is used to define rubbing your victory in another player’s face. Therefore, the son maybe didn’t know the sexual context.
What do you think?
