“Snow White”? What the hell could be wrong with “Snow White”? Apparently enough that the principal of Robert Frost Elementary in Kirkland, WA demanded that theater organization Studio East make some changes before their production “Snow White in The Black Forest” went live:

Some parents are upset that Principal Sue Anne Sullivan asked the play’s directors to remove parts of the script that violate the schools’ human-dignity and anti-bullying policies. Cuts included the name of the character “DimWitty,” making the “crazy gesture” — rotating the index finger near the ear, and lines of a song about being proud of being curvy.

“Our concern was that in certain instances, the specific nature and/or degree of put-downs for humorous purposes was excessive or inappropriate,” said Sullivan, stressing that the objections had come from several teachers.

And this isn’t the first time. Studio East’s production of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” was eighty-sixed when the school demanded too many changes. For “Snow White,” Studio East had to remove the character name “DimWitty,” the use of the word “stupid,” references to a character being “senile,” a song about a woman who’s proud to be curvy, and as bit where a character makes “the ‘crazy gesture’ – rotating the finger next to the ear.” (After decades of use, we don’t have a name for that??)

Next at Robert Frost Elementary, we’ll be showing A Christmas Story – but edited to remove characters eating soap, Ralphie beating up Scut Farkas, and any and all references to the Leg Lamp. Oh,. and that bit where Santa kicks Ralphie down the slide? That’s right out.

The school maintains it wants to eliminate bullying and name-calling. Hey, as a formerly bullied kid, I’m all over that. But you don’t deny to kids that bullies exist. You protect them when bullies strike out. A kid’s not going to hear the word “stupid” in this play and think to himself, “Hey…I could use that to steal Billy Arnold’s lunch money!” The problem with schools hasn’t been that they don’t teach kids to be sensitive and kind, but that they turn a blind eye when the little pissants tease and beat the shit out of the pack’s weakest members.

Think of the ripple effect. If kids can’t be exposed to the word “stupid” or shown bullying behavior, what classic works will Robert Frost pitch in the shredder? By the school’s standards, Horton Hears a Hoo! earns a spot on the Banned Books list – it’s all about bullying! The kangaroo threatens to boil an ENTIRE CIVILIZATION! What kind of example does THAT set, huh??

Stories sometimes depict bad behavior to teach good lessons. Too bad that simple fact is lost on the scions of Robert Frost Elementary.

censorship, free speech, kirkland, school, school play, snow white, washington state