The Growing Police State: Sunburn Edition

Leave it to Liberal La-La land to come up with something this stupid.  In Tacoma, Washington, two girls were at an all day school function (presumably outside).  The day had been rainy, but the sun decided to come out and play later.  However- due to a school policy (the school claims it is a state wide policy) the girls we neither allowed to apply sunscreen, nor have a teacher do the same.

Yes.  Really.

Apparently, our teachers are so untrustworthy that they might rape our children at any moment, and the temptation of putting sunscreen on their faces and shoulders is simply too much.  Similarly, it is apparent that our children are too irresponsible to put on sunscreen themselves.

From the article:

Their mother said seeing her girls walk through the door was a moment she'll never forget. “It was horrifying to see (Violet’s) bright red face. There were welts, she was swollen and then I saw Zoe's shoulders. It was absolutely painful and gut-wrenching to look at. I was horrified.”

The school said that the state-wide policy was "because the additives in lotions and sunscreens can cause an allergic reaction in children, and sunscreens are regulated by the FDA as an over-the-counter drug."

Okay, let's break down this stupidity.  The girls were 9 & 12 at the time.  By 9 years old, my brother (who had allergies bad enough he had to get regular shots) knew the things to which he was allergic.  Had someone asked him to, say, dig through a pile of cut grass, he would have known enough to tell them he was allergic.  I sincerely doubt that any child who was allergic to common sunscreens would not know- and therefore they would not be stupid enough to handle the sunscreen.

I've had a few sunburns in my time.  Indeed, just last summer I had one so bad that it left my back itching so badly that I literally could not sleep.  Now, I got mine because I was stupid.  But from the mom's description, one of the girls had one nearly as bad- and maybe worse- than mine, and she got it because the school was stupid.

The original article goes on to say that the school is changing its policy under a "new law."  I rather suspect they were blowing smoke about the "state law" in the first place.  However, whatever the reason, the policy is changing, and apparently for the better.

I am still amazed that it took something like this for those Nanny-Staters to realize that preventing someone from putting on sunscreen might be a bad plan.

h/t to @tsrblke on Twitter.