Monday, February 06, 2012

'Rape Tag' Game at Minnesota Elementary School

Given the sexualization of children in public schools coupled with pornographic exposure on TV and other media, it's not surprising that pre-pubescent kids would invent a game focused on sexual abuse.


-- From "Minnesota 5th-graders caught playing 'rape tag' during recess" by The Associated Press 2/4/12

Administrators at a New Ulm elementary school have contacted parents of fifth-grade students after some children played a disturbing recess game they call "rape tag."

A letter from Washington Elementary School Principal Bill Sprung went home to parents this week. Sprung says 15 to 20 students were involved in the game. The Journal reports the game is similar to freeze tag, but it involves hip thrusts to unfreeze a person after he or she is tagged.

About 15 to 20 parents have contacted Sprung after the letter was sent home. He says they're disturbed that they now need to talk about sexually-explicit issues with their children.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Fifth-graders get caught playing ‘rape tag’" by Amy Graff, San Francisco Chronicle 2/3/12

A concerned parent brought the activity to the attention of the principal of Washington Elementary School in New Ulm, and Bill Sprung quickly addressed the matter by sending a letter home to families. False rumors about the game were popping up on Facebook and principal Sprung wanted to get the facts in parents’ hands to stop the spreading of misinformation.

Likely the children at this school didn’t understand what rape means. Some kid picked up the word from television or the Internet and knew that it was related to sex. Kids think humping and sex is weird and silly and enjoy joking about it. It’s just upsetting that kids are familiar with the word rape at such an early age, whether they understand the meaning or not.

To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.

Scroll through principal's letter to parents, below: