Censored cupcakes: US school removed toy soldiers from kid’s birthday cake over violence fears

Toy soldiers featured on birthday cupcakes of a nine-year-old US boy have spoiled the appetite of school officials at a Michigan elementary school, whose staff said the cakes were inappropriate in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting.

School officials at Schall Elementary rushed to remove Hunter Fountain’s plastic soldiers, designed to spice up his birthday cupcakes, for fear they were asking for a fight.

The boy’s parents were reportedly chastized for the cakes’ ‘military’ nature; the school principal called Hunter’s mother at home. Principal Susan Wright later issued a public statement saying that in the climate of recent events in schools “we walk a delicate balance in teaching non-violence in our buildings and trying to ensure a safe, peaceful atmosphere.”

“On one hand, there are those who advocate arming teachers, having armed security guards and creating a fortress of defense in our schools. On the other hand, there are those who feel that guns create fear in schools and we need to put solid security measures in place  plus practice routines to be prepared in case an emergency should ever occur. Living in a democratic society entails respect for opposing opinions,” Wright wrote.

She added that “by not permitting toy soldiers on cupcakes at school, no disrespect for our military or for the brave men and women who defend our right to have differences was intended."

“It disgusted me," Casey Fountain, Hunter's father, told Fox News. “It’s vile they lump true American heroes with psychopathic killers. We’re just taking political correctness too far.”

A number of incidents have occurred since the notorious Newtown massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December, when 26 people were dead, 20 of whom children.

In February, a seven-year-old Colorado boy was suspended for pretending to throw an imaginary grenade. According to Alex Evans, he was just trying to save the world from evil  on the school playground.

In January, a five-year-old girl was suspended from a Pennsylvania kindergarten after telling another girl that she was going to shoot her. The weapon she was going to use was a pink toy gun that blows soapy bubbles.

Earlier this year, a six-year-old elementary school kid got suspended for forming a gun with his hands, pointing it at a student and saying ‘pow’. Staff at Roscoe Nix Elementary School in Silver Spring called the action a ‘serious incident'.