And this ridiculous world gets more ridiculous still... First, "Merry Christmas" was banned from the public lexicon. Now, it's "Bless You" after a California teacher docked one of his student's marks on a test for "blessing" a fellow student who'd sneezed.
As one student said, "Man, you gonna lose points if you say bless you in the classroom. Man, that's messed up."
That is, indeed, messed up.
After so many parents and students complained the punishment violated the First Amendment, the high school principal, Cliff DeGraw, promised no one would be penalized.
While "Bless you" originally had its roots in Catholicism (a sneeze was believed to dispel evil spirits from a person's body), the expression is essentially meaningless today. More an endearment than anything.
According to thenydailynews.com, the teacher claims he penalized the student, not for using the phrase itself, but for causing a disruption in the classroom.
The school administration is still investigating the incident.
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