Allergic to Minorities

*Warning: This is yet another rant from Alisha.  It's a long one and it might offend you.*

Some of you may have seen my sister Kelly's facebook status yesterday.  If not, here you go: "Kelly Johnson is thinking that maybe there could be a different solution to nut allergies in school...like maybe the kids with the allergies could all eat together in one room...away from any potential nuts. Then my kid could take one of his favorite lunches to school. Just tired of the majority always having to bend to the minority."

Allow me to explain what has caused my wonderful sister to reach the end of her rope on this issue.  My nephew, Zane, is a picky eater.  This is not a judgement, it is a fact.  He refuses to eat sandwiches so one of the only things Kelly has been able to find that he will take for a lunch is Nutella with crackers.  However, apparently one of the kids in his class has a nut allergy so Zane is not supposed to take anything in his lunches that contains nuts.  (Side note: Kelly is currently trying to find out if Zane can have access to a microwave at lunchtime so that she can send pasta, pizza buns, etc. for him.  But last year the teacher told them that they didn't want the kids to have lunches that need to be heated up every day so if it's the same policy this year it throws a monkey wrench in that plan.)  I have no idea how severe this child's nut allergy is.  I don't know if said child must injest something containing nuts, if touching something containing nuts will set off a reaction or if just breathing the same air as someone who has eaten something containing nuts will kill this child.  (I'm not joking.  Apparently some children have airborne nut allergies.  Wow.)

Now that you have the background information, I would like to add a few more things before I start my rant.  I do not know the child with the allergy.  I don't have anything against children or people with allergies.  I think that whoever is making the decisions for the schools needs to look at it on a case by case basis as to what kind of allergy is being dealt with and how severe it is.  I think all children should get an educatoin.  I believe everyone is entitled to their opinion.  That being said, hold on to your computer chair 'cuz here we go with mine.

Why is it so commonplace for the majority to be forced to yield to what the minority wants?

This is an issue that I struggle with a lot.  I try to be open-minded and see things from other people's perspectives, but come on!  It is getting ridiculous, and this whole nut allergy thing that my sister is dealing with is just an example.  I went to school with a boy who had a peanut allergy.  Apparently if he ate something that contained nuts or had come into contact with something that contained nuts his airway would start to close up.  Scary?  Yes.  Life-threatening?  Yes.  But we never had a classroom-wide or school-wide ban on things containing nuts, and he is still alive and healthy today!  His parents taught him about his allergy and how to avoid having a reaction.  Simple: don't trade lunch stuff with other kids because you don't know what's in it.  I also don't recall that he was ever excluded from any holiday parties we had at school because of his allergies, nor were any of our parents ever told that they had to send treats without nuts because someone had an allergy to those things.

I myself am allergic to penicillin.  Granted, when we discovered this allergy I was a child and all that happened was that I broke out in hives.  For all I know I could have grown out of the allergy, or it could have gotten worse with age and it could possibly be life-threatening now.  Either way, I'm not too eager to test it out.  But, because I know about this allergy, I tell doctors and nurses about it whenever necessary.  I don't expect them to deny everyone penicillin if I'm at a clinic or hospital because I could possibly somehow come into contact with it.

Getting back to the whole allergies in school thing.  There is a bigger picture to consider with this issue.  It's not just "How much inconvenience is being caused to the other parents because of one child's allergy?" (because really, the kids probably don't care about what's in their lunch as long as it's something they like to eat)  We also need to consider what we are teaching our children by bowing to the needs of one over the needs of many.  What is the child with the nut allergy learning by having a school or class-wide ban put on nuts just because of them?  They are not learning responsibility for their own actions.  They are learning that the world should be looking out for them.  News flash: that's not how the world is.  The company I work for is large.  About 300 people work in the same building, and I work closely with people who have allergies to food, some that I know about and probably a lot that I don't.  One person I know is allergic to gluten, among other things.  Another person I work with is allergic to eggs.  We often have pot luck lunches (usually at least 1 every few months), but we don't put bans on what the food can and cannot contain.  The person with the gluten allergy just brings their own lunch and will still participate by eating with everyone.  The person with the egg allergy just makes sure to ask people if there are eggs in their dish and if so doesn't eat them.  So if this is how adults handle things like food allergies, why aren't we teaching our children this life skill?

The whole nut allergy ban thing is not where the problem has started, but it's evidence of a much bigger issue.  It goes hand in hand with the whole "suing a fast food chain because my coffee was hot and I spilled it on myself" fiasco.  As my husband likes to tell me, "Common sense isn't so common."  And he's right!  I bought a cheesecake from the grocery store a few months ago with a "may contain nuts" sticker on it.  This may not seem so bad, but it was a PECAN caramel cheesecake.  Come on people!  Take some responsibility for your own actions and choices!

Where do we stop?  If we start banning nut products, then it's only fair that we ban dairy products for those who are lactose intollerant.  And we should probably ban things containing eggs, strawberries and tomatoes since those are also common allergies.  What about those who have allergies not related to food.  My grandmother is allergic to bee and wasp stings.  If she's stung she has about a 30 minute window to get injected with an epipen or get to a hospital for an injection or she'll die.  What if a child has this same allergy?  Should the school then ban recess or the opening of any windows for fear that a bee or wasp might get into the school and sting the child in question?  What if a child has asthma?  Should the school ban running during recess and gym class so that the child in question doesn't have an asthma attack?  Or let's say a child in your community had xeroderma pigmentosum.  Never heard of it?  It's a rare genetic disorder of DNA repair in where the ability to repair damage caused by ultraviolet (UV) light is deficient.  In extreme cases all exposure to sunlight must be forbidden, no matter how small.  So, if this child was in your community should the school be expected to have classes at night to accomodate the child?

It's up to the parents to educate our children on what is dangerous to keep them safe.  Just as you should teach your child that it's dangerous to run into traffic, if they have an allergy you should teach them about it.  You can't and shouldn't expect everyone else to be responsible for your child's safety.  Each parent needs to teach their child to be responsible for themselves and their actions.

As for those who are making the decisions about banning nuts in the school, perhaps they should be evaluating things on a case by case basis.  Perhaps they should consider alternatives to banning the nut products.  Like Kelly suggested in her status, maybe the kid with the allergies could eat their lunch in a separate room so they don't accidentally get nuts on their food.  If the reaction can occur from touching nuts and not just injesting them, perhaps the children should be taught to wash their hands and desks after eating so the child with the allergies doesn't accidentally come into contact with the nuts.  If it's an airborne nut allergy, maybe the parents should consider homeschooling.  If that's not an option, maybe the child should live in a hamster ball.  I know that sounds very insensitive, but it's also very selfish for the parents of a child with a nut allergy to expect all the other children to not have nut products.

Feel free to leave your comments.  I apologize if I've offended anyone with my opinion, but there need to be limits on how far the majority is expected to bend for the minority, especially when it's the severe minority as in this case.