Where is the "Common Sense"?

A 9 year old boy, Patrick Timoney, was almost suspended earlier this week for bringing a 2-inch lego toy gun to school. The boy was called into the principal's office for bringing in this "weapon" and was severly scolded, and if the principal had had her way, suspended. Timoney's mother was outraged about this and was "in disbelief" that the school had reacted in such a ridiculous manner. After a talk with the principal, all charges were dropped for the boy, but Timoney's mother said that she was outraged and was considering sueing. I wrote this blog to highlight how irrational and sometimes ridicuolous school policy can be, and wonder why people follow such procedures sometimes. I doubt the boy was going to shoot anyone with his lego "gun". I ask: Is it right to follow rules and regulations, even if they make absolutely no sense or are completely unecessary? Would it have been justified by the principal to punish the boy, as the rules stated she should, or should she have ignored this minor "infraction"? Why is it that sometimes people follow blindly, like in "The Crucible". Truly, "where is the common sense"?