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Published Saturday, June 2, 2001
Zero tolerance teaches kids there's zero room for
thought``Stupid is as stupid
does'' -- Forrest Gump
It's mildly disappointing but not at all surprising that the promised
protest never came off.
One imagines the students who told their parents they planned to
boycott the high school graduation found themselves facing a high-decibel
lecture that began with, ``Are you out of your mind?'' and ended with, ``I
don't want to hear another word about it!'' Still, I have to admire these
young people who sought to take a stand on behalf of a mistreated
classmate.
By which I mean Lindsay Brown, who was denied the right to
graduate with them. Oh, she had the grades and the credits to do so. She
was a National Merit Scholar. But she ran afoul of ``zero tolerance,''
that '80s buzzword turned millennium policy. Brown, 18, was suspended,
arrested on felony charges and banned from Tuesday's ceremony after a
steak knife was found on the floorboard of her car while it was parked at
the campus. Though Brown is described as a good kid who has never been in
serious trouble, she could lose her college scholarship as a result of the
arrest. Thankfully, the president of Florida Gulf Coast University says
the school will cover her tuition if that happens.
Brown, by the way, says the knife probably fell out of a box while she
was moving into her new place. Sounds reasonable to me. Unfortunately,
zero tolerance doesn't care about what's reasonable. Nor has it any use
for discretion, judgment, common sense, proportionality or any other
fallible human characteristic. Under zero tolerance policies, which came
into vogue in girl with a kitchen knife like one of the Columbine killers.
IN A NUTSHELL
Maybe it seemed a good idea once. But over the years,
zero tolerance has proven one of the most stupid, half-witted, moronic,
stupid, asinine, foolish, stupid, daft, dumb and yes, stupid philosophies
ever imposed upon anyone by anybody, at any time, anywhere. It was
supposed to be a crackdown, but the crackdown has cracked up, creating
idiocy beyond parody. You think Lindsay Brown is unique? Consider these
headlines from recent years:
In Ohio, a 13-year-old honor student is suspended for bringing Midol
to school. Violation of zero tolerance drug policy.
In Washington state, a 10-year-old is expelled for bringing the tiny
toy gun from a GI Joe action figure. Violation of zero tolerance weapons
policy.
In North Carolina, a first-grader is suspended for kissing a classmate
on the cheek. Violation of zero tolerance sexual harassment policy.
In Georgia, a sixth-grader is suspended over the 10-inch chain on her
Tweety Bird wallet. Weapons policy.
In Colorado, a six-year-old is suspended for candy lemon drops. Drug
policy.
In Pennsylvania, a six-year-old is suspended for his Halloween costume
-- a firefighter's get-up, complete with plastic ax. Weapons policy.
JUST A SALVE
Yes, drugs, violence and sexual harassment are all
legitimate -- indeed, pressing -- issues. But I'm impatient with the idea
that this modern McCarthyism demonstrates our concern or teaches our
children anything of value. To the contrary, it demonstrates only our
simple-minded love of the quick fix, our tendency to slap a bandage on a
cancer and call it cured. And as for what it teaches, try intellectual
inflexibility. Try intellectual cowardice.
Lindsay Brown was denied her graduation for no good reason. Somebody
should have had zero tolerance for that. Instead, school officials point
to the fact that they acted only according to the rules, which sounds not
unlike some soldier on trial for atrocities who insists that he was only
following orders. I mean, maybe they've got a point, maybe he does, too,
but at some juncture, don't you have to stand up and take responsibility
for being a human being?
Maybe not. Heck, at some level, this drive to remove discretion from
the process seems to suggest a profound distrust of human beings, the
ability of human people to take opposing factors into account and devise a
solution that is proportional and fair. Instead of trusting us, we trust
the rules. The feeling seems to be that if we just perfect the rules,
follow the rules without deviation, everything will be all right.
I feel like I've awakened in one of those science fiction stories where
the robots have taken over. And you know the ironic part?
We send kids to school to teach them how to think.
Leonard Pitts Jr.'s column runs in Living & Arts every Thursday and
Saturday. Call him toll-free at 888-251-4407.
leonardpitts
@mindspring.com
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