[Winona Online Democracy] Thanks for the column; I'd missed it. There's disease spreading through America that makes people believe that the solution to any problem is to create absurdly strict regulations and ridiculously disproportionate punishments. (See also: Drug War) One wonders where it will all end. >From: "Craig Brooks" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: "onlinedemocracy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Re: [Winona] thoughts on school violence [Zero Tolerance] >Date: Sun, 3 Jun 2001 08:01:23 -0500 > >The comments on what is reasonable or unreasonable in terms of metal >detectors and searches may be missing an issue raised by Columnist Leonard >Pitts in today's Winona Daily News. -- It's on the issue of Zero >Tolerance. >I have copied it below in case anyone missed it in the paper. I think it >is thought provoking and a sad commentary on just how far paranoia and fear >of being libel can take us. > >************************************************************** > > 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: > > > a.. In Ohio, a 13-year-old honor student is suspended for bringing >Midol to school. Violation of zero tolerance drug policy. > > a.. 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. > > a.. In North Carolina, a first-grader is suspended for kissing a >classmate on the cheek. Violation of zero tolerance sexual harassment >policy. > > a.. In Georgia, a sixth-grader is suspended over the 10-inch chain >on her Tweety Bird wallet. Weapons policy. > > a.. In Colorado, a six-year-old is suspended for candy lemon drops. >Drug policy. > > a.. 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 > > > > > > > >© 2001 The Miami Herald and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. >http://www.miami.com/herald _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ---------------- This message was posted to the Winona Online Democracy Project. Please visit http://onlinedemocracy.winona.org to subscribe or unsubscribe. Please sign all messages posted to this list with your actual name. Posting of commercial solicitations is not allowed on this list. Report problems to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
