[Winona Online Democracy] Hello Winona Online Democracy, I think Andrew Thompson hit the nail right on the head (again). When will it all end? Our freedoms and liberties are not taken away in one fell swoop, they are eroded away bit-by-bit. I've walked through metal detectors without fuss. At the same time, while they be appopriate in airplanes, they are not appropriate in all places and for all reasons. If we ignore our rights, they will go away....bit by bit by bit....until one day our grandchildren will be born into a very strange and different kind of world. (Heck, look at how passive and ignorant we are about the history and politics behind mega corporations and their control of our democracy and lives.) In Huxley's "Brave New World" he talks of people who come to love their oppresion. So much of that early 1900's science fiction appears to be coming true. (While Orwell's "1984" and the Big Brother image is more widely known, I think Huxley's visions are more appropriate for America circa the year 2000.) Thank you Andrew, David, and Dan for being so vigilant. People train guard dogs to bark at the first sounds of danger but then we resent them for the sound they make. Please continue to guard our rights and basic human dignity. :-> Dwayne Voegeli =============================== >[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] > ---------------- This message was posted to the Winona Online Democracy Project. 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