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Zero tolerance is used so that mindless politicians/administrators/leaders can wash their hands of the tough decisions and pass judgement without carrying the burden of judgement on their shoulders.
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Exactly! Why do we have courts with judges? Why do schools have administrators? What supposedly separates human beings from even the most advanced computers is that we don't just follow a set of rules; we look at situations and can determine intent, consequences, etc. We can reason that, if that kid had a machete to hack apart a few classmates, that's bad. But if he had the machete because he forgot it was in his truck, who the hell cares?
By having zero tolerance rules, we reduce ourselves to mindless automatons -- "Yes, the punishment may seem pretty severe. But, hey, those are the rules. What can we do about it?" We're not computers whose actions are dictated by lines of code; we're sentient beings who can use our intelligence and our morality to determine between right and wrong. But I guess those concepts are entirely too advanced for the run of the mill rule maker. Common sense has gone out the window and we just follow a bunch of mindless "If...then..." statements.
The really frightening thing is that the rules are written by people. But for some reason, people don't (or won't) realize that you can change the rules. Hell, there's even a process to amend (and repeal portions of) our Constitution. But a school policy of zero tolerance, hell, that's engraved in stone.
I think a lot of people are lazy -- in that they want to avoid application of thought and responsibility. They let somebody else think about it. They let somebody else make up the rules. And then they just follow along. In return for a "comfortable" existence, they would trade what makes them innately human.
Quoted:
Sorry. I guess they found a hot button of mine.
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It's not just a hot button of yours.