Warning: political rant. New recipe to come next week sometime.
Paving Stones on the Path to Dystopian Tyranny
Zero Tolerance means:
- Zero Thought Necessary
- Zero Decisions to Make
- Zero Responsibility
- Zero Accountability
It is the administrative bureaucrat’s dream. It is the perfect excuse.
Back in the 1990’s, Zero Tolerance policies were presented
as the best path to Getting Tough on Crime. Any offense, no matter how small,
would be dealt with as if it were the gravest crime, subject to full sanctions
and response by the authorities. That way, supposedly, small problems could
avoid becoming larger ones.
It was all a vicious lie. The point of Zero Tolerance is to
condition us to accept the unacceptable and to sanction government sponsored
abuse of our precious children. Zero Tolerance means Absolute Power. It never stays within the intended bounds. It never fails to corrupt.
Zero Tolerance “No Knives” policies resulted in children being suspended
and/or arrested for possession of nail clippers and plastic flatware with their
lunch. “But a plastic knife is intended for spreading peanut butter, not
mayhem”, you say? No matter, policy says we cannot apply reason. “Intent” may no longer be taken into
consideration.
Zero Tolerance “Drug” policies resulted in teens being suspended and/or
arrested for possessing aspirin. A student can get into serious trouble for carrying a potentially life-saving inhaler without "proper authorization". We are to believe that it is okay to withhold needed treatment because of "policy".
One student was strip searched
because administrators suspected she had ibuprofen in her possession.
In each case, teachers and administrators are able to avoid
any accountability for disgusting, unreasonable acts by pointing to “policy”. They are just
following orders.
As Zero Tolerance policies and behaviors progress, the definition of
“offense” has been expanded to include more and more normal behaviors exhibited
by normal school children. Temper tantrums, which might have resulted in
removal from the classroom and a stern lecture from a counselor or the
principal, now result in handcuffs and court appearances. Teenage highjinks
and pranks, which in the past would have earned a few hours in detention, now
result in criminal records.
Last March, a Maryland seven-year-old was suspended for
unwittingly eating his pastry into the shape of a gun. He was attempting to chew out a mountain. His teacher and principal responded with hysterics, removed
him from the classroom, and suspended him for being “threatening”. This was
done without regard for the fact that no one, besides the teacher, felt
threatened in any way by the pop tart sculpture. The principal of Park Elementary claims he bears no
responsibility whatsoever for his ridiculous, asinine reaction.
Policy, don’t you know? Just following orders.
The teacher was not responsible.
The principal was not responsible.
Only the child was responsible.
Let me repeat this: The adults are not responsible
any more. Only children are to be held responsible.
Zero Tolerance is a conditioning program. It is meant to
condition school workers to accept whatever edicts the state hands down, no
matter how evil they might be. Anything can be designated an offense
worthy of mistreatment from here on in. We parents, teachers,
principals, and members of society, are being conditioned to tolerate the
systematic abuse of our most vulnerable. If we let them have our children, we'll tolerate anything.
Zero Tolerance is a paving stone on the path to tyranny. It
is part of the larger campaign to incrementally remove all vestiges of justice
in our society. No longer will judgment be permitted in the adjudication of
criminality. Do not question. Do not reason. Follow policy. Follow orders.
It is through ideas like Zero Tolerance that we are
conditioned to look the other way when gross injustice is perpetrated.
We must not accept this outrage. We must not condone the
removal of accountability. We cannot look the other way.
The Nazi concentration camp guards were following “policy”
too. We are headed down that road. Let us turn around.
Evil triumphs when good people do nothing.
Let’s tell evil to take a hike. No more "Zero Tolerance".
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