When you hear that a school or business is installing a zero-tolerance policy over something, you think that they are going to crack down on a certain problem. When I was a kid, I thought that when the US government was establishing a zero-tolerance policy on drugs, I was thinking that it was a great thing. But now I have experienced life more and been reading the news of stories about children and my opinion has changed about zero-tolerance policies.
Recently a little girl was talk to her friend about a 'bubble gun' at school. The little girl was suspended from school because she was going to shoot her friend with a pink plastic hello kitty bubble gun. The little girl had to have a two day mental evaluation , of which she was found to be a typical little girl. The gun comment was placed on her school record. Her parents couldn't switch schools because of the gun incident.
I am stunned that this girl was considered a threat to others because she talked about a bubble gun. She didn't even own one. This was purely a school employee hearing something and going to the extreme. I don't care if the country is still recovering mentally from the Sandy Hook school shootings, it doesn't mean that any and all gun talk should be taken seriously. Thinking things through completely before acting upon a situation is always best.
In this zero-tolerance mentality, any and all possible violations of a law are given the same exact treatment. So under this concept the little girl is just as dangerous as the Sandy Hook shooter. Stop and think about that for a moment. A little girl talks about taking her hello kitty bubble gun and spraying her friend with it, and she is considered as dangerous as any mass murderer. Zero-tolerance was meant to close some loopholes and help enforce laws. Zero-tolerance was never meant to stop people from thinking. Billy forgets his cap gun in his coat pocket from the weekend. Monday he discovers it at school, by Monday afternoon he is in police lock-up, the school is still in lock-down, counselors were called to assure the students and teachers that everything is alright. The media get attention of the story and little Billy's life is over before it started. Why because zero-tolerance and zero-thinking turned a student into a cold hearted killer. The teacher couldn't access the situation and take Billy's cap gun away and call his parents.
I think that this mentality is starting to affect society, people are losing their ability to judge a situation. Yes you have to look at the full picture. What is worse, calling a little girl a threat or allowing a killer into the schools? I understand that, but what about the price of freedom? When you can't talk openly or act freely with your friends and peers because something might classify you as a threat. Could the company's zero-tolerance drug policy result in your desk/locker getting searched because you have talked about legalizing marijuana. Are the Schools going to have to tell the little boys that they can't play cowboys and indians because it involves making gun gestures?
What makes each and everyone of use unique is not just how we look, but how we think as well. A person's view of the world and the desires they have make them unique as well. I feel that this zero-tolerance mentality is oppressing some of the creative aspects of humanity. We should have the freedom to talk openly, and what type of world are we living in when a little girl is threat like a killer because of her desire to play with a bubble gun.
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