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Reference Demantoid Today at 16:38:
 "Politically, zero tolerance is what everybody clamours for, until we start to realise how harsh zero tolerance can be," School board member John Mackenzie told AP ahead of the vote.
Has the concept of exercising a bit of common sense never occurred to him?
Actually, I'm with John Mackenzie on this one, The whole point of "Zero Tolerance" is that it is applied severely and equally to everyone. It does not allow any scope for exceptions. The problem is that a lot of people blindly support its introduction without fully appreciating the consequences: I bet the boy's parents were perfectly happy with the "zero tolerance" policy when it was being applied to other people's children...


I tried to make the same point to "The Real BB" when they claimed to introduce "Zero Tolerance" in BB9. It became clear very quickly that he hadn't really thought about what the concept actually meant: it was just a cool term to make it look as if BB was being tough without actually doing anything...
Eugene's Lair
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Reference Moomin Posts19:55:
 But that's all it was - cutlery. The children still have to use a knife and fork to eat, and unless we say anyone in a public place has to eat with their fingers isn't there always going to be that risk?
The problem was not the presence of the cutlery, but the fact that the boy brought a knife into school. The school has decided that if a pupil brings a knife (any knife) into school, they will be suspended.

It may sound harsh, but that's "Zero Tolerance" for you, The whole idea behind the concept is that you punish even the most minor crime severely, so as to prevent minor crimes from turning into major ones.
The parents appear to have supported the introduction of "zero tolerance", so I've no sympathy for them when it get's applied to their son...
Eugene's Lair
Reference: Moomin Today at 20:34:
 I still maybe think the punishment was a bit harsh though.
It probably was, but as I keep saying, that's "zero tolerance" for you. The parents wanted "zero tolerance", so that's what they got.


If something positive comes out of this, it will hopefully be that all those parents who demand that their schools and politicians act tough over "knife crime" will stop for a moment to think about how such demands are met in practise, instead of just blindly supporting whatever looks good on paper...
Eugene's Lair

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