Before the era of zero tolerance, a kid with a great future ahead could not screw it all up by making one simple mistake. .
The line that zero tolerance crosses is one of intent. Zero tolerance looks only at the offense that has been made, not at the circumstances that brought it about. If someone with no intent of doing something unlawful accidentally commits a crime, they are punished equally with one who deliberately inflicts harm. .
So how did zero tolerance laws come about? When major incidences of school disruption, like the Columbine shooting, started occurring, school officials decided they needed to start cracking down on discipline. After realizing certain things were starting to get out of hand, the federal government made it mandatory for, "[.] a zero tolerance policy toward the possession of illegal drugs and weapons on school grounds," (Copenhaver 1).
In the beginning days of zero tolerance, the laws truly did focus on behavior that could be deemed dangerous and criminal, and required a mandatory expulsion for having a gun on school property. However, since it's origin, the policies have expanded to include infractions that pose no actual threat to any person, including the individual that broke the rule. Zero tolerance has even gone so far as to define, "[.] aspirin, Alka-Seltzer, and Certs as 'drugs' and paper clips, nail files, and scissors as 'weapons'," which puts an incredible amount of innocent students at risk for suspension or expulsion (Wright 1).
With the zero tolerance policy, the government is harming kids a lot more than they are helping protect anyone. It is truly just good politics for them to say they are cracking down on everything to protect our kids, when in fact they are just accelerating the path to deliquency that many of these students are already at risk for. When suspended or expelled from school, kids are placed into an environment with a lack of adult supervision and are exposed to many opportunities to get into even more trouble.
This is an imperfect world, and there are no perfect solutions to murder, but the least society can do is take a "zero tolerance" position on the taking of human life. ... Ultimately, death penalty proponents believe that there is absolute evil, and that society must therefore deal with it in the most firmest way. ...
This is shown in Snow White and Cinderella where there is an evil stepmother who seems to be occult (Kuntz 1). ... In the book Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the evil, gothic Professor Snape feeds a poisonus potion like a magical drink, in the act of trying to kill the toad Trevor (Rowling 41). ... Children should learn to understand violence, that there is zero tolerance as it will hinder the development of a good adult. ...
The book makes mention of the Zero Tolerance rule that was instituted into schools across the country after the Columbine incident. ... We have to teach them all we can about good and evil and hope they make the right choices. ...
The United States must continue to be convinced that the practice of torture is evil and ultimately ineffective. ... As President of the United States, I want to continue to make sure that there is a zero tolerance policy against torture. ...
Other countries, such as Iraq, Iran, and North Korea, as described in reference to the "axis of evil" President Bush has mentioned, are a threat because of their known support for terrorist groups and/or building of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. ... The U.S. has a history with every person or place mentioned, so the U.S. should have zero tolerance for any act of terrorism. ...
"Zero tolerance" laws throughout the nation have resulted in the decay of the constitution's Due Process clause. ... The old saying that "Money is the root of all evil" definitely stands true in the world, but especially so in the drug world. ...
"Love Sucks No, I don't believe in love at first sight because love is an evil plot to make people buy alcohol and firearms. ... The culture that he grew up was in itself pretty violent, his surroundings were full of guns, although his parents had a zero tolerance for violence, we find out that Kips dad owned a gun himself. ...
Many organizations are trying to find ways to better educate their employees and to incorporate a zero tolerance policy when it comes to sexual harassment. ... In order to prepare an organization for zero tolerance with sexual harassment issues managers must first train all employees. ... "It's a "hear-no-evil, see-no-evil" attitude that's been a big problem in the workplace." ...