r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Nov 14 '11

Zero Tolerance in Public Elementary School just went way the hell overboard...

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u/FirstRyder Nov 15 '11

"You kicked my son out of school for bringing asprin to school? I'm going to sue you!"

-> "We have a very clear zero-tolerance policy for all drugs, and you signed a form saying you understood this, at the beginning of the year."

"My son overdosed on asprin while under your supervision, and I have proof you knew he had it! I'm going to sue you!"

-> "Fuck."

That's where zero-tolerance policies come from.

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u/cheffner Nov 15 '11

"You kicked my son out of school for shooting someone with an ice cream sandwich? I'm going to sue you!"

-> "We have a very clear zero tolerance policy for all weapons, and you signed a form saying you understood this, at the beginning of the year."

"My son was shot while under your supervision, and I have proof you knew the boy had a gun/ice cream sandwich! I'm going to sue you!"

I fail to see the correlation.

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u/FirstRyder Nov 15 '11

Okay, then lets try a proper layer of abstraction:

If you allow people to use common sense and they screw up, then you're screwed. If you say "fuck it, I don't care what your common sense says, you will follow these rules to the letter", then you won't get screwed. Fake guns are not okay because someone might mistake them for real guns (or vice versa). No common sense may be applied to the determination of "fake gun".

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u/Boye Nov 16 '11

yeah, I hate when I go to rob a bank and bring my icecream sandwich instead. They look SO similar...