October 22, 2003
I suspect the whole idea of "common sense" is repugnant to Leftists.
From today's Best of the Web:
Zero-Tolerance WatchNO! The rules do not fall apart if common-sense exceptions are made. What might fall apart is the Leftizoid belief that ordinary people are cattle who must be controlled by wise bureaucrats. The sort of belief held by people who say "the voters are morons" Posted by John Weidner at October 22, 2003 03:50 PM | TrackBackThirteen-year-old Christina Lough, a straight-A student at Garland McMeans Junior High in Katy, Texas, was ordered to attend a "special disciplinary class" for seven days and stripped of her posts as president of the student council and the honor society. Her crime: bringing a pencil sharpener to school.Christian's mother, Sumi Lough, had brought the sharpener, a two-inch blade that folds into a small handle, from her native South Korea. "District officials said they had no choice but to follow their zero-tolerance policy to the letter," reports the Houston Chronicle, quoting school district lawyer Christopher Gilbert: "If we vary from the rules, that's when the rules fall apart."
I'd like to know what kind of sharpener it is. If it is one of those plastic dealies, then this is dumb. If it is an actual knife, though, there might well be an argument...
Posted by: Andrew Cory at October 23, 2003 10:53 AMIt's described as a knife with a 2" blade. There's nothing wrong with forbidding them at school, but it's the lunatic inflexibility that gripes me.
A judge in a criminal court would take into account the obvious fact that this girl intended no harm and had no criminal record; but not the school...
There are a lot of these things now--Best of the Web has at least one every day. Like the recent case of two kids with bad asthma. One kid forgets her inhaler, has an attack, and the other loans her his inhaler. The exact same prescription. They were both expelled for drug abuse...
Posted by: John Weidner at October 24, 2003 07:01 PM
