I’ve heard some stories about schools with zero tolerance. Bullying victims soon found out that you get equal punishment for defending themselves or for some serious violence. The logical response is to go full berserker mode.
“So, Kid A jumped Kid B in the hallway, called them a bigoted slur, then beat Kid B so badly he had to go to the hospital. Kid B tried to fight back, but was overwhelmed. Our solution is that kids are going to be suspended for an equal amount of time and suffer equal repercussions, because zero tolerance.”
Zero tolerance is the absence of humanity as a policy. It’s abhorrent.
“Zero tolerance” is just a code word for “zero brain cells.”
And it’s not just stupid on the part of school administrators, it’s actively cowardly. Just insist that right and wrong don’t matter and no one can hold you accountable for anything.
Totally.
My mom would always ask, “Why didn’t you walk away?” And I would respond “I get suspended either way, at least this way everyone knows not to fuck with me.”
I am so glad I haven’t had to hit someone in a long time.
Back when I was in school, I was bullied so bad it resulted in multiple head injuries and even a broken arm.
My parents tried to complain to the school but got nowhere, so they went to the local newspaper. I was interviewed, so were other kids at my school. The story was pulled from the paper at the request of the school superintendent.
Years later after I graduated, I saw a documentary on Amazon about school bullying, and it featured the very same school!
Anti-bullying policies at schools aren’t meant to protect victims. But they aren’t meant to protect perpetrators either.
They are instead meant to protect the school administration, notably from having to actually assign fault in bullying situations. They can simply say “zero tolerance,” punish all parties equally, and wash their hands of it.
And then a school shooting happens and the reputation is more than tarnished
It’s lawsuits, not reputation, the administration is worried about.
Teachers, however, actually care about human development, and attempt the impossible job of steering students in the right direction.
The teachers at my school sometimes bullied the students. I wasn’t one of them, but I can’t imagine how horrible it must have been for those kids. They were targeted for their appearance and poor grades by kids and adults alike. Yeah, they were cringe kids whose moms dressed them and did their homework for them, but come on.
Anyway, bad (and abusive) teachers exist and it’s not just an apathetic admin team that causes this issue. It’s not always about liability or reputation, some adults are just awful to kids because their own lives suck and/or they get off on the power.
