Hopefully, the mercy compassion, humanity and wisdom displayed by George Ricks and Karista Mosley will instill the same in those 42,000 other students. Something taught in both the Old Testament and New. Something it obviously failed to instill in many of its dedicated followers.
"Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy."----New Testament: Mathew, v, 7
"Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." --- Old Testament: Psalms lxxxv, 10
And Shakespeare, always Shakespeare. Even he weighed in on mercy:
"The quality of mercy is not strain'd
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes;
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred way;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice.
-----SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616) Merchant of Venice, IV, i, 184
The problem isn't youth cutting up and acting out like youth are sometimes prone to do. The problem is school zero tolerance policies that have destroyed so many young lives, and created a hostile and volatile learning atmosphere in many schools. In schools where those policies are rarely enforced they have fewer problems; academically and socially. As Mr. Ricks suggested, we've all done stupid stuff as youth. So have his and Ms. Mosley's attacker(s).
Thankfully, I no longer have children in school. So much mean anger and outright hatefulness.
Brenda Washington
* * *
Ms. Washington,
I normally don’t respond to you, but this time, I must. Please allow me to point out the normal flaw in your ‘logic’. There are rules at school and laws in society. They must be followed, period.
These rules and laws are for the benefit of the majority of society. They help to keep order and safety among the people of society. Those who willingly choose to ignore or break the rules and laws must suffer the consequences of their own actions. We cannot allow anyone to break the rules or laws without consequence. It doesn’t matter if that is a child, or an adult. It doesn’t matter if is it a white, black, red, yellow, green, purple, or polka-dotted person, nor does it matter what neighborhood they live in or break the law in. The laws are the same for all people, no matter what you choose to think.
If we allow this one student to come to school under the influence, then we are telling all the other 42,000 students that they could also come to school under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and we will have total anarchy. Therefore, Zero Tolerance Policies set the standard of behavior. This is what happens when children are allowed to do as they choose, and are not taught right from wrong. If children know the difference between right and wrong, have respect for themselves, each other and their teachers, and come to school willing and ready to learn, the learning atmosphere will be pleasant and challenging, not hostile and volatile. Visit schools where discipline is practiced, their atmosphere is not like the schools where children run rampant without enforced behavior policies.
According to your many posts, most people who break the law should be forgiven, never punished. Maybe that is why we have so many people shooting each other, many of them young people.
Where is your outrage over the shootings happening almost daily in Chattanooga neighborhoods? You often say these young people shouldn’t be in jail. If they were in jail, they wouldn’t be shooting people. Are these the “youth you think are cutting up and acting out like youth are sometimes prone to do”? No, they are breaking the law. They own illegal firearms and they are using them illegally, without regard to anything or anyone.
Why aren’t you writing opinion pieces lamenting the senseless shootings, especially of the two innocent people who were minding their own business in their own homes that were shot by the gangs retaliating against each other without regard to anyone else?
In Judges 17:6 the Bible says: In those days, there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Deuteronomy 12:8 says: You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes. There was anarchy, so the Lord God set judges over the land and the people to keep order and justice. We have laws, we must follow them.
Pamela N. Stone
* * *
Congratulations to the Hamilton County Board of Education for upholding their zero tolerance policy concerning drunken students on campus. And “onions” to those who habitually whine and moan about these irresponsible students deserving second chances for their stupid actions. I wonder how many chances the subject of this incident has already been given?
And please remember this, not everyone actually deserves a second chance. It will probably be more beneficial for these “misguided youths” to experience some of the consequences of their early-in-life errors. Maybe they will learn a lesson soon enough to set them straight. But, maybe not.
Also, keep in mind those students who come to class each day, sober and ready to learn. They deserve to have a safe and clean atmosphere at school each day.
Tom Williams