Will be reposting the pictures soon.

Well, at the end of last month, Zachary brought a camping utensil (spoon, fork, bottle opener, and knife) to school to eat lunch with. A teacher sees it and busts him right away. When asked what it was for he straight up told the teacher it was to eat lunch with. Well, the principal was notified and suspended Zachary since the Christina School District (in which Downes Elementary School is located) has a zero tolerance policy on weapons.

The School District committee recommended that Zachary be alternatively placed at The Douglass School, a reform school for juvenile delinquents. This is the same school where they place children who have severe behavioral problems and who are guilty of such offenses as assault and battery, rape, drug offenses, concealing a deadly weapon, and more. [sarcasm]Sounds like he REALLY needs to go there! Little Zachary is a threat that needs to be dealt with![/sarcasm] I think a move like that would take this great little boy and turn him into something that he would never have been. SIX YEARS OLD? WHAT THE FUCK?

It’s amazing how blind adherence to the letter of the law can be so messed up and WRONG. Zero tolerance policies ALWAYS catch the innocent. They’re about as smart as the TSA’s policies of what constitutes a threat on U.S. airplanes. Policies like this always need to be examined and evaluated in every situation. And despite Delaware legislation (HB 120) that calls for school districts to use sound judgment in reviewing these cases, the Christina School District continues to follow their policies blindly.

So, do you want to help Zachary now? Go to the Help Zachary web site at http://helpzachary.com to get more on the story and what you can do to help!

If you’re on Twitter, you can join in here and use the hashtag #helpzachary.

LOCAL PEOPLE to the area can go to the School Board meeting and make your voice heard! (TOMORROW) October 13, 2009. General Business Meeting, 7:30 pm at the Porter Road Elementary School, 500 Caledonia Way, Bear, DE.

Other great “zero tolerance” policies in history: The Crusades, The Spanish Inquisition, Salem Witch Trials, slavery in America up through the 19th Century, Prohibition of Alcohol from the 18th Amendment, The Holocaust, Segregation in the U.S., genocide in Rwanda & Serbia… Should I go on?