The Slippery Slope

A quick follow up to the most recent post....despite what I would call better judgement, Shelton High School Headmaster Beth Smith reversed her decision and James Tate is no being allowed to attend the prom.  The deciding factor?  The public outrage and media firestorm...especially that which was broadcast on Facebook and other such social media sites.  Don't get me wrong...I love me some Facbeook.  If there were a support group for FB addicts, I could probably be the facilitator for my local chapter!  But I'm here to tell you that not everyone who has a FB page has an elevator that goes all the way up, you know what I'm saying?  Sure you do!  You've seen certain posts by different FB friends and thought to yourself...even said out loud, "Lawdy, Miz Daisy!  Is she high?"  Or perhaps, "He's been taken over by the pod people!"  Maybe even, "Block!  Block!  Unfriend!  Unfriend!"  And these intellectual pygmies gravitate to one another.  Add in a story gone viral, like the one about our dear Mr. Tate, and it will be critical mass.  Mr. Snark is in an engineer...cut his teeth in the nuclear power world (No...he doesn't glow!)and this is the terminology, that in layman's terms simply means a whole lot of badness in a very short amount of time.  The commenters and posters who actually make lucid points are quickly muted by those who think tinfoil on their windows will block the scanning rays of aliens (as in those from other planets...not the ones from South of the Border)! 

Poor Headmaster Smith....I don't envy her position, but she has to make tough and unpopular decisions everyday.  This one that she made to reverse her decision...not because she felt it was the right thing to do...but because she was influenced by "the voice of the people" was a bad one.  It sets a precedent...a VERY dangerous precedent.  Headmaster Smith has allowed her authority to be undermined by the public...many of whom didn't know Shelton, Connecticut existed until this week.  From now on, every decision she makes regarding student discipline will be scrutinized for loop holes and back doors.  I know...I know...you may think I'm harsh and over-reacting.  What about grace?  What about mercy?  While what Headmaster Smith has done, in reversing her original decision, may LOOK like grace and mercy...it's not.  Had this whole situation been kept in Shelton and not put out there for public fodder, I would be inclined to agree but changing her mind after it hit cyberspace and spread like a bad rash?  That's not mercy...that's concession.

What does this say to the students?  It sends a mixed message.  The rules say this, but the rules don't mean anything.  It says that full acceptance of ALL the consequences of your actions is negotiable.  It says there is no absolute wrong.  It says that the grey area is a nice place to play.

Hope she has some MAD downhill skiing skills...she's going to need them.

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