ZERO TOLERANCE POLICIES : PROFESSOR HU CHI KU CHI FINALLY SPEAKS OUT.........

Without a shadow of doubt it is a FLAWED CONCEPT and should be scrapped. It flies in the face of wisdom handed down over the centuries , and the most recent reports on its use in schools , work situations and policing paint a damning indictment. " Why bother with it ? " one might ask ? Why indeed. Well, allow me to make the following observations about zero tolerance policies :
- often target the wrong behaviour and punish the wrong people
- sound like a good idea in theory but in practice they go very , very wrong
- force administrators to show no tolerance for things which do require a degree of tolerance
- encourage discrimination by opening the doors that allow anybody to be got at
- play into the hands of unscrupulous people who will target certain individuals 
- help create a climate of fear since any violation will be observed and ruthlessly dealt with
- fail to take into account the particular circumstances of the case
- fail to embrace the principle of " mitigating factors " so essential in administering justice
- have proven to be a minefield of unintended consequences
- are potentially dangerous if administered by the spiteful and vindictive people
- are inherently and morally wrong
- may be right in some cases, but these are few and far between
- by attempting to create unambiguous statements about right and wrong , true justice becomes
  impossible objective
- usurp common sense in that they stand for zero discretion
- fail to provide safeguards for the innocent
- imply ( by the use of the word " zero" ) that any behaviour deemed unacceptable is wrong
  from the start , an absurd concept which can never be right
- adopt a heavy-handed approach to problems often best solved by a softly , softly one 
- are nothing more than psychotic in nature , in the strict sense of the word : where     
  psychotic means " out of touch with reality "  

So no, I am not in favour of zero tolerance polices .  Less tolerance yes. Measured tolerance yes. But " zero " smacks of medieval justice and hanging a starving child for stealing a piece of bread. If behaviour in bridge clubs has sunk to a level where administrators believe zero tolerance is the solution , then there is no hope at all for the survival of the game. One evil simply replacing another does not make any logical sense. Zero tolerance is a totally flawed concept.

( Footnote : One famous quote by Jean Jacques Rousseau always sticks in my mind : " Do not judge , and you will never be mistaken " )