There was a news story about a girl selling marijuana laced brownies at a school fundraiser. One young lady had to go to the hospital as a result of ingesting these brownies. I don't have all the details but apparently she had a bad reaction. Anyway, that is what led to the arrest of this person. Now this young person also happened to be a Mexican national . She was in this country legally, on a student visa or whatever. As part of her punishment she is being deported. Naturally there are some that are objecting to this. The arguments being she was an excellent student, had no prior arrests, and was generally a good kid. The argument that got my attention was, she made a mistake.
Now I am not for imposing the maximum sentence on anyone for their first infraction. I do think saying, she made a mistake, is stretching it a bit. She made the brownies,brought them to the fundraiser and sold them, all by mistake ? I'm not buying that, even after eating the brownie ! It is not the punishment in this case that bothers me, it is this attitude. I believe you need to hold people accountable for their actions each and every time. By allowing exceptions and excuses you weaken the law and remove fear of prosecution. In other words, if you let them get away with it once, they will try it again. I believe it is that way with children. I was told the rules and any infraction of those rules was met with immediate consequences. Oh, with that first offense I may have just been reminded, rather sternly, what was expected of me. A second offense met with consequences. There was no excuses. A second chance meant you got punished, just not as bad as it could be ! The threat of what would happen should a third offense take place were severe indeed. I, along with my siblings, had enough sense to not want to find out if what was said was true. It wasn't worth thee risk !
What I am saying here is that people must be held to account. Each and every time, they must be held accountable. If we start allowing infractions because he is a good kid or because she is popular, how can we expect discipline. And isn't that what we are trying to teach here, self discipline and respect. Respect for the rules and respect for ourselves and each other. Years back you would hear about, " tough love " but that has fallen from favor. Now it seems it is all about understanding and forgiveness. Well, you need both. I thought Dad was tough on me sometimes, sometimes I mumbled about his judgement. I dare say there were times when I was less than fond of him and Mom but I respected that authority.
What message are we sending if we allow someone to sell an illegal product that puts someone else in the hospital and then dismiss that as a " mistake ? " That is a little more than a mistake, don't you think ? Putting baking powder instead of baking soda in the brownies is a mistake. Lacing them with marijuana is illegal and no mistake. It was a deliberate act and has consequences.
Now I am not for imposing the maximum sentence on anyone for their first infraction. I do think saying, she made a mistake, is stretching it a bit. She made the brownies,brought them to the fundraiser and sold them, all by mistake ? I'm not buying that, even after eating the brownie ! It is not the punishment in this case that bothers me, it is this attitude. I believe you need to hold people accountable for their actions each and every time. By allowing exceptions and excuses you weaken the law and remove fear of prosecution. In other words, if you let them get away with it once, they will try it again. I believe it is that way with children. I was told the rules and any infraction of those rules was met with immediate consequences. Oh, with that first offense I may have just been reminded, rather sternly, what was expected of me. A second offense met with consequences. There was no excuses. A second chance meant you got punished, just not as bad as it could be ! The threat of what would happen should a third offense take place were severe indeed. I, along with my siblings, had enough sense to not want to find out if what was said was true. It wasn't worth thee risk !
What I am saying here is that people must be held to account. Each and every time, they must be held accountable. If we start allowing infractions because he is a good kid or because she is popular, how can we expect discipline. And isn't that what we are trying to teach here, self discipline and respect. Respect for the rules and respect for ourselves and each other. Years back you would hear about, " tough love " but that has fallen from favor. Now it seems it is all about understanding and forgiveness. Well, you need both. I thought Dad was tough on me sometimes, sometimes I mumbled about his judgement. I dare say there were times when I was less than fond of him and Mom but I respected that authority.
What message are we sending if we allow someone to sell an illegal product that puts someone else in the hospital and then dismiss that as a " mistake ? " That is a little more than a mistake, don't you think ? Putting baking powder instead of baking soda in the brownies is a mistake. Lacing them with marijuana is illegal and no mistake. It was a deliberate act and has consequences.
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