"A black security guard who was fired from Madison’s West High School last week for repeating a racial slur a student had hurled at him, in an attempt to correct the student, will get his job back."

"Interim Superintendent Jane Belmore said she rescinded the termination of Marlon Anderson Monday. The decision comes less than a week after Anderson was fired Wednesday for what he said was defending himself from a student who was calling Anderson the N-word. The incident was followed by days of outrage among community members, a student walkout and national attention.... In a statement, School Board President Gloria Reyes said she asked Belmore to rescind the termination, which stemmed from a zero-tolerance approach by the district on the use of racial slurs by employees. The policy, put in place last year, has resulted in at least seven employees losing their jobs."

The Wisconsin State Journal reports.

That shows that applying pressure works, not that any of these authority figures have good character or judgment. And what are they going to do about the other employees who lost their jobs under the zero tolerance policy? Those former employees shouldn't get worse treatment just because there was no display of outrage on their behalf.

If a contextualized judgment is what was required for Anderson, then it's required for all of them. You don't have a zero tolerance policy if you make exceptions.

The zero tolerance policy began as a device that made life easier for those in power, and their interest in their own comfort is underscored by their caving to pressure when that policy made their life difficult. What we're left with is unprincipled power. Have a clear rule and stick to it or consider all the circumstances for everyone. The school authorities do not deserve the ease of leaving those other cases closed.