Good-friggin-grief.
You know when this mentality started? It started with the acceptance of “Sentencing Guidelines” in criminal cases. The Feds started it first. I remember a general shift to “all crimes ARE created equal.” No they are not. And while this is obviously no crime, the facts of every situation need to be considered. The “if you can’t do the time don’t do the crime” meme is idiotic. We certainly considered every case on it’s facts when I prosecuted.
ep. It spread to schools in the form of “zero tolerance” which was instituted so that teachers and principals automatically deferred to a one size fits all guideline.