Things That Make You Go Hmmm
Things like this just make you shake your head....
Alyssa Thomas, 6, is a little girl who is already under the spotlight of the federal government. Her family recently discovered that Alyssa is on the "no fly" list maintained by U.S. Homeland Security.
Like a lot of current issues - things I see my daughter run into at school, the response to the oil spill, and so on - this is the elevation of rules and process over personal judgment. As a society, we have decided that "the rules" are all that matters, even when they result in really stupid things.
Comments
Re: Things That Make You Go Hmmm
[Buh!] 27 June 2010 1:55:27 PM
It's not "Zero Tolerance", it's "Zero Thinking". It is the ultimate CYA -- without discretion there can be no liability, no negative performance review.
Re: Things That Make You Go Hmmm
[W^L+] 28 June 2010 9:40:59 AM
Worse, most of society's organizations actively seek to enforce exactly such a zero-thought, zero-discretion style of working. That's the "above my pay grade" excuse often heard in bureaucratic agency offices.
Re: Things That Make You Go Hmmm
[anonymous] 30 June 2010 12:10:10 PM
Interesting in that it relates to Apple's App Store, where the _lack_ of published rules, and the opinion of individual app store reviewers, seems to greatly annoy people. "Just give us a clear, consistent set of rules, and we'll be happy!"