Heather Ravenstein is now unemployed, all because she thought she was doing her job. Ravenstein stopped a man who was trying to steal a $600 computer from the Kansas Walmart where she works Friday night and Saturday she was fired for breaking the store’s black and white rule about which employees can stop shoplifters. Yes, fired. Not rewarded, not promoted, not even given a $25 Walmart coupon. Fired.

Walmart officials told McClatchy Newspapers that they had to fire Ravenstein because her actions put her safety “and perhaps the safety of our customers” in jeopardy and, thus, violated company policy. The policy, according to the story, is that only Walmart management or someone in “asset protection” can stop thieves.

OK, so I understand the need for rules, even rules employees claim they weren’t told about. But zero-tolerance policies lead to stupid decisions. They are really popular, mostly in schools, but apparently gaining in popularity in the work place as well. But they don’t teach anyone anything. Learning occurs when someone makes a mistake, works through it with problem-solving techniques and develops a plan to avoid said mistake in the future.

But do we do that? Nah. Instead, we suspend kindergartners for having goofy haircuts or showing off their Cub Scout knife, and apparently we fire employees who save our company money. Do companies really want their employees to look the other way when shoplifters head out their door instead of following their instincts and stopping them?

Walmart would say it wants its employees to follow the rules and call for management or the asset protection crew when a shoplifter is in flight (even if the potential criminal gets away while the “proper” employee runs to the front of the store). I’ll concede that employees should follow rules. But if one makes a mistake – and saves you money in so doing – don’t you think you could just sit that employee down, remind her of the rules and the reasoning behind them, and say, “Thanks, but don’t do that again” instead of tossing her to the curb?

I can hear the reasoning now: “Well, if we let HER get away with stopping a criminal, pretty soon everyone will be doing it and God knows what that could lead to!” It is the same reasoning used in schools by administrators who insist that their teachers use critical thinking and then refuse to do so themselves. No, Mr. Jones, you may not move Little Susie into a higher-level math because we have already passed the deadline for course changes and, you know, if we let her enroll in Calculus in December, pretty soon EVERYONE will want to take Calculus. No, Ms. Smith, you may not develop a behavior plan with Little Johnny because he kissed Jenny on the playground because page 6 of the handbook says all cases of sexual harassment warrant suspension, not problem-solving.

Of course, Walmart is most likely viewing this as a CMA incident. If Ravenstein or the robber had been hurt, perhaps one of them would have sued. But Walmart could have explained that to the now-laid-off single mother and kept her on. Or better yet, maybe they could have put her on the asset protection crew, since she told reporters she’s also stopped people for forging payroll checks more than once. In other words, use the woman’s strengths, don’t terminate her. Luckily, other employers see Ravenstein’s gumption as something to be admired, and have called offering to interview her for possible jobs. Not everyone, it seems, thinks in black and white.

There have been some good reports and essays out lately that I’d like to point God Blogging readers to.

The first is an op-ed in today’s NY Times by Tenzin Gyatso, otherwise known as the 14th Dalai Lama (and author of numerous books!) In it, Gyatso points out the ever more important need for practitioners of one religion to respect practitioners of other faiths. Admitting that there are tensions between certain religions, he nonetheless says we need to promote peaceful co-existence. I agree on the need to promote co-existence, but think that perhaps this isn’t a conflict brought about by religion or faith, but rather illustrates a severe conflict between societies that still have a strong tribal culture link and more Western societies. It is also illustrative of a “culture of fear” that is being used by politicians and religious leaders alike in various countries at various times to manipulate the masses. Remember people: Think for yourselves … but read Gyatso’s piece here.

Next, if you didn’t hear about this Sunday, CNN did a special series, “Black or White: Kids on Race” and it showed that for all our “we’re so past prejudice” yammering, apparently we really aren’t. Read a good reflection on one writer’s experience of seeing the series and being confronted by a young child here.

Speaking of children, earlier this month, Time reported on the results from a multi-year study on spanking and (surprise!) it showed that hitting kids makes them more aggressive later on. This is such a no-brainer, but I find myself repeating it over and over: Children learn through modeling. Ergo, if you want a child to be loving and kind and thoughtful, you best model that behavior for him or her. Likewise, if you want said child to react with violence when he or she gets upset, you model that behavior for him or her. You do not, therefore, teach a child to not hit by hitting him. Read the study results here.

Sterling Swanson wants you to join her on a 30-day journey to positivity. The midday personality at the popular contemporary Christian Radio station K-LOVE, launched a 30-day no-whining campaign yesterday on air and on the station’s Face Book page.

As of Monday afternoon, about 450 people had committed on Face Book to joining the 30-day effort to go “without

I think babies are exempted from the 30-day challenge

grumbling, mumbling or speaking ANYTHING negative.” Nearly 1,200 had “liked” the status update/challenge, perhaps illustrating that while plenty of us think the idea laudable, far fewer of us think we can actually do it. Which, when you think on that, brings you to the conclusion that we’re all too used to focusing on the negative. (Examples: You have a house, but you think it is too small/big. The sun is shining, but you think it is too bright. You’re thirsty, and you’re lucky enough to have water, but whine because it isn’t filtered. You get the point.)

Most of the folks committing via Face Book, and all of the people committing via email to Swanson are women, although a handful of men say they want to do the May 24-June 22 challenge. There’s probably a researcher out there who could explain that gender disparity, but my non-scientific in-house research leads me to this: women crave change and self-improvement and men tend to like the status quo. Ergo, more women are willing to say, “No whining for 30 days? Bring it on, sister!”

Swanson, 29, got the idea for her no-whining campaign from a conference this past weekend at her Roseville, CA. church. Keynote speaker Darlene Williams addressed the power of our thoughts to create – or destroy – the happiness in our lives. She related how women experience a negative event – boss being a jerk, family being unappreciative, coffee being lukewarm – at only one point in time, but then “play it over and over in our heads and go talk about it a lot” instead of letting it go and moving to a more positive space.

“It’s not even what happens to us, but the way we see ourselves, or complaining about our lives or just saying negative things,” Swanson said explaining the tendency for women to lean toward complaint.

This pattern sets up a cycle of negativity, and recognizing that cycle was a light-bulb moment for Swanson, who went home to a husband who had had a bad day at work and told him he was now living in a No Complaints Zone.

“I told him he could still vent about his bad day, but I wasn’t going to vent with him,” she explained. Shawn Swanson was intrigued (although maybe a little confused, as husbands are wont to be when their wives come home with The Next Great Idea), and listened as Sterling explained her project. He decided to join up; Swanson says the couple will keep each other accountable in their effort.

“I thought it would be great to have 30 days of watching the words we speak,” she explained. “I’m thinking it’s going to change people’s lives.”

Swanson will be posting a focus for each day of the challenge on K-LOVE’s Face Book page to help give participants some direction for their efforts. If you’re interested in participating, go here for updates, support and ideas. God Blogging readers can note in the comment section if you’re planning on joining up. And remember, when someone asks how you’re doing, don’t complain about the fact that you can’t complain.  Instead, smile and remember what mothers have been telling their children for years: If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.