Dear Editor:
I don't have kids of my own, and don't have any axe to grind with respect to the "gay policy" being considered by either parties.
However, I have to wonder why, if these death threats were received back in June, we are only hearing about it now? It seems a bit convenient, or dare I say politically motivated, that this information is only coming to public awareness barely two weeks before the election.
Will this policy make a difference? I doubt it. I got bullied because I wasn't athletic, nor did I have any interest in being so, and because I was a little more individualistic than a lot of the kids I went to school with. Other kids I know were bullied because they belonged to a long list of potential targets: fat, skinny, had bad skin, couldn't afford the latest clothes or electronics, were not as intelligent, were too intelligent, and the list goes on. Is there going to be a special law passed to protect each and every group?
Some of the more memorable instances of bullying that I witnessed when I was in school were actually perpetrated by teachers on students they particularly enjoyed victimizing. You can complain all you want to the principal, but who do you think he or she is going to believe?
Take the labels off the law, present a policy of zero tolerance to bullying of any kind whether by kids or their teachers without reference to any special interest group, and then we can talk. Until then, it's just swapping labels and creating the next group of kids to get picked on.
M. Findlay, Burnaby
