The Editor,

Re: "Mom questions district's bullying policy," the Now, Oct. 16.

Rather than sending a message to bullies that it's open season on the defenceless, it should be hammered home that bullying will not be tolerated by anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Doug Strachan, the Surrey school district's manager of communications, states,?"When you talk about defending yourself, it can amount to curling up in a ball..."

Are you serious? The school's principal states that "violence will not be tolerated period."

Since when is defending yourself an act of violence, especially in this case where the aggressor was three years older? The younger lad should be commended for bravery, not punished for preserving limb.?

I wonder, would this zero tolerance, antiviolence model work when one's home is being invaded, or a young woman is being attacked in a parking garage?

Just lie down in a fetal position and all will be well? I think not.

I wonder what fairy tale world Strachan grew up in. It certainly wasn't the real world. If our institutions of learning were actually preparing our children for the real world, self-defence classes would be an elective.

Robert Muckle, Delta