BULLIES: Who's the victim here

When you walk into most elementary schools today you are likely to see posters or other literature referencing an anti-bullying campaign. Anti-bullying campaigns encourage children to report hostile treatment. They also provide students with suggestions on ways to confront the bully. Ignoring a bully is only advantageous for the bully. It encourages them to continue mistreating their victim.

That is why I was so surprised to see your editorial on Feb. 20 in which you depicted non-union educators in Kootenai School District as role models. I think you picked the wrong guys. I think the true role models are the members of the Kootenai Education Association. They filed a lawsuit because they felt the Kootenai School Board had violated the "good faith" bargaining language in the financial emergency statute, a statute which already put educators at a disadvantage. Rules don't mean very much if people are allowed to ignore them. Instead of just rolling over KEA decided to stand up for their legal rights.

Educators are very familiar with bullying and the negative impact it has on people. The members of the Kootenai Education Association gave us all a lesson on how to respond if we think we are being treated unfairly.

MARTY MEYER

Coeur d'Alene