D-6, I agree with you to a point, and I always enjoy your posts. But I have to take issue with a point here. We have no idea what the girl was going through IRL. Also, a kid fighting back against a physical bully in school now can get punished for assault.
I am PRESENTLY going through exactly this with my son and his school. He has been bullied fairly regularly since we moved into this school, and as many times as we've reported it to them, we have gotten nothing but excuses from teachers and principal alike. Further, I got a phone call from my son's teacher just yesterday, whining about how he "threatened" some wee cherub in class, and she couldn't believe that I wasn't impressed by the "seriousness of the my son's actions".
I stand by what I've said here IRL; like I said, I've started teaching my son how to defend himself. I've told him in no uncertain terms that if anybody lays a hand on him, he is fully authorized by me and his mother to put the bully on his butt in the most expeditious manner possible, and I have warned the school (and will be warning them again today) that I will back him fully in those circumstances, including legal action, if necessary. (Generally, I've told them that they have been told repeatedly about this problem and have done nothing about it; if the circumstance arises that my son is attacked and has to defend himself, I'll be suing them for the abrogation of their responsibilities to my son.)
