Do suggestions equal bullying?

Recently I forwarded an article from the statehouse news that I receive on a daily basis from Beacon Hill. Quite a few select boards are on the same "mailing" lists. The subject of the one I sent to the blog was concerning Gov Patrick making a "robocall" to teachers and the Massachusetts Teachers Association. He was asking for their support and help with getting his budget proposal passed concerning education and transportation. One of the things he referred to was the use of post cards with the MTA sending out cards to teachers who would fill them out and mail them to their respective state reps. So I suggested in that blog that perhaps teachers and the MTA / teachers union could flip that and use the same process to ask their state reps to fund all the state mandates placed on local schools and teachers so local funds could be used to buy things such as new text books.
It would after all be for the kids. Apparently someone who posted anonymously of course posed the question is Mr. Bennett bulling the teachers and school dept. My first reaction was to laugh and ask myself "are you kidding, can you be serious"? Posing a question or making a suggestion is turned around to be a bullying issue now? So if we use that logic or lack thereof, are taxpayers and elected officials just support to sit and watch from the sidelines like a bump on the ole log? My next thought was when teachers, and the superintendent come before the select board and tell us they need an override or else this and that will have to be cut and the kids will suffer so we need your support to get this override passed, is that the school dept bullying the selectmen? When the school dept tells the taxpayers that if the override is not passed your children will not have this or that, is that bullying the taxpayers? My answer of course is no it is not! It is simple people and or organizations presenting their side of an issue and giving and idea or ideas on how to proceed with it. What would happen if all of the teachers in Massachusetts went to the press and made the case the state needs to fund state mandates? What would happen if all the teachers contacted their respective state reps and told them the state needs to fund the state mandates. If the message came from all teachers that local funds will not and cannot fund the state mandates, what would the governor and the state legislature do? I certainly do not consider it to be bullying to offer up suggestions that I feel will at least bring attention to an issue and perhaps at least get a dialog going on how to correct it. I would be interested in what the bloggers have to say on this.

Jeffrey Bennett