The Bus Lady Bullying: This Week's American Crisis

[CountDeMoney]

You've all heard about it.  You've all read about it. The video.

On June 19th, YouTube user capitaltrigga uploaded three videos of middle school students on Bus 784 in Greece, NY mercilessly harassing their bus monitor, mocking her for her weight, her low income, calling her a child rapist, and threatening to hurt her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=l93wAqnPQwk#!

It's a video that's gone viral. Students bullying a bus monitor. News10NBC has confirmed with the Greece School District that the video was taken on one of its middle school bus routes.
The video, posted on YouTube, has gained national attention. It shows students verbally attacking bus monitor Karen Klein over and over again. News10NBC is not showing the students' faces because they are minors.
While News10NBC was with Karen Klein, people were stopping over and flowers were being delivered. People are coming out to support her through this. Klein says she still can't believe this happened and that the video was taken by a student who is always very kind to her.
Karen Klein said, "It's just plain mean and no one should have to live with that."
In her 20 plus years as a bus driver and monitor with the Greece Central Schools, Klein has never ran into this kind of behavior.
Klein said, "Everything started out as usual. I don't know what happened."
Klein explains the four kids in the video often misbehave, but what happened Monday was taking things to a whole new level.
There are now three videos that the Greece Police and school district are investigating. They are trying to figure out exactly who is verbally attacking Klein.
Debra Hoeft, Greece School District, said, "We do not tolerate harassment of staff or students. While we can not comment on specific student discipline, we can say that students found to be involved will face strong disciplinary actions."
In one of the videos, the kids are calling her names, swearing at her and even making physical threats. Klein doesn't say much to the middle schoolers.
Klein said, "I was trying to just ignore. I'm hoping they would go away, but it doesn't work."
Klein said she didn't know about the video until Wednesday morning, and watched it for the first time at the police station when she went to help them with their investigation.
Klein said, "It's so weird. I was like, 'It wasn't me and it had to somebody else. It can't be me.'"
Klein said the kids taunting were hurtful and disrespectful. While she did keep her calm throughout it, at one point, she let her emotions come up.
Klein told News10NBC she does plan on returning to work, but says she will never take a run that these students are on.
In the next few days, the students will have a superintendent hearing with their parents and lawyers if they wish and this issue is presented to the superintendent and the board. The disciplinary actions will be decided then.

Donations for bullied bus monitor soar past $500,000

The online campaign raising money to send a bullied New York school bus monitor on vacation has surpassed its goal – by more than half a million dollars.
The rapidly growing "Lets Give Karen – The bus monitor – H Klein A Vacation!" campaign on Indiegogo.com, a site devoted to raising money for various causes, reached nearly $550,000 by midday Friday, just two days after it was started. The original goal was set at $5,000.
The campaign will remain open to donations for 28 more days.
Karen Klein, 68, who earns about $15,000 a year as a bus monitor, said, "It's a nice gesture, but I don't know if it's real or not," after hearing about the donations. "It sounds too good to be true."
"This is definitely the highest-grossing and fastest-grossing campaign we've ever seen," Indiegogo.com spokesperson Rose Levy told msnbc.com, adding that the site has more than 5,000 campaigns at any given time. "Obviously this particular campaign went viral very quickly, which is a big reason for its success."
In the four years since the company was founded, Levy said, a number of campaigns related to bullying prevention have gained traction on the website.
Indiegogo keeps 4 percent of funds raised as a platform fee if a campaign meets or exceeds its goal. If a campaign fails to meet its goal, Indiegogo takes 9 percent of the total funds raised.
The fund for Klein was set up after a 10-minute, profanity-laced video depicting her being relentlessly bullied and driven to tears by four middle school boys went viral earlier this week.
Ashley Austell, one of more than 24,000 people who donated to the campaign, said it was the least she could do.
"I couldn't stop thinking, 'What if that were my grandma?'" Austell, 24, told msnbc.com in an email after she saw the video. "When she cried, I started bawling because it was so heartbreaking. You felt for this woman. She could be any of our grandmothers."
Austell, who lives in Arlington, V.A., donated $100 because she "wanted to be part of a whole world showing Karen Klein that people care about her."
Two of the students and the father of a third implicated in the harassment have issued apologies to Klein via statements to police in Greece, N.Y.
"I am so sorry for the way I treated you," one of the students named Josh said in statement. "When I saw the video I was disgusted and could not believe I did that. I will never treat anyone this way again."
Another student, Wesley, said he feels "really bad" about the incident.
The father of a third student said, "I would like it if he could do some work for you or help you in some way," in a statement to police. "I am embarrassed, angry and sad about the awful way he treated you."
In the video, four students taunted Klein with a tirade of verbal insults and physical ridicule that included one comment from a boy who said Klein does not have family because "they all killed themselves because they didn't want to be near you."
Klein said her son committed suicide 10 years ago.
The video has sparked disbelief among viewers and anger targeted at the four students, noted Capt. Steve Chatterton of the Greece, N.Y., Police Department. "Their families have been threatened. Their brothers and sisters have been threatened," he said at a press conference Thursday.
Klein said she doesn't want to see those boys expelled but would like to see them banned from riding the school bus for at least a year and not allowed to participate in team sports.
At a press conference Thursday, school officials said they are still investigating the incident, but promised strong disciplinary action.
In addition to the mass compassion for Klein, Southwest Airlines has offered to fly her and nine other people to Disneyland for free.

In other news, the students involved have received a slew of death threats.  Lulz.

[PDH]

I'd fucking kill those kids for being uncivil.

[Ed Anger]

If I make a video of my kids yelling shit at me, can I haz: Charity too?

[The Brain]

If I make a video of my kids yelling shit at me, can I haz: Charity too?

Lady, you know no rules of charity.

[CountDeMoney]

I think Berkut should replace her on that route.  It's his school district.

He could flurry-post those kids into obedience.

[PDH]

I would rather see Grumbler.

"ad hom, ad hom.  This is laughable, really.  You make no attempt to address my basic points and instead toss back insults.  I would ignore you, but really this is too funny.  Laughing smiley."

[Ideologue]

Why are those kids being so mean to Roy Orbison?

***

The story of how a poor person who had one bad day bought a fucking mansion.  Jesus Christ, this is insane.  This is the definition of a first world problem.  Evidently first world solutions involve retarded amounts of money being thrown at symbols and not addressing any underlying problems.  How about donating a cool half mill to resolve the fundamental issue, and form a foundation to advocate a return to our previous, successful system of beating children until they're human?  No, no, just give the bus monitor a Lambo.  IT'S ALL GOOD.

[FunkMonk]

Because everyone's kids are perfect little angels who would never do anything remotely mean spirited unless coerced to by other people's spoiled children or provoked by irresponsible adults out to kill childhood innocence.

[Tonitrus]

I agree with Ide...too many of our institutional authority figures, who should have some limited rights to beating-by-proxy, have been neutered by Mi-24 parents. 

[Eddie Teach]

I would rather see Grumbler.

"ad hom, ad hom.  This is laughable, really.  You make no attempt to address my basic points and instead toss back insults.  I would ignore you, but really this is too funny.  Laughing smiley."

Laughing smiley

[Iormlund]

... Mi-24 parents.

[CountDeMoney]

neutered by Mi-24 parents.

Colonel Bella saw that.

[Ed Anger]

YOU FUCKERS ARE GONNA MAKE ME WATCH THAT AGAIN.

[Tonitrus]

neutered by Mi-24 parents.

Colonel Bella saw that.

It was the other guy that sent in the choppers. 

[CountDeMoney]

neutered by Mi-24 parents.

Colonel Bella saw that.

It was the other guy that sent in the choppers. 

Well, duh.  Colonel Bella was the one with a heart.