The Internet has a reputation as an anonymous space where people can bully others at will, without fear of consequences. When a pack of middle school boys on a school bus in Greece, N.Y., verbally abused their 68-year-old bus monitor, the video appeared on YouTube, for all to see. After they picked on every aspect of her appearance until she cried, the video of the incident — now with millions of views — would seem to be the final indignity.
But instead of cheering the ruthless kids bent on humiliating an old woman, the Internet world has risen up against them. On YouTube, strangers posted videos berating the boys for violating basic standards of human decency. Teenagers posted statements of support for the bullied grandmother. A blogger started a fund to raise money to send her on a vacation. So far, he has collected more than $600,000. Now Karen Klein, who made $15,000 a year as a bus monitor, never has to work again.
Comments
The whole thing dosen't make sense to me...never did. She was the BUS MONITOR! She had no control over the damn brats at all. She was incompetent to the extreme as was the bus driver. The brats should have been driven directly to the principals office and required to repeat the offensive language to see if the principal found them as entertaining as they thought they were.
Now would be a great time for school administrations to enforce policy and discipline. 100s of such incidents occur in schools daily without consequence for kids (or well-deserved vacations for victims)---how does the Boston's teachers' union respond to this Klein story? Fire the victims? Take English High's administrative scenario in recent years, and so many others...