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Subscribe to RSSThree separate videos totaling 14 minutes taken during a school bus ride just outside Rochester, N.Y., show middle schoolers taunting a bus monitor until she cries, prompting questions about kids and civility. NBC's Craig Melvin reports, and bus monitor Karen Klein talks with TODAY's Matt Lauer about the cruel harassment.
Updated 10:30 a.m. Thursday ET: Karen Klein, a school bus monitor of Greece, N.Y., depicted being verbally bullied in a video gone viral, may have the last laugh.
By mid-morning Thursday on the fund-raising site indiegogo.com, nearly 8,000 donors had pledged more than $150,000 in a campaign called “Lets Give Karen – The bus monitor – H Klein A Vacation.”
The fund-raising was set up through a reddit.com member, identified as Max Sidorov of Toronto, Canada.
An Indiegogo spokesperson told msnbc.com that the website was in touch with Klein, who will receive all the money raised through its site when the campaign is over, scheduled July 20.
Karen Klein talks to Matt Lauer on TODAY
A video called "Making the Bus Monitor Cry" was posted to YouTube on Monday and had been seen by more than 100,000 viewers by Wednesday evening. The video shows students yelling at Klein and making fun of her weight and other physical conditions.
Graphic content warning: The video on YouTube
NBC television station WHEC of Rochester, N.Y., on Wednesday confirmed with the Greece School District that Klein was the subject of the middle school students’ heckling.
An outpouring of support for Klein emerged after her identity became known.
While WHEC was interviewing Klein, the station reported, people were stopping over and flowers were being delivered.
Klein said she still can’t believe this happened. The video was taken by a student who is always very kind to her, she said.
“It’s just plain mean, and no one should have to live with that,” she said.
In her 20-plus years as a bus driver and monitor with the Greece Central Schools, Klein said she has never run into this kind of behavior.
See the original story at WHEC.com
“Everything started out as usual. I don’t know what happened,” she said.
Klein said the four kids in the video often misbehave, but what happened Monday was taking things to a whole new level.
Greece police and school district officials are investigating three videos, including the one titled "Making the Bus Monitor Cry."
NBC affiliate WHEC talks to bus monitor Karen Klein, who was verbally abused by a group of middle school students on a school bus.
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.
“I was trying to just ignore,” Klein said. “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 told WHEC she plans to return to work but not on a bus carrying those students.
Msnbc.com's Jim Gold contributed to this article. Follow him on Facebook here.
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whatever punishment is meted out to the students should also include their parents- if they pick up trash mommy and daddy will also- if it is criminal and mommy and daddy dont want to pick up trash then they go to jail- just my thoughts
" . . . Klein told WHEC she plans to return to work but not on a bus carrying those students." What??? Why are THOSE STUDENTS still allowed to ride the bus? WALK, punks.
I just can't get over the total lack of RESPECT for any adults from these types of kids! Was this a bus load of
kids from detention or what? Definitely should be off the bus permanently! No second chances for what these brats were doing! No doubt they would be vengeful anyway. The parents need to hold their own kids accountable for their rotten behavior. There is no excuse on earth for their behavior. What is a parent going to say? There is no defense, but you know some idiot will defend their puke of a kid. Disgusting!!!!
If these children are doing this kind of abusive behavior to a school bus monitor, makes me shudder to think what kind of bullying they are doing to their own peers in school. I know the bus driver's job is to drive the bus but why pray tell did he/she not pull the bus over and intervene in putting a stop to this??? Children are a product of their upbringing and a reflection of their parents. They all deserve to be expelled from school and both parents and the kids involved owe this sweet woman an apology in person AND publicly. They should have their cellphones & computers smashed and in addition to being expelled to be made to do community service at the very least. Very sad world we live in if this is an example of what our future generation is turning into. Something is very, very wrong.
I heartily agree swift harsh punishment is needed for the kids. However a major question is why did she just continue to let it happen. She is the bus driver she is the person in authority in my opinion she should have taken action. 1st thing give a clear warning, 2nd the harassment continues stop the bus go directly to the kid(s) tell them any more and they will be getting of the bus via cop, and or parent etc. additionally inform the school and request that these kids not ride the bus for some time. Just ignoring it is not a very good strategy she basically made herself a door mat. I am not blaming the victim just pointing out her problematic approach to the problem.
Minor note: I wonder if any of the other kids on the bus decided to speak against up against the bulling . If not, every kid on that bus needs a good talking to about standing up and speaking out against people like that. The reason this was allowed to happen is because no one did anything to stop it.
What could she have done? She's not allowed to touch the kids, the kids themselves made it clear they didn't care about any consequences, and the parents were insisting they're "good kids."
I know the Greece area quite well. The Greece Police Department was already in hot water from prior long-term corruption in the top levels, which had resulted in the forced resignation of their chief and deputy chief.
Greece is a big school district with plenty of money, but the people who live in Greece, by and large, have that ghetto mentality. Many (if not most) of the kids in that town have no respect for anyone, mostly because their parents also have no respect for anyone.
Don't forget, also, that some middle schoolers are physically strong enough to take an old lady in her late 60's. More to the point, they went below the belt when they brought up her son who really did commit suicide 10 years ago, not to mention the fact that she's also a widow. It's not surprising that she shut down from simply having nothing left when they got THAT personal.
Wall of J you make some valid points but I still maintain that the bus driver should have taken action. She did not have to touch them she should have stopped the bus warned them and if they continued, radio dispatch for a police car and have the police take them off the bus or just plain kick them off. So much could have been done if someone had just decided to do it. The moment it started is the moment she should have acted. She is the bus driver she is the authority on that bus by not using that power she showed that kids can be disrespectful to adults anytime. I had an English teacher in high school she was nice as could be but she never laid down the law never showed she meant business and in the end the majority of the class walked all over her.
I disagree with this idea that there was nothing this bus driver could do she could have done so she should have done nothing. Or even more important she did not even try. Again not blaming her just pointing out that she could have handled the situation better
She wasn't the driver, she was the monitor. I agree that the driver should have stopped and backed up his colleague--not sure why s/he didn't. Also, "I'm not blaming the victim, but" is usually followed by victim-blaming.
Maybe in a way I do blame something but its not her as much as its everyone. I blame the Kids doing the taunting what made them turn so viscous, I blame the other kids for not stepping up and saying something against it. I blame the bus driver for not taking action and stopping that bus. Everyone on that bus is to blame for failing to act.
My compassion goes out to the women what happened to her was wrong and I hope she takes her vacation and enjoys it. I believe that we should learn from this event so the next time kids on a bus get out of hand someone will stand and say enough.
"Evil wins when good people stand by and do nothing"
These little Scumbags need to get there a$$-holes whipped with a good old leather belt.
That video made my blood pressure boil, and as I watched the full 10 minutes or so, I was beginning to say when the f----k are they going to stop?
I have seen many You Tube video's in my time, but this one really got me to the point where I wanted to punch my laptop because I was completely horrified, and felt so bad that know one would stop these little pri-cks.
It was the longest 10 minutes of brutality I have ever seen from a bunch of little f----ks like these.
I went to each of there FB pages, but they took them down before I could post something on it.
I really hope these kids get a lot of backlash from this viral video bullying from there peers, and everywhere they go.
They make me completely sick with an anger that I never felt before about kids this age.
There lucky this women was not my mother or relative, or I would seek there hides out with a pure vengeance of something I can't even begin to explain on this vine for sake of being banned.
Sorry about foulness of my comment, but I am so bloody pissed off at this terrible video.
Just repulsive is all I can say.
Later.
I feel bad for her, I do. Because, there is really nothing she could have said or done, that would have shut them up, while still being legal.
The kids were totally rude, no doubt.
But I would not never donate money to her! What for!? If she doesn't want that job, she can switch/transfer or quit. Also, at her age, what is the point of having her on board? Why does she get paid to ride the bus for a living? She can't physically control, nor help/rescue a teenage kid.
I think she needs to grow a thicker skin, those kids need the get whopped, and she should give that money back to her community.
Tannia, I think that you need to take another look at those videos in their entirety. As far as I'm concerned, the monitor deserves whatever money was raised on her behalf. She and her property were threatened, she was mocked about a suicide in her family, etc, etc, etc.
Little girl, did you say she should "grow a thicker skin?" Her lack of action doesn't reflect timidity but self-restraint. How would you have handled this?
Sounds to me like you're jealous about the money she's getting. She deserves every single penny. Make the little brats give money and time back to the community. She's not to blame, they are!
I have to agree with Diana on this one. Can you imagine how "thick skinned" you would have to be to deal with being mocked about the suicide of your son?? Oh, and she's also a widow, so that's the way for those brats to add salt to that wound. Did you also happen to notice that some of them were actually physically assaulting her too? Finally, if she's living in a town like Greece (I grew up in the Rochester area, and still live near there, I know the town of Greece quite well), she probably isn't financially well off, meaning she needs that paycheck even at her age. Speaking of age, what do you think are her chances of getting another job at her age, as anything other than a Wal-Mart greeter?
Rude? They were more than just rude. They physically threatened her. I say perform an 89th trimester abortion on all of them.
Meanwhile, students in Asia continue to study far ahead of their American counterparts....
If I was to decide their punishment, the brats involved would do time in "shock camp" or "boot camp" ALL SUMMER LONG. Mommy and daddy wouldn't be there to hold their hands, as another poster said. They wouldn't dare talk back to a drill sergeant, would they?
Then, when school resumes in the fall, put them in detention, supervised by a police officer so they can't just bolt and refuse to go. They'd even have to ask permission to go on potty breaks.
Then, they'd have to go on tv....the Today Show......Dr. Phil......Dr. Drew....etc, etc explaining why they acted like they did and make a public spectacle of themselves once again. Btw, they are not to be paid for this either!
Then, whatever money they earn during the remained of their stay in school - however many years that will be - should be paid to the bus monitor.
If I was the monitor, I would have insisted on the driver turning around and taking those punks back to school, to be greeted by school officials and law enforcement. I hope that the Greece school district is serious about punishing these little brats. I hope they face legal action and get hauled away in cuffs.
The video of their perp walk should be posted on YouTube as well. Shame on them, shame on their parents for not properly raising them, and shame on the bus driver for not intervening on behalf of the monitor.
I'm not expecting much from Greece police. Right now, I think the only reason they're doing anything at all is because it's gotten nationwide attention, and the Greece police department has already been in hot water recently because of massive corruption charges stemming from a police chief who ignored numerous complaints of officers sexually assaulting women either during traffic stops or routine visits. Otherwise they would be sweeping this under the rug.
The videos are on youtube - these kids are disgusting. They belong behind bars - they threatened her, cursed at her over and over and over, and made fun of her deceased son.
What kinds of parents raise monsters like these? What kind of school district raises monsters like these? These kids should be prosecuted for felony harassment - and they need to be charged as adults.
Their parents, communities, and the school failed. These kids need to be punished, and so do the parents. Kids like these will end up as wards of the state for the rest of their lives.
Nature or nurture....
I am positive that those kids had it all planned out so that the video would hit the net and give them thier 15 minutes of fame.
This is what reality TV and poor parenting has brought us.
A public apology from the kids probably wouldn't do much good. It wouldn't be sincere, and someone would record it and post it on YouTube, and they'd all have a good laugh about it afterward and get yet another 15 minutes of e-fame.
I agree with a previous poster - no more bus privileges, a bunch of community service, and make the parents publicly apologize. Actually, I doubt you could force the parents to do something like that, but they should want to. They owe it to her for the way they raised their precious, entitled, vicious little sh*t-stains.
I still can't believe these evil spawn and the torment they heaped upon this gentle woman. As a bus driver myself in the past we were always shown and taught that "the bus is a privilege NOT a right" so these 'waste of carbon' spawn should NEVER have the privilege of riding the bus again. Let mommy & daddy foot the bill for transportation and if it turns out to be an inconvenience TOO BAD ! Train your monsters to have respect for fellow humans .... I understand they (kids) even told this woman that 'she was so ugly her children should just kill themselves' not even realizing that she had a child who had already commited suicide years before. The unbelievable level of pain this woman endured is unfathomable yet she didn't return words or jeers. She deserves EVERY PENNY of the money that has been donated to her and I hope these kids never forgot that she's the one with all the support, not them !
Expel the kids from every public school. Require their parents pay for private education - no home-schooling. Make the parents match the funds raised for this woman. Did no kid on that bus say "enough"? Did no kid tell anyone what had happened? If that's the case, Greece NY has some serious soul searching to do.
If this happened to an adult monitor, imagine what other children arounds these kids go through. Heavy disipline should be administered by their parents and by the school officials and monitored in the future.
This kind of thing wouldn't happen if the little monsters knew they'd get their obnoxious asses kicked for it.
If it had been me in the video, my parents would have dealt with me so harshly that I would still be hurting 40 years later. If it had been my kids, they would be hating life right now. Public humiliation of the kids and parents is needed but it won't happen. Lets hope that the parents step up and show the character that they didn't teach their kids.
If i EVER caught my daughter using that kind of language twords an adult i honestly think I would be the one going to jail...
Kids today are brutal, and mean. I went as a chaperon for my daughters 7th grade trip to an amusement park, and all i can say is these kids language is worse than mine any day of the week....and i was a sailor!!
The fact is that kids emulate what they see and hear at home, its just a simple fact. So imagine hearing this and knowing that at home it is just as bad, either by example or by lack of supervision/empathy. It almost makes me feel bad for them......and then i watch the video again and hope their all expelled and brought up on charges.
The parents of those children should be held accountable for their spawn. They failed as parents and as human beings.
This is what the 'war on obesity' has wrought. Hatred like this should not be tolerated. The entire town of Greece, NY should be ashamed that these are the kinds of citizens they're producing.
Greece has been producing this kind of waste for years. I was there.
My vote would be to put the four kids in the middle of the gym, surrounded by their peers and let the gym full of kids point and taunt for 30 minutes.
I'm sure in a week or so, the parents of these children will be interviewed, and will say how the media treated them unfairly, the video was taken out of context, etc. Whatever. With children like this, they have already run the train off the rails. It would take a willingness to change how they parent to make a difference to these kids now.
Parents - PLEASE make your children own their actions. For better or worse, children NEED to learn that there are consequences (good and bad) for their actions. The more parents jump in and save their children from every bump in the road caused by the child's own actions (unless it causes physial harm), or reduce punishment because the parent feels bad, the more these children act in ways that show they do not worry about consequence. Do not let your children run your household. They are not qualified. They are children.
Parents, your job is to prepare your children to go out into the world as good people and good citizens. Period. If parenting is easy, you aren't doing it right. Saying no is hard. Holding children accountable is hard. Do it now while they are children. You cannot do it later when they are adults. It is too late then, you've already crippled them and made them unable to function in the real world. You are NOT their friend. You cannot be their friend, and it doesn't matter if they don't like you. They will thank you one day. I thank my parents and thank God for my parents everyday.
If my children did this, they would spend the rest of their time with me living under my roof volunteering at a nursing home, and providing free lawn care to this bus monitor for the rest of her life. They would be held responsible AND accountable! I don't hit or spank my children. I don't have to. I hold them accountable.
If one of my children were involved, that child would be grounded for the entire summer.
That poor woman, I can not think of a punishment good enough for those little criminals, I have been the monitor and the bus driver, why didn't the driver help her ? I would have pulled over and called the school then the police. I would not driven another block with those children on MY bus I would think a public apology is in order, I would not accept it either, especially from the girl that did most of the trash talk (you know she will not mean it) She might be sorry she got caught but not sorry for her actions.They definitely should be expelled from school and charges should be made against them. Drivers and monitors need to have a legal back up for situations like this, and all buses should have cameras what a surprise to the kids if the cameras streamed to the police and an officer stopped the bus and took them into custody. I hope to see the outcome of this story in the news, (her dream vacation) and the little @!$%#s behind bars.
I saw this last night on the news and it was difficult to watch. I wish her a life of joy and happiness. NO ONE shoukld be subjected to this. I cannot even imagine how a child could have handled these middle school kids after seeing how horribly difficult it was for an adult to try and withstand it.
Exactly, Bambam. People poo-poo the bullying that kids who are "different" (in any way) are subjected to if it's not physical, little realizing that the "sticks and stones" adage doesn't always work. Sorry, but it just doesn't. When it's that many kids all ganging up to harass you relentlessly like that, what can you do, really? I've been through that more times than I care to remember. It hurts almost as bad as being physically assaulted by 3 or 4 people (which I have also been through). What are you supposed to do in a situation lilke that, especially when your hands are legally tied because you're supposed to be the adult? The liberal push for a more namby-pamby "education" system that focuses on self esteem instead of self control (and accountability) is why the monitor was powerless to stop this.
What is most heartbreaking (other than Ms. Klein's vile treatment of course) is that these kids are in MIDDLE SCHOOL for goodness sakes! So, that is 6-8th grade...11-13 years old!! What are these kids going to turn into if they are NOT held accountable for what they said, and the threats they made?
As a child we were taught to respect our elders and almost to a point of keep your ears and eyes open and your mouth shut....gee that was so we could learn from our parents how people should be treated! As we got older us kids never got in trouble at school for mouthing off or being disrespectful to a teacher.
I guess that was back in the day of the 'Golden Rule' ---treat others as you would want to be treated....and of course we were taught that God was always watching....but Daddy was closer....and so was that hand of his...