Grandmother bullied by middle school students
By Jess
@JJ4Ever (4693)
United States
July 8, 2012 9:57pm CST
A little over a week ago, a video went public about a lady in her late sixties who was bullied by middle school students during a bus trip. I couldn't believe the things I was hearing them say to her! They had absolutely no respect for their elders.
To give you some background, this lady was riding the bus along with the bus driver to help monitor the students. Her main goal was to ensure their safety on the trip. I'm not sure how or why the video was taken, but you've got to see it for yourself!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBvPI7f5vTI
Later in the video, she even mentions that this wasn't the first time she'd been treated this way. Really?! I would've reacted much differently if put in this situation. Oh, and that would've been my last bus ride with those kids!
Would you have handled this situation differently? If so, how? I think I would've wanted to throw some kids off that bus! I wouldn't have been so kind and patient. The parents would've been notified as soon as possible. The sad part is, I'm not really sure if they would've done anything about it! The reporter mentions that he would love for the parents of these kids to watch the video. I wonder if they've seen this footage by now? Do you think the parents were embarrassed? Maybe they weren't surprised at all? The article mentions that these kids may face charges. What do you think the charges (punishment) will be?
While the reaction from the public was extremely positive and even helpful to this lady, it's sad how all of this came about! Do you think she will be going back to work? What do you think she will use the money for? If I were her, I'd go on a nice, long vacation, then retire and never go back on that bus! That way, she could spend more time with her eight grandkids who probably treat her a whole lot better!
5 people like this
7 responses
@sarahruthbeth22 (43143)
• United States
9 Jul 12
Joy from the View Had the Perfect punishment. Her Hubby Actually came up with it. He said these kids have just lost the right to ride the bus! Now the parents will have to get their kids to school! I like that. What should have happened is the bus driver should have stopped the bus , called the police and had the bullied taken off the bus. Then the parents could have been told to pick up their kids.But no , she just took it and now these kids are known. What I hope happens is that these kids get a little older and get bullied themselves!
2 people like this
@JJ4Ever (4693)
• United States
29 Nov 12
That IS the perfect punishment! I love it!! The punishment must match the crime, and the kids no longer having the privilege of riding the bus is a good consequence. (When I saw this story online a couple months ago when I posted this discussion, I thought, "Now I get why Sarah doesn't want kids" haha! 
) The part that's great about Joy's suggestion is that the parents would then have to start taking responsibility by making sure their kids have a way to school. That's even better. If I had been the bus driver, I would've stopped the bus and made the bullies walk home or the rest of the way to school. If that made them late to school, then they should have the normal consequence of detention or whatever it is nowadays when students show up late. The best ending, as you mentioned, would be that these kids get a taste of their own medicine by being bullied!
) The part that's great about Joy's suggestion is that the parents would then have to start taking responsibility by making sure their kids have a way to school. That's even better. If I had been the bus driver, I would've stopped the bus and made the bullies walk home or the rest of the way to school. If that made them late to school, then they should have the normal consequence of detention or whatever it is nowadays when students show up late. The best ending, as you mentioned, would be that these kids get a taste of their own medicine by being bullied!1 person likes this
@Kashmeresmycat (6369)
• United States
9 Jul 12
Hi JJ,
Yes, I saw this on the news last week and I was appalled by it. I would have never sat there taking all that crap from a few ugly-mouthed teen girls. I felt so sorry for that lady I just wanted to jump into the tv and scream back at them. I doubt very much if their parents are going to reprimand them to a point that they'd never do it again. If they were raised right, it would have never happened.
This should have been stopped the first time, immediately. Throw them off the bus, call their parents, tell the school, but DO SOMETHING about it. The more you let this stuff go and ignore it, the more fuel they have to feed that fire. My mouth would have been going a mile a minute. If I got fired, so be it and good ridence but I would have been right on the phone telling my side of the story. Shame on those ugly-mouthed teens. Karma will come back to bite them in the A$$ soon enough.
1 person likes this
@JJ4Ever (4693)
• United States
29 Nov 12
This video made my skin crawl. I wanted to do the same thing as you and jump through the computer monitor to tell those kids what's what! When you said, "If they were raised right, it would have never happened," I couldn't have agreed with you more. I think the true responsibility lies in the parents' hands. Some parents just don't realize how powerful and effective the home life is. Kids are directly affected by how they grow up. It shouldn't be taken for granted! I hope it catches up with these kids too. You reap what you sow, and sometimes it takes a while for it to come back!
@peavey (16936)
• United States
9 Jul 12
"What's wrong with kids today is adults today." That's true. And, yes, I would have handled it quite differently. She's a bus monitor? What good is a bus monitor if she can't handle the kids? A few quiet, but choice words should have stopped them. I don't know that it would have, though, but these kids need discipline desperately. I would have notified the kids' parents and I would have written to the editor of the newspaper and I would have done a lot of things. Kids need to know that there are boundaries.
Like you, I would never ride the bus with those kids again.
1 person likes this
@JJ4Ever (4693)
• United States
29 Nov 12
You make a really good point here. She was supposed to be making sure things weren't rowdy as not to distract the driver. The driver seems to be patient enough to continue driving while all this is going on. This lady was doing her best, but ultimately the kids were at fault. Since they're minors, that falls on their parents to teach them respect. I think it's a really sad situation, but like you said, some boundaries needed to be addressed.
@AmbiePam (85680)
• United States
15 Jul 12
The last I heard the amount raised for her had gone over $600,000. I think it's great that so many people have contributed. If ever there were a time to give kids a "whoopin", this would be the time. I hope those parents are ashamed of their children. And I hope those parents get a little more involved to see what kind of kids they are raising. She said she is going to give some to a Down's Syndrome charity because one of her grandchildren has Down's Syndrome. And of course she mentioned her grandkid's college funds. But I hope she doesn't something fun for herself.
Oh, and they talked to one father of one of the bullies. He hugged the lady and told her he was sorry for how his child had treated her, and that child apologized too. The father seemed sincere. But she wonders if the child is really sorry, or sorry that he got caught.
1 person likes this
@JJ4Ever (4693)
• United States
29 Nov 12
That's an amazing amount of money! I'm so glad a lot of people cared enough to contribute. It's good to know we weren't the only ones distraught over that video. I just couldn't believe those kids had no shame in treating someone that way, as if she were a fellow classmate. It's just sad that it was someone's grandmother. I bet her grandkids don't treat her that way! That's really nice of her to give some of the money to charity. Like you, I certainly hope she spends some of the money on herself too! She deserves it. I'm glad the video surfaced to shed some light so that this situation could finally be handled. I would've never put up with that. I might've gotten fired over what I would've done, but I wouldn't have stay quiet lol!
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
9 Jul 12
Although these monsters were suspended for a year, the last I heard NONE of the parents took their kids over to apologize to her. One mother even said "haven't the kids suffered enough?" Imagine! No wonder we have monsters running around growing up into vicious criminals and psychopaths.
This has happened to her before and I would have quit. People say she wasn't doing her job but how do you do your job when you can't discipline the kids and you have parents like that mother who thought her kid suffered from all this?!
1 person likes this
@JJ4Ever (4693)
• United States
29 Nov 12
Dragon, that's really sad that the parents enable their kids by thinking they've suffered. So wrong! Bullying doesn't surface because kids suffer; it's because they have no respect. I didn't hear about what happened after the fact, so thanks for sharing about the suspension! I feared that the school board (and parents) would've just let it slide. I'm glad something was done.
Amber, thanks for mentioning that about the father and son apologizing. I really hope they were both genuine. At least if the dad was truly genuine, maybe he'll take a deeper look at the situation and realize that maybe he should set some more boundaries for his son so he'll learn respect. If these kids didn't respect the bus lady, do you think they respect their parents? That's tough.
@JJ4Ever (4693)
• United States
29 Nov 12
That is the thing that was lacking here - respect. Parents just don't teach their kids that anymore. My husband and I don't have kids yet either, but hopefully we will be blessed with children one day, and we will teach them to respect everyone, especially their elders. Thanks! 
@jazel_juan (15747)
• Philippines
9 Jul 12
Where is the respect now? the parents should be notified and also reprimanded, i wonder if they ever taught their kids respect.
1 person likes this
