Bus Driver Fired for Flipping Off Bush

United States
January 13, 2007 9:50am CST
Forgive me if this discussion has already been posted - because I haven't seen it, but I've also not been online - but in the news over Christmas, a bus driver in the Issaquah School District in I THINK Seattle was fired for flipping off bush. She is now fighting for her job - I would post a link, but it won't let me - so if you google "Bus Driver Flipping off George Bush" you'll find plenty of articles about it. She's claiming that she was fired for political reasons, but the school said she constantly arrived late, she had a history of bad behavior, and that this was not behavior to be displayed in front of children. How do you feel about it? Do you think this is appropriate behavior, or was this bus driver the victim of being denied "freedom of speech?"
8 people like this
45 responses
@loved1 (5328)
• United States
13 Jan 07
I think she was setting a bad example for the children. Whether or not she agrees with what the president is doing in the country today, the fact of the matter is that he is still the president. The president of the United States of America deserves to be treated with respect. We have enough problems with our young people being disrespectful! I have a huge problem with our tax dollars going to pay someone who exibits this kind of behavior. I also think it is immature to give someone the finger. Maybe she needs to grow up. Sometimes we are so concerned about our right to free speech that we forget our manners.
5 people like this
• Italy
13 Jan 07
I completely disagree. While I think that it is inappropriate to display that kind of attitude in front of children, there is no reason why the president should get respect that he hasn't earned. This person is an American citizen, and in that respect they are free to express themselves however they want. I agree that this instance was in poor taste, but that has nothing to do with the fact that it was the president.
1 person likes this
• United States
13 Jan 07
I think I disagree with the issue on the president - the office itself is what holds the respect - the fact that this man is the leader of our country, he deserves respect...unless he's impeached, like Nixon, he's still the leader. Part of society's problem is that it refuses to recognize authority. Yes, we can disagree, and we can not like the way the president is running the country, but he still should be respected - we don't have to make the decisions that he does everyday, and we don't have to live with the pressure tha the does. I don't know, the lack of respect for authority PERIOD is a problem today - people think they can go and do whatever they want without consequence - THAT'S why we have crime issues the way we do. There is a lack of respect for people in general, because, as I brought up in another post - we're just all too self-centered in so many aspects of our lives.
• India
14 Jan 07
I Don't know exactly what happened.........but from the discussion going on it is quiet clear that something offensive was done by the bus driver which was against the moral ......that should not be done in front of children ......anyway if u talk about freedom of speech than the administration has done wrong here as they have violated the rule any person has the right to say .......atleast about his country leader if he his not working properly but this is not the exact way of showing u'r bitterness either she should had made aware the common people and say not to vote for president ...........by reelecting him american's have supported him so u have no right to do this .................
@missyd79 (3438)
• United States
13 Jan 07
well honestly of my son was on that bus and he came home to tell me what his bus driver did i would not care who she was flipping off that is not acceptable to do in front of children.
3 people like this
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
14 Jan 07
I have actually had a child do that!!! LOL Kinda catches you off guard and you have to grab the child hands quickly first to tell the child not to do that and then figure out how to explain it. The best way I could explain it to a young child is telling my child it is like a potty mouth but used with the hand like sign language. My kids understand what sign language is because I teach them words here and there. And so the child understood when I put it that way. LOL
1 person likes this
• United States
13 Jan 07
*laugh* I can see it now - child comes home and flips off parents, saying, "What's this mean momma?"
1 person likes this
• United States
14 Jan 07
*laugh* something I fail to remember sometimes is just how impressionable children are - they will repeat just about ANYTHING at about any time *grin*. You never know what they see anymore *grin*.
@hizzle13 (644)
• United States
13 Jan 07
The whole point is that its unacceptable to do that in front of children. Shes setting a bad example for them. Whether it was bush or the mailman, she shouldn't have let kids see it. I'd be ticked, too, if my kid had been on that bus.
1 person likes this
• United States
13 Jan 07
I don't think she deserves her job back. Especially if that is the kind of behavior she shows in front of the children. I wouldn't want my children learning to flip someone off from the school bus driver! If she constantly arrived late, I would think that would have been enough of a reason. Kids have to be at school on time. It isn't a job that she can just decide to leave 15 minutes late for! Frankly, I don't care who she flipped off. President Bush has probably seen and heard worse directed towards him. But the fact that she did it in front of children...that deserves some type of punishment.
2 people like this
• United States
14 Jan 07
I get so irritated at bus drivers who are constantly late - I can't tell you how many times i've had students complain that the bus driver came late or too early and they missed the bus because of it. I could NEVER be a bus driver, though, because I'm always late *grin*.
• United States
13 Jan 07
If you arrive late and have bad behavior - you most certainly shouldn't get your job back. I entirely agree that this bad behavior in front of children is horrible... :(
1 person likes this
@emeraldisle (13139)
• United States
13 Jan 07
It's not appropriate behavior. She was on the job, she was in front of children who are impressionable, and she had a responsibility to show a good example to others. If she'd yelled out something vulgar about anyone she would have still been in trouble. Giving someone the bird is just as bad. I know in the state I live in if the cops seeing you flipping someone the bird while you are driving you will be ticketed for road rage. It doesn't matter who she was flipping off, she was giving the example to kids that it was all right to do this. Also I doubt the school would state that they had problems with her work if they couldn't show proof of this. This could have just been the straw that broke the camel's back and they said enough. Either way though the bus driver was wrong to do this, it doesn't matter who she was flipping off. She should have known better and should have acted appropriately.
• United States
14 Jan 07
Exactly - but as I mentioned above, I now wonder this: was she complaining because she was truly upset she lost her job for her opinions or because she was hoping that the possibililty of a civil lawsuit and publicity would get her money over the ordeal?
@carolynpb (647)
• United States
13 Jan 07
I've read an article and the way I see it she was fired for doing it in front of the students. i don;t think it would have mattered who it was. That is inappropiate behavoir for an adult to display in front of children I don't car how she feels about someone. That's not freedom of speech it's just plain chldish. I wouldn't want my children beign driven around by someone who acts they way in front of them.
2 people like this
• United States
14 Jan 07
I'm all for her having her opinions - and I completely agree with your comment - it IS lewd behavior - and the fact that she had prior work history that was bad is only another indicator of bad behavior. So my question now becomes this...was she doing it for the money and media attention that a possible civil lawsuit could bring or was she truly affronted that her "freedom of speech" via the finger to Bush got her fired?
@canadabis1 (1953)
• Canada
14 Jan 07
well..if she was late all the time...then they were just over lookin it...this might of been the last straw then....but if it was me...I'w oulda gave him a double bird!...lol...drive the bus up on his front lawn and do it..lol
• United States
14 Jan 07
*laugh* I can't help it, but your post put up an AWESOME visual in my head *giggle*...it's getting late and I must be getting completely silly...but a school full of elementary school kids screaming and yelling and a kamikazi female bus driver smashes through the gates and drives through the whitehouse lawn with the woman hanging out of the window flipping the bird...now THAT would be some funny footage...
@timou87 (1638)
• Singapore
13 Jan 07
I feel that the school had come up with those reasons as to why the bus driver was fired perhaps as a cover for the true reasons why she was fired: because she insulted Bush who threatens the very meaning of democracy. If her attitude was so rotten the school should have fired her long ago and no waited until now to fire her.
• United States
14 Jan 07
*laugh* I can see how it could be construed that way - the school system didn't do anything about it until she brought public embarrassment to the school system - I mean, what school system wants to be known as the one that "flipped off Bush?" I'm sure there were a majority of teachers there that were upset about Bush and his politics...but you didn't see them running to the windows and flipping him off. No, they probably had some very candid discussions in the teacher's lounge and probably to some of their students as well.
@mkirby624 (1598)
• United States
14 Jan 07
unfortunately, i think they've got her here. This was inappropriate behavior in front of children, and I certainly wouldn't want my child riding on a bus with a driver who made profane gestures, I don't care who it was towards.
@clownfish (3272)
• United States
14 Jan 07
Hi! A lot of people don't seem to believe that freedom of speech DOES have limits. You cannot endanger people needlessly, such as yelling "fire" in a crowded building. You cannot speak about someone in a such a way that demeans a quality they cannot change, such as race. If it is a quality that is integral to a person's being, it is not free speech to demean it. Basically, one person's rights end where another person's rights begin. I didn't go into law, but I have education equivalent to that of a 3rd year law student. :-)
@mkirby624 (1598)
• United States
14 Jan 07
And I was very excited to see some of the responses here. Although most say it was great of her to flip Bush off (and I can't blame them..and I'm a republican!), I'm glad others see that this is highly inappropriate behavior in front of kids. I've seen a lot of discussions on this site where a lot of people seem to think that Freedom of Speech has no limits and it doesn't matter who is around, you have the freedom to say or gesture what you want. It's nice to see that people still believe that you should limit the profanity around the young ones.
• United States
14 Jan 07
I had to stop and say that you have brought up an issue that I completely agree with - what most people don't understand is that we can never have truly complete freedom - because if we did, it would limit the freedom of others - there has to be SOME limit so that everyone can enjoy the same freedoms - having the right to go kill someone takes away the freedom of that person to live - extreme case, yes, but it's the principle that people seem to forget. Thanks for posting!
@anabaik (206)
• Malaysia
13 Jan 07
i will forgive you if this discussion has already been posted because you have not seen it and you also not have been online.
• United States
14 Jan 07
???? Thanks - I appreciate that :)
• United States
14 Jan 07
denied freedom of speech? or freedom to use vulgar hand gestures/??
• India
14 Jan 07
u r the rock great job carry on.
@charlazio (215)
• Italy
13 Jan 07
I have to give the woman props. there aren't too many times in life that you can flip off a president. i would relish the opportunity myself. After all, you must have seen the video of Bush flipping the bird to the camera when he thought that it was turned off. If any president can appreciate the bird it's probably Bush.
• United States
14 Jan 07
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! This by far takes the cake - I had no CLUE Bush had been caught flipping off a camera! Was it real? Did someone fake it? Wow - to think that he at some other time had stooped to the same level really changes things in this discussion! *laugh* Where can I find out about Bush flipping off the camera???
@soadnot (1606)
• Canada
13 Jan 07
Exactly, where is the freedom of speech in that? Who cares about bush, really? he is just another man. If the driver was to flip off some guy on the street, nobody would care. what makes bush so special??
• United States
14 Jan 07
*laugh* That is hilarious the way you put that...the idea that being flipped off would make Bush special *giggle* - thanks for this post - I really needed this!! But the statement released by the school did say that they would have fired her had she flipped off anyone - it was the act and not the person. The argument, I THINK, came in when it was one of Bush's party that called and reported the bus driver. He allegedly did not ask her to do anything about it, but he thought she might want to know that it took place.
• Portugal
14 Jan 07
If that´s truth, if it was by flipping Bush so half American nation it would be without job in the next days, don´t you think. For me everyone it´s free to say whatever but bus driver from schools should avoid some comments because children are not interested in politicians.
@venshida (4836)
• United States
14 Jan 07
It was inappropriate behavior. If she was on her own time no kids fine, she should be terminated. I think she as an adult should set a good example for the kids, and that was rude behavior. Yes, we have freedom of speech, but by the same token her employer has the right to determine what they deemed is inappropriate. When you are in an employment situation, you need to sit down and think about the company guidelines before you act. You indicated she was a problem bus driver, they probably wanted to get rid of her and this was the final straw.
@wepay2 (346)
• Australia
14 Jan 07
why didnt the sack her before it is because americans can be jailed for saying anything against their president
• India
14 Jan 07
u r the rock great job carry on.
@CatEyes (2448)
• United States
14 Jan 07
Freedom of speach. Hmm. I do not think that we truly have that pleasure. When ever I speak about abortion and my view on it, I get into trouble (I think that your killing a baby and should be tried just like a crim), I think that public shools have become a bredding ground for crim. I get into trouble, I say moms should stay home with their kids or at least one of the parents instead of shipping them off to childcare (there are jobs one can have at night that pay pretty well, and are not illegal or immoral, I have done so and made 43 a yr doing it, and before I had my child I made 67 so where there is a will there is a way). No I think that the bus driver should have been fired. It is disrespectful to flip Any one off, and more so the president. She is teaching children to be rude, have bad manners and break the law in the future. It sounds like she is a loud mouth and wants attention and some money. There are a lot of people IE the media who portay America as this horrible place of immorality, likes to stick their nose where it does not belong, are power hungry fools. We are not; that is just the media and I find it sad that so many are sucked in to that foolishness. America is ASKED to help other countries, it is our duty as humans to help one another, and it is so sad that people are fooled into thinking different.
@dunnoson (32)
• United States
14 Jan 07
If I was in the position of the bus driver, I would say that being fired is a reasonable action. The driver made a rude gesture to the president in front of the children. The parents would want the driver fired. If I had a child on the bus, I would made sure that the driver would not drive the children because the bus drivers are suppossed to be a role model to the children.