off topic The Bus Monitor Story

[frissonic]

check that...$300,000 and climbing! I'd hire some hitmen for those brats!

 

Seriously, I'm starting to think this story is a fake. $300,000...we're talking 30,000 people donating $10 in this short amount of time. Really?

she was on GMA yesterday. basically, she said that she doesn't want any criminal charges pressed against the kids. THAT is why humanity is not as depraved as some would have you believe.

 

also, last i saw (a few minutes ago), it was over $440,000. to your point about the story possibly being fake, i guess there's that possibility, but given the speed of the internet, and given that this campaign is now about 9 hours shy of 2 days old, the number of donations isn't surprising at all. now ... if it sustains this pace for longer than a few more days, i'd be surprised. my brother and i had a discussion yesterday about the life cycle of viral videos. it's wicked short. he gives it until the middle of next week before this whole thing dies down ... but at that point and with the pace this campaign is raking in donations hand over fist, she'll easily clear 1 mil by sunday evening, maybe monday morning.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

It was definitely in bad taste. Then again, consider the source. I knew not to fall into the trap of "rebuking" him this time because I knew it would get nowhere. DeLuca might have said it "tongue in cheek", but it went way over the top.

 

/start rant

 

It is well known on this board, Crosschecking, that you and don't agree on many issues. That said, it is also known on this board that I do agree with you on some points. While, I do not agree with you often I do admire your strength of conviction and your willingness to express it.

 

As for DeLuca's post it, IMO, did go way too far and was in bad taste. In the past, he had illuded to the disgusting Penn State affair in a post concerning President Bush, as well. While I am not a fan of President Bush, I also expressed my feelings on that post as going too far. Some things should just be off limits and, to me, drawing character into question in this manner is one of them. Common sense should dictate what should be off limits in life and on this board.

 

In the past I have been criticised for policing the board. The member who expressed that opinion and I had a good PM conversation about it. I do not see it that way, as I beleive the mods do a great job monitoring this board and no mod has ever expressed to me that they feel I police the board. That said, I do beleive that the board and posters are also, to a degree, self-monitoring.

 

Like the saying goes ... if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. People often feel that their lone voice won't change anything, but history shows that if enough voice their concern then if often does ... South Africa and the Berlin Wall are good examples.

 

/end rant ...

[Ross Rhea]

she was on GMA yesterday. basically, she said that she doesn't want any criminal charges pressed against the kids. THAT is why humanity is not as depraved as some would have you believe.

 

also, last i saw (a few minutes ago), it was over $440,000. to your point about the story possibly being fake, i guess there's that possibility, but given the speed of the internet, and given that this campaign is now about 9 hours shy of 2 days old, the number of donations isn't surprising at all. now ... if it sustains this pace for longer than a few more days, i'd be surprised. my brother and i had a discussion yesterday about the life cycle of viral videos. it's wicked short. he gives it until the middle of next week before this whole thing dies down ... but at that point and with the pace this campaign is raking in donations hand over fist, she'll easily clear 1 mil by sunday evening, maybe monday morning.

 

I think that is awesome. She can retire now and enjoy some family vacations and never have to deal with a**hole kids again.

[dEnnis the Menace]

Let's get away from the religion conversation, eh?

 

and I think it would be even better if she donated a lot of that money to a good cause. I think that would show some good in humanity.

[EasternOHSabresFan]

I didn't miss your point at all. I'm pretty sure you missed mine, though.

 

Here's a recap.

 

You said,"... it was a horrible reminder of the depravity and wretchedness of humanity as a whole."

 

Then I basically said, "If you only focus on the bad, then you won't realize how much more good there is."

 

And while irrelevant, yes, I am a good person.

 

I think more people are starting to realize that- condemnation and hate and looking down from your nose isn't going to attract many disciples, that's for sure. Someone understood that way back when :angel:

 

I like this idea from the Puritans for those kids:

 

[LastPommerFan]

I think it would be even better if she donated a lot of that money to a good cause. I think that would show some good in humanity.

 

I actually think I would be disappointed if she didn't use the vast majority of it to build up a antibullying/respect program in Greece.

[Guest Sloth]

That is not really applying a stereotype thats more applying personal observation.

 

I have known very nice religous people and complete wackjob ones. Just as I have know many nice and civil agnostics and some wackjobs that flipped out cause I said bless you when they sneezed. But on the whole the religious wackos have outnumbered the agnostic wackos

 

And often times that is how people develop or learn stereotypes.

 

But I'll go w/ what dEnnnis the Menace said. Let's end the conversation dealing w/ religion.

 

As a side note, let's hope whatever Darcy and company do today does A LOT to improve the Sabres!

[dEnnis the Menace]

I actually think I would be disappointed if she didn't use the vast majority of it to build up a antibullying/respect program in Greece.

 

I didn't even think about that. That would be a good idea. And the first people that should have to go thru it? those kids.

[Sabre Dance]

The earlier comment about karma catching up with these kids is right on - can you image when any of them try to get into a good college and this shows up on their record? How about a job interview? Would you hire someone to work in your office that has a history like these kids'?

 

Also, this story has gone national, sort of. It showed up on my Yahoo! home page yesterday. No wonder the $$ are rolling in.

[Marvelo]

she was on GMA yesterday. basically, she said that she doesn't want any criminal charges pressed against the kids. THAT is why humanity is not as depraved as some would have you believe.

 

also, last i saw (a few minutes ago), it was over $440,000. to your point about the story possibly being fake, i guess there's that possibility, but given the speed of the internet, and given that this campaign is now about 9 hours shy of 2 days old, the number of donations isn't surprising at all. now ... if it sustains this pace for longer than a few more days, i'd be surprised. my brother and i had a discussion yesterday about the life cycle of viral videos. it's wicked short. he gives it until the middle of next week before this whole thing dies down ... but at that point and with the pace this campaign is raking in donations hand over fist, she'll easily clear 1 mil by sunday evening, maybe monday morning.

 

It doesn't sound real to me. Just because she was being abused in her job, she gets this huge outpouring? I think it's a fake story with all that money being an exhaggeration or totally fake. "They" want us to believe something so it makes the news. I can't say I feel too sorry for her either; she didn't even defend herself; no self-respect...she just sat there like a dummy. Don't believe in people getting huge sums of money for doing nothing in the face of being a victim of insults.

 

Even though I believe the youtube video, I do believe there are alot of fake news stories out there...the zombies, the leprechauns...just the other day I was driving around and the news station WBZ interrupted their normal program with a bulletin -- Lindsay Lohan was found unconcious at a hotel. There's alot of shoddy reporting, outright lying and plagiarism out there. There's no investigative journalism anywhere either. I almost don't believe in the news industry at all...and this story fits into the category.

 

I believe that kids can be more cruel than ever -- largely thanks to absentee dads and hyper-overdrive moms not teaching kids anything, especially about values. But I don't trust the media and also believe this story could be a staged hoax.

[SwampD]

This is a simple continuation of your attempt to apply a negative stereotype to people w/ a religious faith. You base your beliefs and arguments solely on the people you know or have met. The two points you try to make back that up.

Um,.. what?

[HopefulFuture]

Interesting that she now has over 400k in funds due to this incident.

 

I'm in the wrong job. I would like 400k :(

[darksabre]

The earlier comment about karma catching up with these kids is right on - can you image when any of them try to get into a good college and this shows up on their record? How about a job interview? Would you hire someone to work in your office that has a history like these kids'?

 

It's not even going to matter. If they're charged as juveniles the records get sealed after they turn 18. And everyone will have forgotten about it in a year or two. As long as they don't end up as frequent visitors of the criminal justice system they'll be fine.

[frissonic]

It doesn't sound real to me. Just because she was being abused in her job, she gets this huge outpouring? I think it's a fake story with all that money being an exhaggeration or totally fake. "They" want us to believe something so it makes the news. I can't say I feel too sorry for her either; she didn't even defend herself; no self-respect...she just sat there like a dummy. Don't believe individuals getting huge sums of money for being a victim of insults. They don't need a school monitor on the bus, they need a 6'7 ex-con who'd beat the snot out of those kids.

 

here's my take on it: it doesn't sound real (to you and many others; you're definitely not alone in this ...) because i don't think anything like this has ever been done. my brother works for a company who's sole purpose is to analyze social media and viral videos for longevity and determine whether there's a trend to why some viral videos last longer than others as far as internet shelf-life goes, and how that can translate to a better viral marketing campaign. he's been there less than a year, but his co-workers have been there for several years, and none of them have ever seen a viral video with an accompanying pledge campaign. this is brand new, and regarless of whether it's a fake video or not, it demonstrates the capability of the nascent model. a perfect blend of pathos and ethos, tossing logos out the window, and look what you get: an almost $500k campaign with donations from a almost 100% complete strangers (I say "almost" because i read a comment yesterday from a backer who said she was related to kathy klein).

 

irrelevant to what you and i or anyone else thinks, this thing has just turned the marketing world on its ear.

[Campy]

I am by no means defending the behavior of the students, however, the bus monitor should not have just sat there and taken their abuse. She obviously lacks the skill set required to position herself as an effective authority figure. Again, the kids certainly crossed the line - but it should never have never gotten that far. I spent 6 years teaching in public schools and learned early on that when one asserts oneself as a person to be respected, this behavior simply doesn't happen.

 

She, in some way, shape, or form, shares in the responsibility for this incident.

[darksabre]

I am by no means defending the behavior of the students, however, the bus monitor should not have just sat there and taken their abuse. She obviously lacks the skill set required to position herself as an effective authority figure. Again, the kids certainly crossed the line - but it should never have never gotten that far. I spent 6 years teaching in public schools and learned early on that when one asserts oneself as a person to be respected, this behavior simply doesn't happen.

 

She, in some way, shape, or form, shares in the responsibility for this incident.

 

What was she supposed to do? Start hitting them?

 

Anything she could have done would only have fanned the flames. She probably felt trapped because these a-hole kids were all around her. What if she tried to get up and one of them tripped her? Or if they had grabbed her? She was obviously scared and confused. It's a tough situation.

 

I want to know where the bus driver was in all of this. Contrary to what idiot kids think, bus drivers can see and hear everything. I have no idea why these kids were allowed to continue like they were.

[Iron Crotch]

here's my take on it: it doesn't sound real (to you and many others; you're definitely not alone in this ...) because i don't think anything like this has ever been done. my brother works for a company who's sole purpose is to analyze social media and viral videos for longevity and determine whether there's a trend to why some viral videos last longer than others as far as internet shelf-life goes, and how that can translate to a better viral marketing campaign. he's been there less than a year, but his co-workers have been there for several years, and none of them have ever seen a viral video with an accompanying pledge campaign. this is brand new, and regarless of whether it's a fake video or not, it demonstrates the capability of the nascent model. a perfect blend of pathos and ethos, tossing logos out the window, and look what you get: an almost $500k campaign with donations from a almost 100% complete strangers (I say "almost" because i read a comment yesterday from a backer who said she was related to kathy klein).

 

irrelevant to what you and i or anyone else thinks, this thing has just turned the marketing world on its ear.

 

Chris, could you PM me the name of your brother's company? If they are in Utah, I think I know them. Thanks.

[frissonic]

I am by no means defending the behavior of the students, however, the bus monitor should not have just sat there and taken their abuse. She obviously lacks the skill set required to position herself as an effective authority figure. Again, the kids certainly crossed the line - but it should never have never gotten that far. I spent 6 years teaching in public schools and learned early on that when one asserts oneself as a person to be respected, this behavior simply doesn't happen.

 

She, in some way, shape, or form, shares in the responsibility for this incident.

no, she is not. she took the silent method of handling it. just because it's not how you would have handled it doesn't mean it's not a correct way of handling it. like she said at the beginning, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." it's not her fault that the kids were brats. she took the high road and chose to ignore them. there's absolutely NOTHING wrong with that. the proper authorities are handling it, and that's all that matters.

[Campy]

What was she supposed to do? Start hitting them?

 

Anything she could have done would only have fanned the flames. She probably felt trapped because these a-hole kids were all around her. What if she tried to get up and one of them tripped her? Or if they had grabbed her? She was obviously scared and confused. It's a tough situation.

 

I want to know where the bus driver was in all of this. Contrary to what idiot kids think, bus drivers can see and hear everything. I have no idea why these kids were allowed to continue like they were.

No, violence or the fear of violence is not the solution, and yes, the driver should have supported her.

 

Here's my take: Most kids know right from wrong, and setting the expectation that "wong" will not be tolerated goes a long way in preventing issues long before they happen. In other words, this began with their lack of respect for her, and that lack of respect likely began the first day of school in the fall when she failed to assert herself as an authority figure.

 

I imagine that anyone who has spent a great deal of time working with other people's kids (teachers, coaches, scout leaders, et al) know exactly what I mean...

[Campy]

no, she is not. she took the silent method of handling it. just because it's not how you would have handled it doesn't mean it's not a correct way of handling it. like she said at the beginning, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." it's not her fault that the kids were brats. she took the high road and chose to ignore them. there's absolutely NOTHING wrong with that. the proper authorities are handling it, and that's all that matters.

Seriously? There is EVERYTHING wrong with her not saying anything.

 

She's not somebody's grandmother walking down the street to the pharmacy who was accosted by a group of wilding youths. She was (supposed to be) an authority figure whose responsibilities included maintaining appropriate behavior on the bus! Evidently, she does not have the skills or demeanor for the job.

 

Look, I'm sure she's a wonderful lady and absolutely certain she did not deserve the treatment she received. I'm equally confident that she isn't a very effective bus monitor. And while the video was recorded in June, this began in September and should have been addressed then, long before it reached this point.

[LastPommerFan]

Seriously? There is EVERYTHING wrong with her not saying anything.

 

She's not somebody's grandmother walking down the street to the pharmacy who was accosted by a group of wilding youths. She was (supposed to be) an authority figure whose responsibilities included maintaining appropriate behavior on the bus! Evidently, she does not have the skills or demeanor for the job.

 

Look, I'm sure she's a wonderful lady and absolutely certain she did not deserve the treatment she received. I'm equally confident that she isn't a very effective bus monitor. And while the video was recorded in June, this began in September and should have been addressed then, long before it reached this point.

 

Yes, obviously, but why are you bringing that up? And how are you so certain that she is to blame? And what makes you think that you can hire highly trained professionals at a Bus Monitor's wage?

 

She stated in one of her interviews that she had reported this before, and nothing was done. As a former educator you probably know that nothing was done because administrators are almost fully castrated by litigious parents.

 

Also, she didn't say "nothing" she tells the kids that she is a person too and should be treated as such. She also tries to teach them a lesson using the words on her purse as a teaching tool. Then they start insulting her about the purse.

[dEnnis the Menace]

Seriously? There is EVERYTHING wrong with her not saying anything.

 

She's not somebody's grandmother walking down the street to the pharmacy who was accosted by a group of wilding youths. She was (supposed to be) an authority figure whose responsibilities included maintaining appropriate behavior on the bus! Evidently, she does not have the skills or demeanor for the job.

 

Look, I'm sure she's a wonderful lady and absolutely certain she did not deserve the treatment she received. I'm equally confident that she isn't a very effective bus monitor. And while the video was recorded in June, this began in September and should have been addressed then, long before it reached this point.

 

This was the kind of response I was waiting to hear. I was hoping someone would share their thoughts from a different angle. thanks!

 

I honestly don't think that a bus monitor needs to assert pure authority over the kids though. When I was in middle school, we had the sweetest old lady as our bus monitor, and nobody f*@&$d with her. Se never had to assert herself. If it got too rowdy, all she had to do was look at all of us and in her sweetest voice that reminds you of your grandmother, she'd just say, "alright now, just bring it down a few notches" That was all it took. Our bus driver was 100x meaner than the monitor, and the point was to never get the bus driver involved, because then you knew you were in trouble. You might sit on the side of the road in the heat or cold, you might get yelled at, you just never knew, but you never wanted to find out either.

[MattPie]

FWIW, several years ago the comic "Penny Arcade" got mad about a negative article about video games and kids and started a charity. In the first month they raised well over $100k, and that's just comic/gamer geeks. Similarly last week, The Oatmeal has raised over $150k (oops: 210k now) for charity over a legal dispute ($118k of that in the first 24 hours). Again, that's just comic geeks. This is something that touches the population at large, and doesn't surprise me at all.

 

http://www.childsplaycharity.org/ ($3.5m this year)

http://www.cbsnews.c...00-for-charity/

[frissonic]

Seriously? There is EVERYTHING wrong with her not saying anything.

 

She's not somebody's grandmother walking down the street to the pharmacy who was accosted by a group of wilding youths. She was (supposed to be) an authority figure whose responsibilities included maintaining appropriate behavior on the bus! Evidently, she does not have the skills or demeanor for the job.

 

Look, I'm sure she's a wonderful lady and absolutely certain she did not deserve the treatment she received. I'm equally confident that she isn't a very effective bus monitor. And while the video was recorded in June, this began in September and should have been addressed then, long before it reached this point.

 

okay, to that end, i agree. however, she is not the root cause of these kids' behavior. the KIDS are the root cause of their behavior. and i'd like to know how many times she reported any kind of behavior to the school, district, or anyone else who would listen. my guess is that the school needed to have a "monitor" in place to comply with some kind of district policy, and she filled the job.

 

the difference between an anarchist society and a normal, functioning society is defined by morals. those in a normal, functioning society, make a conscious choice to comply with laws and regulations. an anarchist society makes a conscious choice to disregard law and law enforcement. those boys lived in an anarchist state of mind. granted, nothing was being done about it, but really ... what good would it have done to "enforce" anything? they didn't respect the authority anyway.

[apuszczalowski]

I kind of wondered just how true this story and video were when i heard about it too, especially when I heard that a website was started to collect donations. Viral videos are faked all the time, the internet is the easiest place to make anything up/fake things and make them believable. If I was the Bus monitor I also wouldn't want any charges or anything to happen to these kids, I would probably go thank them now for making me almost a half million dollars.

 

As for the Woman, I agree a little that she helped it continue by not doing anything. Being a kid at one time in my life and having been bullied before many times, the silent treatment rarely works, it only pushes the bully further until they get a reaction from you. The bully is looking for a reaction and most won't stop until the get one. Her job riding on the bus is to monitor and make sure they are following the rules. If it was me, I would have told them its enough and then told the bus driver to pull over and the school or their parents would be contacted immediatly to come get these kids off the bus if it continued. By just sitting there and taking it, its just pushing the bullies to continue further.