By now most of you have heard about or watched the viral YouTube video of the elderly bus monitor, Karen Klein, being bullied by seventh grade boys in New York. Bullying has become a hot topic as of late, and is getting regular national exposure as the stories of bullied kids committing suicide continue to surface.
Below is the bus driver video. It is a sad example of the real world we live in today (that I believe starts at home with the family and how we parent our children). Yet, the after-story shows some positives in the world we live in, as complete strangers helped this elderly lady by giving her over $600,000. Check out the video below (warning there is foul language).
(Update: If you’d like to donate to the Karen Klein vacation/retirement fund, you can access the link here.)
Bullying…not a big deal
I will be honest, when I first began to hear about bullying being a problem I kind of dismissed it. I thought about my childhood and kids teasing one another, or taking lunch money from other kids. But I never viewed that as a major problem. It was just something that kids did, and laughed about later when they were older.
Learn more and fight it
However, seeing it more and more, and learning what can happen as a result has caused me to have a different opinion. Fortunately there are good organizations that are now educating people, who were naive like me, and helping kids who have been bullied or have been bullying. One great organization that is doing great nationwide work (based in Indianapolis I might add) is Angels and Doves.
I encourage you to not be naive to bullying. Learn more about it, talk to your kids, and take a stance against it. It is no small issue.
Question: What are your thoughts on bullying? Have you or someone you loved been on either end of the bullying spectrum? What are your thoughts on the video? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
SPACE