By Ali Fornash

Last month I went to see the documentary BULLY and wrote a few response pieces related to my feelings after seeing the film and my ideas for possible solutions to ending the bullying crisis kids are experiencing in our schools. As a person who is in the education field and was bullied as a kid, I am passionate about this topic. This morning while reading some of my favorite news websites I came across a story about Karen Huff Klein. Karen is a 68-year-old bus monitor for a middle school in New York. Students on her bus bullied her and took a video of it. Then these child geniuses posted it on YouTube. Here is the video. Please be advised, the the language is offensive. 

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While watching this video I was in utter shock. It made me sick to my stomach. What is wrong with these kids?! It is deplorable that they would treat another human being this way, never-mind an elderly women! They called her a “fat ass”, taunted her and even went as far as flicking and poking at her. They also accuse her of raping children, which in my opinion is a pretty serious accusation. Karen is driven to tears and this makes the students go at Karen even harder. I think the worst part of it all is that they not only taped it, but the put it on YouTube as if they are proud of what they did! That is seriously disturbing. I would never have dreamed of doing something like this as a middle schooler. This video has brought several questions to mind?

• Why do these students think this is acceptable?
• Why were they proud of this behavior?
• If they will treat an adult or authority figure this way, what are they doing to other kids?
• Are kids so desensitized to verbal and physical violence that this behavior seems “normal” to them?

Chime in with your thoughts!