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Nathan Davis
Dina Wecker
English 2010
15 March 2015

Adults Not Safe From Bullies

It seems that no one is immune to being bullied. Children are often told
that if theyre being bullied by other kids, to tell an adult. Get an adult to
help you end the abuse youre going through. But what happens when the
very person youre supposed to go to, an adult, is the one being bullied by
kids? Thats exactly what happened to a bus monitor.
Karen Klein was a bus driver for 20+ years in New York. For 3 years she
was a bus driver for Greece Central School District in Rochester, New York.
(Zimmerman; Gawker). A YouTube video was released in 2012 that shows
Karen sitting on the bus with 7th graders as they completely tear her down in
every foul way you can think of. Its over 10 minutes of disgusting, profane
insults that eventually moved Karen to tears. Youre a dumb a--, fat a--.
Whats your address so I can p-ss all over your door. Ill egg your house. I
would never tell you that. I would never tell you where I live. She would
retort. It seemed that nothing was off limits for these kids. Karens son had
committed suicide 10 years previous and these 7th graders decided to use
that knowledge against her. You dont have a family because they all killed
themselves because they dont want to be near you. (Associated Press; NY
Daily News) They taunted her appearance endlessly, her family life, and said
just about every vile thing that can be said to a person. Eventually, she could
only take so much and broke down into tears. That only seemed to intensify
the bullying. These kids could smell blood in the water with her newfound
tears. Karen had been a bus monitor for 3 years. How long was she taking
this abuse for? The video was released by a student with the moniker
CapitalTrigga that stated he/she had no part in the bullying, but wanted to
show how awful the situation was. The video got a huge response.

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(CapitalTrigga via Youtube) Karen being bullied on the bus.

Shortly after the video was released, Karen began getting interviews to
discuss her experience. During an interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN,
he read statements to her released by some of the kids that were bullying
her. One of the boys named Josh wrote her the following:
I am so sorry for the way I treated you. When I saw the video I was
disgusted and could not believe I did that. I am sorry for being so mean and I
will never treat anyone this way again.
Another boy named Wesley wrote:
I feel really bad about what I did. I wish I had never done those things. If
that had happened to someone in my family, like my mother or
grandmother, I would be really mad at the people who did that to
them.(Cooper; AC360) When asked if she felt like these were bad kids she
replied, No. Not really. Not deep down . . . But she did think they needed to
be given some type of punishment, such as being kicked off sports teams for
a year.
One of the boys went over to her house with his parents and
apologized in person. She felt that that act was much more sincere than
receiving letters. The parents of the children also reached out and offered
their apologies.
The school system suspended 4 students from school and from using
bus transportation for a year as well. Unfortunately, these 4 students also
began to receive death threats from other people. Ironic how these 4
students themselves began to be bullied, for bullying another person.
( Associated Press; NY Daily News) While I agree that these students should
have been punished, they absolutely should not have been threatened or

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bullied themselves. How can those kids learn and be helped if theyre now
afraid of what theyll face from bigger bullies?
Its now been almost 2 years since Karens video was uploaded to Youtube.
The video has been viewed more than 1.4 million times. Karen was named
one of People Magazines top 3 most inspirational people for the year 2012.
(Coughlan, Maggie; People Magazine) She has gained far more attention than
she ever thought she could. In many ways, her life has stayed the same. But
its also had some changes. Shell have people stop her in the street and ask
to have their picture taken with her now. But shes also learned that there
are many generous people out there, and that they have the power to drown
out the negative.
A 25 year old Canadian, Max Sidorov, was so moved by the video that
he set up an online donation for her to be able to go on a vacation. He just
wanted to do something nice for her after seeing the abuse she took from
those 7th graders. As Max put it, they raised ridiculously more than I
expected. (Thompson; Today News) The fund got a huge response as many
people around the world were affected by what they saw. In fact, 32,000
people from 84 countries responded by pledging over $700,000 to her.
Karens life just completely changed in a matter of days. Karen had driven a
bus for 20 years, and had been a bus monitor for 3 years, and had now been
given the ability due to the generosity of others, to retire. Something she
never thought shed be able to do.
Karen was now in the position to buy a new house, maybe a new car.
Instead, she has used that money to help others. Shes saved some away for
her retirement living and has said she may get a motor home to do some
traveling. Shes helped family members and friends with some financial help
as well. The most impactful thing she did was take $100,000 of that money
and used it to start the Karen Klein Anti-Bullying Foundation. She admits to
not knowing exactly what to do with this foundation and wishes she could do
more. Im just a regular old lady she says with a laugh, but has found a lot
of people ready to support and help her with her foundation. (Thompson;
Today News) Now she has a great foundation thats reaching out and helping
those that are struggling with being bullied.

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Karen Klein Foundation Logo; karenkleingfoundation.org

Karen has received support from musical artists, a former X Factor

contestant, business owners, other foundations, Miss Teen USA, and many
many others to get her foundation up and going. Shes launched a PSA Music
Tour to stop bullying, and has been to many cities across the country to
spread the message about standing up to bullies. Shes also received help
internationally, as the Moscow Ballet has formed a partnership with her
foundation for a fundraising initiative to address cyberbullying specifically in
both the US and Canada.
(http://karenkleinfoundation.blogspot.com/2012/12/akiva-talmi-producer-ofmoscow-ballet.html) On her website, karenkleinfoundation.blogspot.com,
there are videos and audio of ways to handle bullies and how kids should
treat each other. There is also a spot for people to submit anti-bullying ideas
to help her with her foundation. She wants to get the message out that
bullying has to stop.
During one of her PSA stops for her foundation, a reporter asked her if
she had one thing to share or one thing to say to people watching her that
night, what would it be. She thought for a moment and said, Dont let
anyone bully you. Be strong. Dont step back. Move forward. Tell someone. If
youre being bullied, tell your parents, teachers, whoever. But make sure
somebody knows about it. (karenkleinfoundation.org) Karen has taken a
bullying experience, and with the help of many generous people, is out to
help other victims. Shes an inspiration to many and hopes that her
foundation can help put an end to kids and adults being tormented and
haunted by others. As her website motto goes, Together we will stop
bullying in America.

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Works Cited
New York Schoolkids Mercilessly Taunt Elderly Bus Monitor; Zimmerman,
Neetzan; Gawker
Students Who Bullied Bus Monitor, Karen Klein, Suspended For One
Year Associated Press; NY Daily News; 29 June 2012
Bullied Bus Monitor Speaks Out; Cooper, Anderson; CNN; 21 June
2012 Interview
Bullied Bus Driver Teaches Kindness One Year Later; Thompson,
Carolyn; Today News; 23 June 2013
Best of 2012: Bullied Bus Monitor Karen Klein, News Anchor Jennifer
Livingston & More of 2012s Inspiring People; Coughlan, Maggie; People
Magazine; 27 Dec 2012

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www.Karenkleinfoundation.org
www.karenkleinfoundation.blogspot.com