“The bus driver stood by and did nothing.”
I don’t really blame the bus driver, as I think he’s in a no-win situation here. He’s white, driving a bus full of black kids. He knows that if he verbally confronts the troublemakers, his words won’t have any positive effect, and he’ll probably just be accused of racism by the unruly kids or their parents. He also knows that if he is more direct, and walks over to where the problem is taking place to try to establish order, it is very likely that he will be assaulted. He knows that if he is assaulted, he will have to take whatever they dish out, because if he raises a hand in his own defense, he will be accused of racism for striking a black kid, and will probably lose his job at a minimum, and possibly even be prosecuted.
“I wonder if the girl was the victim of bullies because her father has no self control?”
Wrong. She was the victim of bullies because there are almost always bullies allowed to run riot over other students on school buses. The administrations do very little or nothing about it- out of sight, out of mind, I guess.
Driver’s do their best, but a driver usually cannot stop bullying because, well, they’re busy driving and don’t know what is happening behind the seats in the back of the bus. Also, the roar of the engines prevents them from hearing anything the kids are saying to one another, unless they are yelling directly to her. And driver’s are not allowed to discipline kids, only to report their behavior.
I drove a school bus for 8 years, and was always very concerned about bullying and aggression, and I did everything within my power to prevent it. It ate me up to know that some of the sweetest little innocents were experiencing obscenities and bullying from jerks in the back, and most of the time I couldn’t see it.
But when I would report bullying to administration, the bully would receive a tiny “slap on the wrist.” I couldn’t even get the bullies kicked off the bus for a week.
The final straw came one afternoon as I sat loading students at the high school. The bus bully threatened, right in front of me, to “kill dead” another young teen whom she had already been bullying relentlessly for a month. (She had been punished for it too, although not nearly strongly enough). I ordered the bully to move to a front seat, to get her separated from the victim. The bully simply refused, repeatedly.
We hadn’t left the high school yet, so I called for administration’s assistance. Three administrators in succession came onto my bus and were unable to get this b**** to budge from her seat at the very back of the bus. If it had been up to me, my next step would have been to call her parents to drive to the school and get her off the bus themselves.
But no. By now 4 adults had instructed this girl to come forward, but when she still refused, the principal turned to me and whispered “Would you please just take her home and I’ll deal with this tomorrow?” My jaw must have dropped. The victim was stunned.
The principal, vice principal, and dean of students filed off the bus, and when I closed the door and pulled away from the curb, the roar of victory from the bully and her friends was deafening. I drove them all home with obscenities raining down on my head the entire way. That was it for me. I never drove a school bus again. The administration couldn’t understand why I had quit.
So I don’t blame that poor father in the video- he probably tried everything else and raving threats were all that remained to him. Oh, and be sure to notice how the kids are laughing out loud at him almost the entire time. They are not at all afraid of his impotent rage...
Sorry for the MASSIVE post. This really struck a nerve for me. I know just how he felt.
Excellent comentary