JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Sixty-eight year old bus monitor, Karen Klein was verbally and physically attacked by middle schoolers on a bus near Rochester New York, but viewers in Jacksonville are outraged. The way children bully their elder has them appalled.
"It's so sad the way she is treated here," said Jacksonville visitor, Mariah Montenegro.
Bullying is even more difficult to watch, when grandma is the one being targeted.
"We are losing respect for seniors we are losing respect for people in authority," said clinical psychologist, Lynn Wadelton. "There's sort of a desensitization and a disconnect it's a social value that is getting lost."
But why? Wadelton says kids aren't being raised with respect. They aren't getting the social instruction they should be in the home.
"We're seeing more single parent families, less traditional family structure and support for families, so with the change in families with divorce and geographic distance, things that contribute to less support for kids," said Wadelton.
That leaves little hope for elders like Klein. She believes her young attackers should not face criminal charges, but she does hope they and all other kids their age learn a valuable lesson.
"I hope that this might help other people, that's what I really hope," said Klein.
Many therapists say the only way to stop bullying is with zero tolerance policy in and outside schools. Klein's school district in Greece, NY says its bullying team is investigating the incident and the behavior is unacceptable.
