Have you seen the story about the school bus driver who lost it and hollered at the kids on the bus?
It’s something.
Fox News, covering the story did so with a banner on screen that read “Bus Driver Goes off on Disrespectful Kids.” That’s a headline and an editorial all in one. It did not say, “Bus Driver Loses it and Yells at Kids” or “Unstable Bus Driver Takes Frustrations Out on Kids.”
Here is what bus driver, Jackie Miller, said (reader discretion is advised):
“Goddamn it! How much more do you expect me to f*ucking take? I'm sick of all of this shit. I'm done with it. I'm going to start kicking some f%cking serious ass. Do you hear me? My foot's going to be so far up your goddamn ass, it's going to dangle out your goddamn nose."
Of course, as any parent or teacher or school bus driver can tell you, kids can be frustrating. They can be terrible. They can bring you well past your limit emotionally and in terms of capacity to cope. For most parents, it is only days or hours into being a parent that such a capacity is exceeded. How much more can you take? For this particular school bus driver, not much more or not anymore at all, apparently.
So, she lost it.
And then reaped the rewards. As of the time of the publication of the news story, $116,000 had been raised for the woman via GoFundMe. There has also been a line of shirts and hoodies designed with some of her words from the tirade. Five dollars from each sale goes to her.
Kids these days?! Am I right?
Are kids worse than they used to be? I kind of doubt that, but it is a popular thing to say. “Kids used to be respectful.” When? How?
The explanatory corollary that often exists alongside such lament is the contention that the reason kids are more disrespectful now (if this is taken to be the case) is that they don’t face the threat of violence. It amounts to something like this: if kids know that they won’t get hit, then they will be disrespectful. It’s not the most genius way of thinking.
Is that why you lead a moral life, because if you didn’t you would suffer violence?
That’s quite a lovely view of yourself and of others.
Damn kids. Damn everybody!
There is a rather famous verse in the Bible that has been translated “Spare the rod, spoil the child.” It has been used to argue the “violence is essential to make people good” concept. The verse contains two dangerous words, interpretively. One is “rod.” The other is “spoil.” There are other passages of scripture that present a need for correction and even discipline, though the nature of what both mean is not entirely clear.
In the “spare the rod” case, it was taught until relatively recently, and to this day, in some Christian contexts, that the words legitimate and even call for physical violence as part of correction and discipline. One of the many problems with this comes from consideration of another Bible verse with “rod” in it.
When I, as a chaplain or pastor, visit people who are dying they often want to hear the 23rd Psalm. Do you know it? “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul.” I am assuming that you know that “makes me” in this passage does not imply violence. It implies an invitation to rest, to peace. Further in the Psalm; “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
There it is, “your rod and staff”, the implements of a shepherd.
The Psalm does not say, “Thy rod and thy staff, they make me afraid." Quite the opposite. The shepherd used the rod to guide the sheep, to block their way when they stumbled, and to ward off threats. The rod was not used to beat the sheep.
Damn sheep.
It is possible for teachers to treat students like they are opponents. I suppose parents can do this to their kids. I know that pastors can do this to congregations. We can see that school bus drivers can do this as well. Even if we can relate to the frustration and care for the person who just couldn’t take it anymore, we ought not use the incident to tell ourselves and one another that what is needed is more fear, more violence.
As my wonderful father (honestly, he was very loving and funny) would say, as a joke (about how stupid violence is): “I hate violence! If you use violence, I’ll kill you.”
The bus driver story, as told by Fox News, has a strangely happy ending. Here are Jackie Miller’s words as she thinks about the kindness of people who applauded her and sent money after she lost yelled at the kids: “I'm nobody. I'm just a little old granny bus driver, and these people doing this for me is amazing."
And I say, “And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”
This is one of the best pieces I've read all day. Of course, it is just 9:40 in the morning but I'm guessing my statement will remain true at 9:40 tonight. Thank you so much! I had just been reading about Trump and Jim Jordan and McCarthy (he was in NYC yesterday you know. Talk about violence LOL) and seeing your article pop up... and with such a great headline!... I bet it scored a 100 on Headline Analyzer. Love, Love, Love it!