This is America: Look straight ahead, ignore the rape going on near you…ON A SCHOOL BUS!!1!!!
How self-centered have Americans become? How does something like this happen?
On a school bus carrying 60 students (and the bus driver) a 14-year-old girl was molested and, Police say, raped by an 18-year-old Riverdale High School student, surrounded by other students who payed no attention.
No other student said anything or even tried to help her.
What sort of country are we living in?
From WSMV-4 NBC News…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Murfreesboro police said a 14-year-old girl was raped on a school bus while at least 60 kids and the bus driver were aboard.Rutherford County school bus driver Joe Bond said, for safety sake, he looks straight ahead when hauling kids.
“I’ve been a bus driver for six years. I love my camera. I wouldn’t drive without one,” said Bond.
I’ve no problem with the bus driver paying attention to the road; safety first and all of that. But there is an attitude of ‘cover my ass’ in his response I think.
Further…
On Wednesday, his camera saw something Bond said he did not. A 14-year-old Riverdale High student was raped as the bus was traveling down the road, said police.Brandon Stover, 18, a Senior at Riverdale High School, has been charged with sexual battery and rape.
“Did she say, ‘No?’” asked reporter Cynthia Williams.
What kind of freakin’ question is that? Did she say ‘No’? As if she had said yes all would be well and good?
“I didn’t hear it. I’ve got 60 kids on the bus all talking, cutting up, laughing,” said Bond.Bond said it wasn’t until the bus stopped, and the girl was leaving did she tell him she’d been “groped” and urged him to look at the tape.
“Did she look upset?” asked Williams.
“A little scared maybe, but not really upset. She didn’t want anybody to know she turned him in,” said Bond.
The child was more afraid of the response from this punk’s friends and his social ragtag than of seeking justice. There is a disconnect between our kids and the schools, between our kids and authority, and between our kids and each other. Imagine that!
More…
Bond said that when he saw the tape, he saw pushing, but nothing that would indicate what Murfreesboro police said was clearly rape.”In this case, our suspect actually reached into the pants of our victim and there was penetration when that occurred. So, that is considered rape,” said Murfreesboro police spokesman Kyle Evans.
The girl was sitting in the middle of the bus next to the window, about 15 or 20 feet from the bus driver.
If he didn’t have a clear visual of what was going on, police wonder why Bond did not immediately call authorities with what little he knew from the 14-year-old, police said.
“Who would I report to? I didn’t have the supervisor’s number,” said Bond.
“How about police?” asked Williams.
“She didn’t say anything about being rape. She said she had been groped,” said Bond.
This bus driver seems somewhat idiotic. “She said she had been groped.” Well, that’s OK then…right? Moron. This guy should never drive a school bus again. How about a nice job with Tyson Foods moving chickens around the nation? You could ignore what’s going on behind you then, because chickens aren’t human!!
Finishing out the story…
It was the child’s parents who showed up at Riverdale High School the next day and reported what allegedly had happened.Stover was arrested at school Friday and expelled the rest of the school year.
Police said they are still not convinced about what the bus driver saw. They also said Stover wasn’t a regular rider of the bus, and they said they believe he randomly chose the girl.
Really, I’m more concerned about the other passengers in the bus. You have to figure that at least a few others didn’t have their earbuds attached, mp3 or cellphones or other personal distraction devices working, and noticed something amiss. Not a one chimed in, or tried to help this girl.
That, to me, is unforgivable.
We have problems in this country, at levels our grandparents could not imagine. In near-rural America, rape on a school bus, and no intervention.
Sick.
crossed from home. with attitude.
I heard about that on the radio this morning. It is sick and sad.
Have either of you read The Tipping Point? It has a pretty good explanation of why stuff like this happens. There’s apparently some short-circuit in human psychology that causes this. When we look at it from afar, we say, “How is it possible that nobody did anything when there were 60 other people there.” But research tells us that nobody did anything precisely because 60 other people were there — people seem to assume that since nobody else is doing anything about it, it must not really be a problem, or that if it really were a problem, others would already be doing something.
It’s horrible, and I don’t know how to fix it.
Guess we shouldn’t have Kicke GOD out of school
This is pathetic. I’m not one to normally favor punishing people for failing to intervene, but these kids really need a kick in the ass. If I ever have a child that ignored something like this, they’d earn a one way ticket to military school.
Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves here. So far, there’s been an accusation made, and that’s about all we know. This would indeed be terrible if true — if the girl was indeed molested/raped, and if it was (or should have been) apparent to other bus riders that something was going on — but we’re far from knowing that yet.
The Duke Lacrosse scandal should be clear enough in everyone’s memory to prevent us from making too hasty a judgment.
This is what happens when instead of teaching leadership the schools teach tolerance.
The kids in nearby seats should be charged as accessories.
Number 9:
I defy you to show me a school that teaches you should “tolerate” someone being physically attacked.
I think schools might have a zero tolerance policy for fighting though, which isn’t good obviously.