What is your level of emotional response to recent current events?

brianlux · October 2023

I'm one of those people who tend to worry more about my own issues- broken plumbing, health issues, the cat limping, etc.- than I do the big issues of the world and domestic politics, etc., not because I don't care about the big issues (I do!) but because there is not much I can do about broken plumbing than a broken government. In other words, I worry about the person things, and am concerned about the bigger issues.

But I am becoming increasing worried about the political state of affairs, especially with the recent appointment of MAGA Mike as speaker of the house. I live in a conservative county in California (yes, they do exist!) and am already seeing a proliferation of hate on a local FB chat site (I only follow it to keep up with what's new around here and that site is very revealing). I think we are now going to see more hatred from the right toward LGBTQ folks, toward anyone who isn't far right, toward elderly people, and an increased difficulty in maintaining and sense of environmental protection. I'm also reading that there is an increase in the percentage of right wingers who are in favor of using political violence.

Maybe I'm over reacting, but my current sense is that we are moving closer to an authoritarian regime, not further. Please tell me, if you can, that I am over-reacting. My current feelings are very unsettling.

Halifax2TheMax · October 2023

brianlux said:

I'm one of those people who tend to worry more about my own issues- broken plumbing, health issues, the cat limping, etc.- than I do the big issues of the world and domestic politics, etc., not because I don't care about the big issues (I do!) but because there is not much I can do about broken plumbing than a broken government. In other words, I worry about the person things, and am concerned about the bigger issues.

But I am becoming increasing worried about the political state of affairs, especially with the recent appointment of MAGA Mike as speaker of the house. I live in a conservative county in California (yes, they do exist!) and am already seeing a proliferation of hate on a local FB chat site (I only follow it to keep up with what's new around here and that site is very revealing). I think we are now going to see more hatred from the right toward LGBTQ folks, toward anyone who isn't far right, toward elderly people, and an increased difficulty in maintaining and sense of environmental protection. I'm also reading that there is an increase in the percentage of right wingers who are in favor of using political violence.

Maybe I'm over reacting, but my current sense is that we are moving closer to an authoritarian regime, not further. Please tell me, if you can, that I am over-reacting. My current feelings are very unsettling.

I don’t think you’re overreacting at all. NC with a statehouse super majority just jerrymandered 3 congressional districts likely to result in flips to repubs. Similar steps are being taken in other key states as well as repub state houses limiting the powers of secretary of states as they relate to election certifications. With a magat speaker at the helm, the Freedumb Caucsuckers were rewarded and thus far applauded by the repub party. Add Chinese, Putin on the ritz and Iranian social media propaganda and disinformation, a large portion of ignorant Muricans with the attention spans of gnats, a third of repubs fearful of the “other” and willing to trade democracy for authoritarianism and single issue dems who can’t see the forest for trees and the future doesn’t look bright. We were told that it couldn’t happen here but it is. We’re in 1934/35 Germany right about now.

brianlux · October 2023

Halifax2TheMax said:

brianlux said:

I'm one of those people who tend to worry more about my own issues- broken plumbing, health issues, the cat limping, etc.- than I do the big issues of the world and domestic politics, etc., not because I don't care about the big issues (I do!) but because there is not much I can do about broken plumbing than a broken government. In other words, I worry about the person things, and am concerned about the bigger issues.

But I am becoming increasing worried about the political state of affairs, especially with the recent appointment of MAGA Mike as speaker of the house. I live in a conservative county in California (yes, they do exist!) and am already seeing a proliferation of hate on a local FB chat site (I only follow it to keep up with what's new around here and that site is very revealing). I think we are now going to see more hatred from the right toward LGBTQ folks, toward anyone who isn't far right, toward elderly people, and an increased difficulty in maintaining and sense of environmental protection. I'm also reading that there is an increase in the percentage of right wingers who are in favor of using political violence.

Maybe I'm over reacting, but my current sense is that we are moving closer to an authoritarian regime, not further. Please tell me, if you can, that I am over-reacting. My current feelings are very unsettling.

I don’t think you’re overreacting at all. NC with a statehouse super majority just jerrymandered 3 congressional districts likely to result in flips to repubs. Similar steps are being taken in other key states as well as repub state houses limiting the powers of secretary of states as they relate to election certifications. With a magat speaker at the helm, the Freedumb Caucsuckers were rewarded and thus far applauded by the repub party. Add Chinese, Putin on the ritz and Iranian social media propaganda and disinformation, a large portion of ignorant Muricans with the attention spans of gnats, a third of repubs fearful of the “other” and willing to trade democracy for authoritarianism and single issue dems who can’t see the forest for trees and the future doesn’t look bright. We were told that it couldn’t happen here but it is. We’re in 1934/35 Germany right about now.

"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."

And I think I'm probably right in saying that it will only get worse because right wing faux-Christian conservatives are all about breeding like rats and indoctrinating their little charges, while progressives tend to be more population conscious as well as focused on education and careers and they reproduce less often. I can picture another generation or two down the road America being infested by clueless fanatics who don't care about what happens because Jesus is going to whisk them off to the clouds. I've pretty much lost hope and that's just not my normal viewpoint. But there it is.

LBCeddie · October 2023

Halifax2TheMax said:

brianlux said:

I'm one of those people who tend to worry more about my own issues- broken plumbing, health issues, the cat limping, etc.- than I do the big issues of the world and domestic politics, etc., not because I don't care about the big issues (I do!) but because there is not much I can do about broken plumbing than a broken government. In other words, I worry about the person things, and am concerned about the bigger issues.

But I am becoming increasing worried about the political state of affairs, especially with the recent appointment of MAGA Mike as speaker of the house. I live in a conservative county in California (yes, they do exist!) and am already seeing a proliferation of hate on a local FB chat site (I only follow it to keep up with what's new around here and that site is very revealing). I think we are now going to see more hatred from the right toward LGBTQ folks, toward anyone who isn't far right, toward elderly people, and an increased difficulty in maintaining and sense of environmental protection. I'm also reading that there is an increase in the percentage of right wingers who are in favor of using political violence.

Maybe I'm over reacting, but my current sense is that we are moving closer to an authoritarian regime, not further. Please tell me, if you can, that I am over-reacting. My current feelings are very unsettling.

I don’t think you’re overreacting at all. NC with a statehouse super majority just jerrymandered 3 congressional districts likely to result in flips to repubs. Similar steps are being taken in other key states as well as repub state houses limiting the powers of secretary of states as they relate to election certifications. With a magat speaker at the helm, the Freedumb Caucsuckers were rewarded and thus far applauded by the repub party. Add Chinese, Putin on the ritz and Iranian social media propaganda and disinformation, a large portion of ignorant Muricans with the attention spans of gnats, a third of repubs fearful of the “other” and willing to trade democracy for authoritarianism and single issue dems who can’t see the forest for trees and the future doesn’t look bright. We were told that it couldn’t happen here but it is. We’re in 1934/35 Germany right about now.

Talk about overreacting.

LBCeddie · October 2023

tempo_n_groove said:

Been happening for 40 years. I'm not worried.

Same. I couldn't care less.

PJ_Soul · November 2023

I accepted that everything is going to hell and there is nothing we can do about it quite a while back. Capitalism is failing, religion continues to create horrors, the climate is crashing, America is jumping the shark, Russia is essentially back to acting like the Soviet Union, China is trying to take over the world, more and more regions are becoming uninhabitable, and if the water wars haven't started to happen well within the next 50 years I'll be shocked. Que sera, sera is really my feeling about it at this point to be honest, along with a healthy amount of general disgust. What I don't have is hope. But I just don't have the will to keep agonizing over it anymore. I doubt I'd feel so ambivalent about everything if I had children... and also all that is why I don't have children. The one thing I do still agonize over is women's rights around the world, because it's not too late for that.

brianlux · November 2023

PJ_Soul said:

I accepted that everything is going to hell and there is nothing we can do about it quite a while back. Capitalism is failing, religion continues to create horrors, the climate is crashing, America is jumping the shark, Russia is essentially back to acting like the Soviet Union, China is trying to take over the world, more and more regions are becoming uninhabitable, and if the water wars haven't started to happen well within the next 50 years I'll be shocked. Que sera, sera is really my feeling about it at this point to be honest, along with a healthy amount of general disgust. What I don't have is hope. But I just don't have the will to keep agonizing over it anymore. I doubt I'd feel so ambivalent about everything if I had children... and also all that is why I don't have children. The one thing I do still agonize over is women's rights around the world, because it's not too late for that.

All very understandable feelings.
I have to admit my level of hope has diminished and I'm also more prone to wanting to just stay busy and not think about it all too much. Not doing so well on the latter, but moving in that direction.

It amazes me that we are still in a situation where so many women are struggling for rights, even to a degree in North America. But it's especially bad in the Middle East, parts of Africa, Pakistan, etc. This world is so damn slow to learn.

PJ_Soul · November 2023

brianlux said:

PJ_Soul said:

I accepted that everything is going to hell and there is nothing we can do about it quite a while back. Capitalism is failing, religion continues to create horrors, the climate is crashing, America is jumping the shark, Russia is essentially back to acting like the Soviet Union, China is trying to take over the world, more and more regions are becoming uninhabitable, and if the water wars haven't started to happen well within the next 50 years I'll be shocked. Que sera, sera is really my feeling about it at this point to be honest, along with a healthy amount of general disgust. What I don't have is hope. But I just don't have the will to keep agonizing over it anymore. I doubt I'd feel so ambivalent about everything if I had children... and also all that is why I don't have children. The one thing I do still agonize over is women's rights around the world, because it's not too late for that.

All very understandable feelings.
I have to admit my level of hope has diminished and I'm also more prone to wanting to just stay busy and not think about it all too much. Not doing so well on the latter, but moving in that direction.
It amazes me that we are still in a situation where so many women are struggling for rights, even to a degree in North America. But it's especially bad in the Middle East, parts of Africa, Pakistan, etc. This world is so damn slow to learn.

It is shocking, and in the USA's case, it's moving backwards. :(

brianlux · November 2023

PJ_Soul said:

brianlux said:

PJ_Soul said:

I accepted that everything is going to hell and there is nothing we can do about it quite a while back. Capitalism is failing, religion continues to create horrors, the climate is crashing, America is jumping the shark, Russia is essentially back to acting like the Soviet Union, China is trying to take over the world, more and more regions are becoming uninhabitable, and if the water wars haven't started to happen well within the next 50 years I'll be shocked. Que sera, sera is really my feeling about it at this point to be honest, along with a healthy amount of general disgust. What I don't have is hope. But I just don't have the will to keep agonizing over it anymore. I doubt I'd feel so ambivalent about everything if I had children... and also all that is why I don't have children. The one thing I do still agonize over is women's rights around the world, because it's not too late for that.

All very understandable feelings.
I have to admit my level of hope has diminished and I'm also more prone to wanting to just stay busy and not think about it all too much. Not doing so well on the latter, but moving in that direction.
It amazes me that we are still in a situation where so many women are struggling for rights, even to a degree in North America. But it's especially bad in the Middle East, parts of Africa, Pakistan, etc. This world is so damn slow to learn.

It is shocking, and in the USA's case, it's moving backwards. :(

That is so crazy to me. Women made such great progress for years and a lot of us men were getting our heads straight about the whole thing. What on earth happened?

JeBurkhardt · November 2023

PJ_Soul said:

brianlux said:

PJ_Soul said:

I accepted that everything is going to hell and there is nothing we can do about it quite a while back. Capitalism is failing, religion continues to create horrors, the climate is crashing, America is jumping the shark, Russia is essentially back to acting like the Soviet Union, China is trying to take over the world, more and more regions are becoming uninhabitable, and if the water wars haven't started to happen well within the next 50 years I'll be shocked. Que sera, sera is really my feeling about it at this point to be honest, along with a healthy amount of general disgust. What I don't have is hope. But I just don't have the will to keep agonizing over it anymore. I doubt I'd feel so ambivalent about everything if I had children... and also all that is why I don't have children. The one thing I do still agonize over is women's rights around the world, because it's not too late for that.

All very understandable feelings.
I have to admit my level of hope has diminished and I'm also more prone to wanting to just stay busy and not think about it all too much. Not doing so well on the latter, but moving in that direction.
It amazes me that we are still in a situation where so many women are struggling for rights, even to a degree in North America. But it's especially bad in the Middle East, parts of Africa, Pakistan, etc. This world is so damn slow to learn.

It is shocking, and in the USA's case, it's moving backwards. :(

I watched The Handmaiden's Tale and saw Gilead and the treatment of women in it as a cautionary story. I am convinced some see it as a "how to" manual. I raised 2 daughters and have 4 young granddaughters. I truly worry about their futures.

brianlux · November 2023

JeBurkhardt said:

PJ_Soul said:

brianlux said:

PJ_Soul said:

I accepted that everything is going to hell and there is nothing we can do about it quite a while back. Capitalism is failing, religion continues to create horrors, the climate is crashing, America is jumping the shark, Russia is essentially back to acting like the Soviet Union, China is trying to take over the world, more and more regions are becoming uninhabitable, and if the water wars haven't started to happen well within the next 50 years I'll be shocked. Que sera, sera is really my feeling about it at this point to be honest, along with a healthy amount of general disgust. What I don't have is hope. But I just don't have the will to keep agonizing over it anymore. I doubt I'd feel so ambivalent about everything if I had children... and also all that is why I don't have children. The one thing I do still agonize over is women's rights around the world, because it's not too late for that.

All very understandable feelings.
I have to admit my level of hope has diminished and I'm also more prone to wanting to just stay busy and not think about it all too much. Not doing so well on the latter, but moving in that direction.
It amazes me that we are still in a situation where so many women are struggling for rights, even to a degree in North America. But it's especially bad in the Middle East, parts of Africa, Pakistan, etc. This world is so damn slow to learn.

It is shocking, and in the USA's case, it's moving backwards. :(

I watched The Handmaiden's Tale and saw Gilead and the treatment of women in it as a cautionary story. I am convinced some see it as a "how to" manual. I raised 2 daughters and have 4 young granddaughters. I truly worry about their futures.

I'm glad you mentioned Handmaiden's Tale. Though disturbing, I'm told it's an excellent book. On my "to read" list it goes.

mace1229 · November 2023

global current events have little impact on my recent feelings because there seems to always be something horrible going on.
But locally, seems like were in a downward spiral as a civilization. The smash and grabs, open shoplifting. My wife and I have both witnessed multiple times people filling up shopping carts at the grocery store or TJ Max and just walking out with it. No shame and they know the employees can't and won't stop them. I never saw that 2+ years ago.

Feeling kind of sick in my stomach after this last news. Yesterday I picked my son up on my way home. They both usually ride the same bus, one was sent home for getting sick (got a celiac flare up after halloween candy I think) and I just decided to pick the other up on my way home. They used to like the bus, but hate it this year because they say the kids are crazy on it and the driver has to keep stopping, and they get home late.
Then we see the bus stop at our house, at first I figured he didn't notice our kids weren't on. But he just stayed there, after a few minutes my wife went out to see what was going on, the driver said he knew our kids weren't on, but had to take care of something. He began to yell at some kids to stay seated. He remained parked in front for about 15 minutes, it was really weird. We almost went out again, but then the bus left.
This morning we read some news reports of a school bus where 10 year old kids could be seen pounding on the windows holding up signs asking for help and to call 911. So some people did, and police found the bus. They arrested the driver for assaulting one of the kids. We just found out it was the bus our kids take and all this happened minutes after they left our house. I'm assuming he lost his temper at one of the kids for acting up again. Obviously no excuse for it. So glad our kids didn't ride yesterday. But wish we had the foresight to do something.

I was never worried about bus drivers before. Now I'll probably pick them up every day.

JB16057 · November 2023

mace1229 said:

global current events have little impact on my recent feelings because there seems to always be something horrible going on.
But locally, seems like were in a downward spiral as a civilization. The smash and grabs, open shoplifting. My wife and I have both witnessed multiple times people filling up shopping carts at the grocery store or TJ Max and just walking out with it. No shame and they know the employees can't and won't stop them. I never saw that 2+ years ago.

Feeling kind of sick in my stomach after this last news. Yesterday I picked my son up on my way home. They both usually ride the same bus, one was sent home for getting sick (got a celiac flare up after halloween candy I think) and I just decided to pick the other up on my way home. They used to like the bus, but hate it this year because they say the kids are crazy on it and the driver has to keep stopping, and they get home late.
Then we see the bus stop at our house, at first I figured he didn't notice our kids weren't on. But he just stayed there, after a few minutes my wife went out to see what was going on, the driver said he knew our kids weren't on, but had to take care of something. He began to yell at some kids to stay seated. He remained parked in front for about 15 minutes, it was really weird. We almost went out again, but then the bus left.
This morning we read some news reports of a school bus where 10 year old kids could be seen pounding on the windows holding up signs asking for help and to call 911. So some people did, and police found the bus. They arrested the driver for assaulting one of the kids. We just found out it was the bus our kids take and all this happened minutes after they left our house. I'm assuming he lost his temper at one of the kids for acting up again. Obviously no excuse for it. So glad our kids didn't ride yesterday. But wish we had the foresight to do something.

I was never worried about bus drivers before. Now I'll probably pick them up every day.

Last year at our local school, one of the bus drivers was so fed up that one day she pulled the bus to the side of the road and called the bus garage. She told them to send another driver and that she quit on the spot. The bus was full of rowdy kids and she had enough. I remember fearing the bus driver when I was a kid. I never thought he was going to assault me but I didn't want him yelling at me. Maybe because I watched Nightmare on Elm Street 2... Nowadays, the kids run amuck and the bus drivers have very little they can do about it. Our school no longer disciplines kids like they used to. They don't feel like suspending kids for being bad on the bus is OK because it singles out the bad kids. It's pretty sad when a bus driver quits with a bus full of kids. For the record, she didn't just walk away from the bus but she just couldn't handle it anymore and I don't blame her. The school district doesn't support bus drivers like they used to which is really sad.

brianlux · November 2023

mace1229 said:

global current events have little impact on my recent feelings because there seems to always be something horrible going on.
But locally, seems like were in a downward spiral as a civilization. The smash and grabs, open shoplifting. My wife and I have both witnessed multiple times people filling up shopping carts at the grocery store or TJ Max and just walking out with it. No shame and they know the employees can't and won't stop them. I never saw that 2+ years ago.

Feeling kind of sick in my stomach after this last news. Yesterday I picked my son up on my way home. They both usually ride the same bus, one was sent home for getting sick (got a celiac flare up after halloween candy I think) and I just decided to pick the other up on my way home. They used to like the bus, but hate it this year because they say the kids are crazy on it and the driver has to keep stopping, and they get home late.
Then we see the bus stop at our house, at first I figured he didn't notice our kids weren't on. But he just stayed there, after a few minutes my wife went out to see what was going on, the driver said he knew our kids weren't on, but had to take care of something. He began to yell at some kids to stay seated. He remained parked in front for about 15 minutes, it was really weird. We almost went out again, but then the bus left.
This morning we read some news reports of a school bus where 10 year old kids could be seen pounding on the windows holding up signs asking for help and to call 911. So some people did, and police found the bus. They arrested the driver for assaulting one of the kids. We just found out it was the bus our kids take and all this happened minutes after they left our house. I'm assuming he lost his temper at one of the kids for acting up again. Obviously no excuse for it. So glad our kids didn't ride yesterday. But wish we had the foresight to do something.

I was never worried about bus drivers before. Now I'll probably pick them up every day.

That sucks and I feel bad for the driver because these days, kids can put the drivers through hell. I did a few years as a sub and, believe me, it's murder. But any driver is always wrong assaulting kid... (see below)...

JB16057 said:

mace1229 said:

global current events have little impact on my recent feelings because there seems to always be something horrible going on.
But locally, seems like were in a downward spiral as a civilization. The smash and grabs, open shoplifting. My wife and I have both witnessed multiple times people filling up shopping carts at the grocery store or TJ Max and just walking out with it. No shame and they know the employees can't and won't stop them. I never saw that 2+ years ago.

Feeling kind of sick in my stomach after this last news. Yesterday I picked my son up on my way home. They both usually ride the same bus, one was sent home for getting sick (got a celiac flare up after halloween candy I think) and I just decided to pick the other up on my way home. They used to like the bus, but hate it this year because they say the kids are crazy on it and the driver has to keep stopping, and they get home late.
Then we see the bus stop at our house, at first I figured he didn't notice our kids weren't on. But he just stayed there, after a few minutes my wife went out to see what was going on, the driver said he knew our kids weren't on, but had to take care of something. He began to yell at some kids to stay seated. He remained parked in front for about 15 minutes, it was really weird. We almost went out again, but then the bus left.
This morning we read some news reports of a school bus where 10 year old kids could be seen pounding on the windows holding up signs asking for help and to call 911. So some people did, and police found the bus. They arrested the driver for assaulting one of the kids. We just found out it was the bus our kids take and all this happened minutes after they left our house. I'm assuming he lost his temper at one of the kids for acting up again. Obviously no excuse for it. So glad our kids didn't ride yesterday. But wish we had the foresight to do something.

I was never worried about bus drivers before. Now I'll probably pick them up every day.

Last year at our local school, one of the bus drivers was so fed up that one day she pulled the bus to the side of the road and called the bus garage. She told them to send another driver and that she quit on the spot. The bus was full of rowdy kids and she had enough. I remember fearing the bus driver when I was a kid. I never thought he was going to assault me but I didn't want him yelling at me. Maybe because I watched Nightmare on Elm Street 2... Nowadays, the kids run amuck and the bus drivers have very little they can do about it. Our school no longer disciplines kids like they used to. They don't feel like suspending kids for being bad on the bus is OK because it singles out the bad kids. It's pretty sad when a bus driver quits with a bus full of kids. For the record, she didn't just walk away from the bus but she just couldn't handle it anymore and I don't blame her. The school district doesn't support bus drivers like they used to which is really sad.

... he should have done what she did. Either deal with it becasue, as much as it sucks, it's part of the job or quit. Of course the blame is almost always on the parents. Good parents don't bring up kids who act that way.

**************************

mace1229, you mentioned, "...locally, seems like were in a downward spiral as a civilization." I was conversing with a friend via email the other day. She lives in wealthy, ultra liberal Sonoma County California, and I live in more modest income/ strongly conservative leaning El Dorado County, California. Socially, on the surface, they are two very socially different environments. But they have some things in common. I told her about how this area used to be a friendly place where people were generally courteous and relatively civilized, but that it has quickly grown due to development, and at the same time has become very fast paced, with many aggressive, angry, and rude people. She said, likewise, that Sonoma county is experiencing "its cancerous population growth" and she sees that many "insane drivers are another issue that plague us here," and that "people have lost all sense of decency and courtesy" where she lives.

These problems are becoming nearly ubiquitous-- fast growth due to over-population, and rude, discourteous behavior. If you know of a place that is not experiencing these things, I'd like to know about it. In general though, I am convinced (as many are) that society is breaking down, and this is only going to get worse.

static111 · November 2023

My bus driver used to slam on the brakes whenever anyone did anything fucked up. Collectively punishing us all. I will never put my daughter through that.

brianlux · November 2023

static111 said:

My bus driver used to slam on the brakes whenever anyone did anything fucked up. Collectively punishing us all. I will never put my daughter through that.

Man, you guys have some strange bus drivers.

But OK, as much as whacko bus drivers are a problem, what about the root of the problem? It is not at all shocking to me that some drivers and teachers go over the edge. I'm not saying it's right, but it happens. Too much stress causes a lot of people to do things they would not normally do and some people have a harder time dealing with high levels of stress. That's why some guys come back from wars relatively sane and stable and some come back majorly fucked up. And believe me, working with kids in some environments is like war. I've been there. I worked in schools where I had very few problems with the kids. I also worked in some very difficult schools. One school I worked at when I subbed for a while was so bad, and the kids were so screwed up (mostly by parents), where I finally said, "Sorry, don't call me again." Which, of course, in the proper response. And I rarely had that kind of difficulty even though subbing is typically hell (have a regular class though was great!)

So I have to say, I will never support inappropriate behavior from a bus driver or teacher, but I also won't always side with parents. A lot of parents do a shitty job of parenting and then they expect other adults to be responsible for their fuck ups. It's a thing, believe. me, and it's just as wrong.

mace1229 · November 2023

brianlux said:

mace1229 said:

global current events have little impact on my recent feelings because there seems to always be something horrible going on.
But locally, seems like were in a downward spiral as a civilization. The smash and grabs, open shoplifting. My wife and I have both witnessed multiple times people filling up shopping carts at the grocery store or TJ Max and just walking out with it. No shame and they know the employees can't and won't stop them. I never saw that 2+ years ago.

Feeling kind of sick in my stomach after this last news. Yesterday I picked my son up on my way home. They both usually ride the same bus, one was sent home for getting sick (got a celiac flare up after halloween candy I think) and I just decided to pick the other up on my way home. They used to like the bus, but hate it this year because they say the kids are crazy on it and the driver has to keep stopping, and they get home late.
Then we see the bus stop at our house, at first I figured he didn't notice our kids weren't on. But he just stayed there, after a few minutes my wife went out to see what was going on, the driver said he knew our kids weren't on, but had to take care of something. He began to yell at some kids to stay seated. He remained parked in front for about 15 minutes, it was really weird. We almost went out again, but then the bus left.
This morning we read some news reports of a school bus where 10 year old kids could be seen pounding on the windows holding up signs asking for help and to call 911. So some people did, and police found the bus. They arrested the driver for assaulting one of the kids. We just found out it was the bus our kids take and all this happened minutes after they left our house. I'm assuming he lost his temper at one of the kids for acting up again. Obviously no excuse for it. So glad our kids didn't ride yesterday. But wish we had the foresight to do something.

I was never worried about bus drivers before. Now I'll probably pick them up every day.

That sucks and I feel bad for the driver because these days, kids can put the drivers through hell. I did a few years as a sub and, believe me, it's murder. But any driver is always wrong assaulting kid... (see below)...

JB16057 said:

mace1229 said:

global current events have little impact on my recent feelings because there seems to always be something horrible going on.
But locally, seems like were in a downward spiral as a civilization. The smash and grabs, open shoplifting. My wife and I have both witnessed multiple times people filling up shopping carts at the grocery store or TJ Max and just walking out with it. No shame and they know the employees can't and won't stop them. I never saw that 2+ years ago.

Feeling kind of sick in my stomach after this last news. Yesterday I picked my son up on my way home. They both usually ride the same bus, one was sent home for getting sick (got a celiac flare up after halloween candy I think) and I just decided to pick the other up on my way home. They used to like the bus, but hate it this year because they say the kids are crazy on it and the driver has to keep stopping, and they get home late.
Then we see the bus stop at our house, at first I figured he didn't notice our kids weren't on. But he just stayed there, after a few minutes my wife went out to see what was going on, the driver said he knew our kids weren't on, but had to take care of something. He began to yell at some kids to stay seated. He remained parked in front for about 15 minutes, it was really weird. We almost went out again, but then the bus left.
This morning we read some news reports of a school bus where 10 year old kids could be seen pounding on the windows holding up signs asking for help and to call 911. So some people did, and police found the bus. They arrested the driver for assaulting one of the kids. We just found out it was the bus our kids take and all this happened minutes after they left our house. I'm assuming he lost his temper at one of the kids for acting up again. Obviously no excuse for it. So glad our kids didn't ride yesterday. But wish we had the foresight to do something.

I was never worried about bus drivers before. Now I'll probably pick them up every day.

Last year at our local school, one of the bus drivers was so fed up that one day she pulled the bus to the side of the road and called the bus garage. She told them to send another driver and that she quit on the spot. The bus was full of rowdy kids and she had enough. I remember fearing the bus driver when I was a kid. I never thought he was going to assault me but I didn't want him yelling at me. Maybe because I watched Nightmare on Elm Street 2... Nowadays, the kids run amuck and the bus drivers have very little they can do about it. Our school no longer disciplines kids like they used to. They don't feel like suspending kids for being bad on the bus is OK because it singles out the bad kids. It's pretty sad when a bus driver quits with a bus full of kids. For the record, she didn't just walk away from the bus but she just couldn't handle it anymore and I don't blame her. The school district doesn't support bus drivers like they used to which is really sad.

... he should have done what she did. Either deal with it becasue, as much as it sucks, it's part of the job or quit. Of course the blame is almost always on the parents. Good parents don't bring up kids who act that way.
**************************
mace1229, you mentioned, "...locally, seems like were in a downward spiral as a civilization." I was conversing with a friend via email the other day. She lives in wealthy, ultra liberal Sonoma County California, and I live in more modest income/ strongly conservative leaning El Dorado County, California. Socially, on the surface, they are two very socially different environments. But they have some things in common. I told her about how this area used to be a friendly place where people were generally courteous and relatively civilized, but that it has quickly grown due to development, and at the same time has become very fast paced, with many aggressive, angry, and rude people. She said, likewise, that Sonoma county is experiencing "its cancerous population growth" and she sees that many "insane drivers are another issue that plague us here," and that "people have lost all sense of decency and courtesy" where she lives.
These problems are becoming nearly ubiquitous-- fast growth due to over-population, and rude, discourteous behavior. If you know of a place that is not experiencing these things, I'd like to know about it. In general though, I am convinced (as many are) that society is breaking down, and this is only going to get worse.

I do feel bad for the driver, but at the same time there's lines you don't cross. And the rumor is that he either struck or choked a 4th grader, and he's being charged with aggravated assault so the charge makes sense. Just turn the bus off and walk away before you do that.

But I feel bad for him because he was driven to that point through no support for misbehaved students, while at the same time being responsible for their safety. If one of those kids caused him to crash because they were running around, yelling, screaming, throwing stuff, he'd probably be charged with something for "allowing" that environment to happen and be sued by the parents of any injured kids. But yet, the school and district did nothing to support him. These were known repeat offenders on the bus.
Our kids actually enjoy riding the bus and think it's fun. This is the tutoring bus for kids who receive tutoring 2 days a week and it's a different route with a different driver and different kids. And the last couple weeks I've started picking them up from tutoring because they would have anxiety riding it and get home so late from the driver constantly having to pull over

The problem is the school and/or district is afraid to tell kids they aren't allowed back on the bus. We still have strict policies at school for behavior, but sounds like they've left the bus drivers on their own to figure it out.

JeBurkhardt · November 2023

mace1229 said:

brianlux said:

mace1229 said:

global current events have little impact on my recent feelings because there seems to always be something horrible going on.
But locally, seems like were in a downward spiral as a civilization. The smash and grabs, open shoplifting. My wife and I have both witnessed multiple times people filling up shopping carts at the grocery store or TJ Max and just walking out with it. No shame and they know the employees can't and won't stop them. I never saw that 2+ years ago.

Feeling kind of sick in my stomach after this last news. Yesterday I picked my son up on my way home. They both usually ride the same bus, one was sent home for getting sick (got a celiac flare up after halloween candy I think) and I just decided to pick the other up on my way home. They used to like the bus, but hate it this year because they say the kids are crazy on it and the driver has to keep stopping, and they get home late.
Then we see the bus stop at our house, at first I figured he didn't notice our kids weren't on. But he just stayed there, after a few minutes my wife went out to see what was going on, the driver said he knew our kids weren't on, but had to take care of something. He began to yell at some kids to stay seated. He remained parked in front for about 15 minutes, it was really weird. We almost went out again, but then the bus left.
This morning we read some news reports of a school bus where 10 year old kids could be seen pounding on the windows holding up signs asking for help and to call 911. So some people did, and police found the bus. They arrested the driver for assaulting one of the kids. We just found out it was the bus our kids take and all this happened minutes after they left our house. I'm assuming he lost his temper at one of the kids for acting up again. Obviously no excuse for it. So glad our kids didn't ride yesterday. But wish we had the foresight to do something.

I was never worried about bus drivers before. Now I'll probably pick them up every day.

That sucks and I feel bad for the driver because these days, kids can put the drivers through hell. I did a few years as a sub and, believe me, it's murder. But any driver is always wrong assaulting kid... (see below)...

JB16057 said:

mace1229 said:

global current events have little impact on my recent feelings because there seems to always be something horrible going on.
But locally, seems like were in a downward spiral as a civilization. The smash and grabs, open shoplifting. My wife and I have both witnessed multiple times people filling up shopping carts at the grocery store or TJ Max and just walking out with it. No shame and they know the employees can't and won't stop them. I never saw that 2+ years ago.

Feeling kind of sick in my stomach after this last news. Yesterday I picked my son up on my way home. They both usually ride the same bus, one was sent home for getting sick (got a celiac flare up after halloween candy I think) and I just decided to pick the other up on my way home. They used to like the bus, but hate it this year because they say the kids are crazy on it and the driver has to keep stopping, and they get home late.
Then we see the bus stop at our house, at first I figured he didn't notice our kids weren't on. But he just stayed there, after a few minutes my wife went out to see what was going on, the driver said he knew our kids weren't on, but had to take care of something. He began to yell at some kids to stay seated. He remained parked in front for about 15 minutes, it was really weird. We almost went out again, but then the bus left.
This morning we read some news reports of a school bus where 10 year old kids could be seen pounding on the windows holding up signs asking for help and to call 911. So some people did, and police found the bus. They arrested the driver for assaulting one of the kids. We just found out it was the bus our kids take and all this happened minutes after they left our house. I'm assuming he lost his temper at one of the kids for acting up again. Obviously no excuse for it. So glad our kids didn't ride yesterday. But wish we had the foresight to do something.

I was never worried about bus drivers before. Now I'll probably pick them up every day.

Last year at our local school, one of the bus drivers was so fed up that one day she pulled the bus to the side of the road and called the bus garage. She told them to send another driver and that she quit on the spot. The bus was full of rowdy kids and she had enough. I remember fearing the bus driver when I was a kid. I never thought he was going to assault me but I didn't want him yelling at me. Maybe because I watched Nightmare on Elm Street 2... Nowadays, the kids run amuck and the bus drivers have very little they can do about it. Our school no longer disciplines kids like they used to. They don't feel like suspending kids for being bad on the bus is OK because it singles out the bad kids. It's pretty sad when a bus driver quits with a bus full of kids. For the record, she didn't just walk away from the bus but she just couldn't handle it anymore and I don't blame her. The school district doesn't support bus drivers like they used to which is really sad.

... he should have done what she did. Either deal with it becasue, as much as it sucks, it's part of the job or quit. Of course the blame is almost always on the parents. Good parents don't bring up kids who act that way.
**************************
mace1229, you mentioned, "...locally, seems like were in a downward spiral as a civilization." I was conversing with a friend via email the other day. She lives in wealthy, ultra liberal Sonoma County California, and I live in more modest income/ strongly conservative leaning El Dorado County, California. Socially, on the surface, they are two very socially different environments. But they have some things in common. I told her about how this area used to be a friendly place where people were generally courteous and relatively civilized, but that it has quickly grown due to development, and at the same time has become very fast paced, with many aggressive, angry, and rude people. She said, likewise, that Sonoma county is experiencing "its cancerous population growth" and she sees that many "insane drivers are another issue that plague us here," and that "people have lost all sense of decency and courtesy" where she lives.
These problems are becoming nearly ubiquitous-- fast growth due to over-population, and rude, discourteous behavior. If you know of a place that is not experiencing these things, I'd like to know about it. In general though, I am convinced (as many are) that society is breaking down, and this is only going to get worse.

I do feel bad for the driver, but at the same time there's lines you don't cross. And the rumor is that he either struck or choked a 4th grader, and he's being charged with aggravated assault so the charge makes sense. Just turn the bus off and walk away before you do that.

But I feel bad for him because he was driven to that point through no support for misbehaved students, while at the same time being responsible for their safety. If one of those kids caused him to crash because they were running around, yelling, screaming, throwing stuff, he'd probably be charged with something for "allowing" that environment to happen and be sued by the parents of any injured kids. But yet, the school and district did nothing to support him. These were known repeat offenders on the bus.
Our kids actually enjoy riding the bus and think it's fun. This is the tutoring bus for kids who receive tutoring 2 days a week and it's a different route with a different driver and different kids. And the last couple weeks I've started picking them up from tutoring because they would have anxiety riding it and get home so late from the driver constantly having to pull over

The problem is the school and/or district is afraid to tell kids they aren't allowed back on the bus. We still have strict policies at school for behavior, but sounds like they've left the bus drivers on their own to figure it out.

We live in a rural area where school budgets are pretty low and they struggle at times to provides services, so this would be very taxing on the budget, but there should be mandatory bus monitors on every bus. That responsibility should not fall to the bus driver. They have enough of a job navigating the routes and safely interacting with traffic. That should be their sole focus, not maintaining order as they do so.

mace1229 · November 2023

JeBurkhardt said:

mace1229 said:

brianlux said:

mace1229 said:

global current events have little impact on my recent feelings because there seems to always be something horrible going on.
But locally, seems like were in a downward spiral as a civilization. The smash and grabs, open shoplifting. My wife and I have both witnessed multiple times people filling up shopping carts at the grocery store or TJ Max and just walking out with it. No shame and they know the employees can't and won't stop them. I never saw that 2+ years ago.

Feeling kind of sick in my stomach after this last news. Yesterday I picked my son up on my way home. They both usually ride the same bus, one was sent home for getting sick (got a celiac flare up after halloween candy I think) and I just decided to pick the other up on my way home. They used to like the bus, but hate it this year because they say the kids are crazy on it and the driver has to keep stopping, and they get home late.
Then we see the bus stop at our house, at first I figured he didn't notice our kids weren't on. But he just stayed there, after a few minutes my wife went out to see what was going on, the driver said he knew our kids weren't on, but had to take care of something. He began to yell at some kids to stay seated. He remained parked in front for about 15 minutes, it was really weird. We almost went out again, but then the bus left.
This morning we read some news reports of a school bus where 10 year old kids could be seen pounding on the windows holding up signs asking for help and to call 911. So some people did, and police found the bus. They arrested the driver for assaulting one of the kids. We just found out it was the bus our kids take and all this happened minutes after they left our house. I'm assuming he lost his temper at one of the kids for acting up again. Obviously no excuse for it. So glad our kids didn't ride yesterday. But wish we had the foresight to do something.

I was never worried about bus drivers before. Now I'll probably pick them up every day.

That sucks and I feel bad for the driver because these days, kids can put the drivers through hell. I did a few years as a sub and, believe me, it's murder. But any driver is always wrong assaulting kid... (see below)...

JB16057 said:

mace1229 said:

global current events have little impact on my recent feelings because there seems to always be something horrible going on.
But locally, seems like were in a downward spiral as a civilization. The smash and grabs, open shoplifting. My wife and I have both witnessed multiple times people filling up shopping carts at the grocery store or TJ Max and just walking out with it. No shame and they know the employees can't and won't stop them. I never saw that 2+ years ago.

Feeling kind of sick in my stomach after this last news. Yesterday I picked my son up on my way home. They both usually ride the same bus, one was sent home for getting sick (got a celiac flare up after halloween candy I think) and I just decided to pick the other up on my way home. They used to like the bus, but hate it this year because they say the kids are crazy on it and the driver has to keep stopping, and they get home late.
Then we see the bus stop at our house, at first I figured he didn't notice our kids weren't on. But he just stayed there, after a few minutes my wife went out to see what was going on, the driver said he knew our kids weren't on, but had to take care of something. He began to yell at some kids to stay seated. He remained parked in front for about 15 minutes, it was really weird. We almost went out again, but then the bus left.
This morning we read some news reports of a school bus where 10 year old kids could be seen pounding on the windows holding up signs asking for help and to call 911. So some people did, and police found the bus. They arrested the driver for assaulting one of the kids. We just found out it was the bus our kids take and all this happened minutes after they left our house. I'm assuming he lost his temper at one of the kids for acting up again. Obviously no excuse for it. So glad our kids didn't ride yesterday. But wish we had the foresight to do something.

I was never worried about bus drivers before. Now I'll probably pick them up every day.

Last year at our local school, one of the bus drivers was so fed up that one day she pulled the bus to the side of the road and called the bus garage. She told them to send another driver and that she quit on the spot. The bus was full of rowdy kids and she had enough. I remember fearing the bus driver when I was a kid. I never thought he was going to assault me but I didn't want him yelling at me. Maybe because I watched Nightmare on Elm Street 2... Nowadays, the kids run amuck and the bus drivers have very little they can do about it. Our school no longer disciplines kids like they used to. They don't feel like suspending kids for being bad on the bus is OK because it singles out the bad kids. It's pretty sad when a bus driver quits with a bus full of kids. For the record, she didn't just walk away from the bus but she just couldn't handle it anymore and I don't blame her. The school district doesn't support bus drivers like they used to which is really sad.

... he should have done what she did. Either deal with it becasue, as much as it sucks, it's part of the job or quit. Of course the blame is almost always on the parents. Good parents don't bring up kids who act that way.
**************************
mace1229, you mentioned, "...locally, seems like were in a downward spiral as a civilization." I was conversing with a friend via email the other day. She lives in wealthy, ultra liberal Sonoma County California, and I live in more modest income/ strongly conservative leaning El Dorado County, California. Socially, on the surface, they are two very socially different environments. But they have some things in common. I told her about how this area used to be a friendly place where people were generally courteous and relatively civilized, but that it has quickly grown due to development, and at the same time has become very fast paced, with many aggressive, angry, and rude people. She said, likewise, that Sonoma county is experiencing "its cancerous population growth" and she sees that many "insane drivers are another issue that plague us here," and that "people have lost all sense of decency and courtesy" where she lives.
These problems are becoming nearly ubiquitous-- fast growth due to over-population, and rude, discourteous behavior. If you know of a place that is not experiencing these things, I'd like to know about it. In general though, I am convinced (as many are) that society is breaking down, and this is only going to get worse.

I do feel bad for the driver, but at the same time there's lines you don't cross. And the rumor is that he either struck or choked a 4th grader, and he's being charged with aggravated assault so the charge makes sense. Just turn the bus off and walk away before you do that.

But I feel bad for him because he was driven to that point through no support for misbehaved students, while at the same time being responsible for their safety. If one of those kids caused him to crash because they were running around, yelling, screaming, throwing stuff, he'd probably be charged with something for "allowing" that environment to happen and be sued by the parents of any injured kids. But yet, the school and district did nothing to support him. These were known repeat offenders on the bus.
Our kids actually enjoy riding the bus and think it's fun. This is the tutoring bus for kids who receive tutoring 2 days a week and it's a different route with a different driver and different kids. And the last couple weeks I've started picking them up from tutoring because they would have anxiety riding it and get home so late from the driver constantly having to pull over

The problem is the school and/or district is afraid to tell kids they aren't allowed back on the bus. We still have strict policies at school for behavior, but sounds like they've left the bus drivers on their own to figure it out.

We live in a rural area where school budgets are pretty low and they struggle at times to provides services, so this would be very taxing on the budget, but there should be mandatory bus monitors on every bus. That responsibility should not fall to the bus driver. They have enough of a job navigating the routes and safely interacting with traffic. That should be their sole focus, not maintaining order as they do so.

I was told just a few years ago they had teachers ride the bus and paid them for it. But is not in the budget anymore. Teachers were happy to do it for a little extra pay and it helped with the issues.
But they don't really need that. Obviously would help. But with video recordings on every bus, they just need to be willing to tell a family their child is no longer welcome on the bus. They're not willing to do that, probably afraid of parent complaints and accusations of an unfair system, so the problems continue.
Give 2 written warnings to parents for certain offenses. Third time you're gone and figure out your own ride.

Gern Blansten · November 2023

I'm pretty sure our busses have cameras on them. Not an expensive add on anymore.

If a rider is consistently causing trouble they shouldn't be allowed to ride. No reason to stress out the driver for a multitude of reasons.

What is your level of emotional response to recent current events?

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