Karen Klein Gets $650K
Last week Karen Klein was being bullied by students on a school bus. This week she has $650K. Now she says that she will probably not return to her job in the fall and what was going to be a vacation of a lifetime has turned into an early retirement and never having to worry about money again.
"What I am glad about is the fact that it has come out, and everyone knows what goes on," she said. "I've gotten so many notes from people who have been bullied, who've been very hurt, and my heart goes out to these people. I'd like to contact every one of them and tell them how sorry I am."
93 comments:
Good for her. She deserves it.
She seriously scored.
I'd be so very ashamed if one of those boys was mine.
Now I need to find some cruel middle school kids with a camera...
I'm torn about whether I'm more pissed at those kids or at the people who have been saying she doesn't deserve the money and/or she should donate it all to charity. UGH! Hope she has fun in Cancun or whatever sunny place she should move!
@Ingrid - I'm with you. I'm happy for this lady, although $650K seems a bit much.
I'm so glad she got enough money to retire. I have also read that some of the kids involved have apologized to her, and one parent offered to have his kid do some work around the house for her to repay her for his rudeness.
They apologized to the cops and the cops relayed it to the media, who told her.
Worst game of telephone ever.
Wish they would hire ex-military to do these jobs. Kids now a days are out of control.
She didn't ask for $650K--that's what the internet donated to her. Good for her!
I'm very happy to hear she'll be able to retire - she's 68. She shouldn't feel pressured to donate one cent. People donated it to HER.
I know it won't happen but I would dearly love to see this woman take at least 100k of this money to start a fund or scholarship to be used specifically on or towards other bullied people both children and adults. If she started something like this, others would donate, that much I do know.
Best wishes to you Karen!
Pretty sure Karen's not a registered charity, so she's about to get hit by the IRS. And I think this originated from Canada, so there's a chance Canada Revenue Agency will be looking for their cut too. I hope she tells us how much she ended up with.
Not a tax accountant, but how much is she going to be taxed?
I think that what happened to this woman was terrible, and the fact that so many people donated to her gives me a bit of a warm fuzzy feeling. BUT - I think this is kind of ridiculous and I hope she doesn't keep all of the money. She should hold onto a bit to go on a nice vacation, like the original plan was, and then donate the rest to an anti-bullying organization or something else worthwhile.
@supapimp
Lottery winners usually get taxed around 32-36%
I think Karen will be taxed similarly since she's not a charity
^thxs for the post
This money is considered a gift to her from a stranger and therefore is exempt from taxation to HER. The giver may be taxed if they gave over a certain amount.
The people who gave her this money gave it to HER - for HER use, not to a charity not of their choosing. We don't have the right to tell her what to do with the money. I don't care if she blows it all (after paying taxes of course) on male strippers. It's for HER use to use as SHE pleases.
@SusanB, ditto!
I agree with Dana - it's so nice to see the public being supportive and donating to her in light of the economy and the fact that many people have their own financial struggles. But -it would be great if she could be a good role model by giving some back to an anit-bullying cause or the like. It would be bad if people started jumping on the bandwagon, thinking they could profit from becoming a professional victim.
I'm glad that she can retire in comfort and that so many people were willing to contribute...BUT cynical me is more concerned about future scams. I'm sure there are people lining up already trying to figure out a 'poor me' angle to get a piece of this 650k pie. I guess it's the new snake oil for our age. Check out Gawker for an amazing story about a cancer hoax that went on for 10 years. http://gawker.com/5914621/the-long-fake-life-of-js-dirr-a-decade+long-internet-cancer-hoax-unravels
I'm not sure, but aren't gifts, you know...gifts? If someone gave her a $650,000 piece of jewelry for her birthday, she wouldn't have to pay taxes on it, so why would she be taxed on this?
I too think she should keep every cent that she gets, other than what she'll owe in taxes. Donating to anti bullying charities and all is great, but let's keep in mind she was the bullied one here, and is a 68 yr old widowed woman who's had a son commit suicide. She probably hasn't had the easiest or most financially secured life, at least not in recent years, or she would not be working for $16K a year at age 68 as a bus monitor. That's not a job that a person takes to "keep busy" after retirement.
On the flip side, I do hope that this case doesn't spawn imitators or fakes, and I do agree that if a school district has a need to have bus monitors, why not hire retired police or military types - someone that the kids won't attempt to shit all over.
She didn't ask for it. People felt like giving it to her. I hope she has a nice vacation and comes back revived and finds a better job. That video was gut wrenching to watch, and we didn't even live through it. I can't imagine how she actually felt - and I can't imagine that it was the first time slurs were thrown her way.
$2 came from me. Small donation but hey its all adding up for her. she deserves every penny IMHO. And those little bastards need more than their iphones and xboxes taken away from them too. I think the one that poked her with the book should be charged with assault. I know, I know, I'm harsh.
@ Aunt Jess, you aren't harsh, though assault is a stretch. Harassment or unlawful touching are not stretches though. I do think expulsion should be on the table for some of the worse offenders, including the one who poked her. I actually donated $20 myself, b/c she seems like a nice person with a lot of grandchildren who she would probably want to help send to college with a portion of the money.
The IRS will consider there funds a gift. The company the is currently collecting funds on her behalf will be responsible for the associated Gift Taxes. If she chooses, she can offer to pay the Gift Taxes for the company but is under no legal obligation to do so.
I cannot beleive people actually think she should give away a gift people gave to her. I don't think she is obligated one iota to donate to or start an anti-bullying foundation. Let's keep in mind she was a victim and never asked for any money. It's a gift and she deserves it. End of story as far as I am concerned. I do hope it doesn't spawn imitators as someone previously mentioned.
I think she should feel free to keep it all if she chooses. Those kids need a beating, not a spanking, a beating. Then they need to have their bus-riding privileges revoked FOREVER. Let their crappy parents be responsible for getting them to school and back every day. They are the ones who created those little monsters. Those kids are old enough to know exactly what they were doing, and I doubt that any of them are really sorry. They are sorry they got caught, and they are sorry people are calling them out on their horrific behavior. That is not the same thing as regretting something because you know it was the wrong thing to do.
^^I totally agree, RJ. Especially the part about the crappy parents - bullying begins at home. I don't care how many anti-bullying programs schools start teaching, if they hear it at home they are going to think it's ok do.
Time for the fundraiser to END.. How she was treated was despicable but 650k should help her get over it. There's plenty of kids that can't afford cancer treatment or even a hot meal. Let's start helping out the ones that are actually helpless. Feel free to disagree, just my opinion..
It's sad what happened to her and people made the choice but I can't believe it ballooned to that much. A pay it forward kind of thing would be a cool move from her.
What I'm worried about is an onslaught of probably staged videos of woe all made in the hopes of going viral.
"There's plenty of kids that can't afford cancer treatment or even a hot meal."
Yeah but those kids are all bullies so fuck em.
j/k!
This money was raised with the intent to give her a much-deserved vacation. I don't think the people who started it thought it would go this far.
I think Klein should take a large chunk of the money and donate it to an anti-bullying charity of some sort. However, based on an interview I saw, it sounds like that's almost an afterthought.
I say good for her. She did an amazing job of keeping her cool and being the bigger/better person during that whole crap storm. She deserves that money and I hope she uses it to make her life happy and comfortable.
Hopefully so, fuck I would take a verbal beating for $650k.. oh wait I did throughout highschool and got $0. Feel free to start me a fund! Ps I feel retarded using kids as an example but really there's plenty of other charitable organizations that need the money more.. ex- see my overdrawn bank acct; )
Obviously this touched a nerve with many. I hope she keeps every cent. She is under no obligation to "pay it forward" literally or start a foundation or whatever. She is not responsible for whether or not cancer research is funded, or for feeding starving children. That's ridiculous.
For many who have had a bullied, beaten down, miserable life, one caught a very lucky break. Good for her.
If she doesn't donate at least 100k to an anti-bully organization, she will not have good karma. She should spread the love.
@Spacecowboy78 lol I am glad they're being labeled the nasty little shits they are. I was listening to the Kidd Kraddick radio show on my way into the office this morning. Someone either Kidd or Big Al called Karen bitter because she didn't out-right accept the apology some of the kids made. I mean, they did make fun of her by saying her family killed themselves to get away from her even knowing her son committed suicide a few years back (I saw that on CNN). I don't think I could except an apology willy nilly after someone said that to me. Isn't that kind of like teaching kids its all ok as long as you make some half hearted "I'm sorry"? I'm ranting, sorry.
.....or start her own anti-bully organization. She is now very well known and could become an effective activist against bullying.
@Peter How ironic that you would use the word "retarded" in a derogatory manner when discussing bullying. In the 21st Century, civilized humans don't use the term in that way. Also, this woman has had a difficult life (e.g. her son committed suicide), and this huge reward seems poetic. It also sticks it in the kids' faces. Hopefully they learn a lesson from this.
Unrelated, I read that she will not be taxed since the donations are considered gifts, as some other posters alluded to.
I'd like to add something to what some of the above have said - I dislike the idea of telling anyone what to do with their money. As long as you earn it/inherit it/win it/whatever legally, pay the appropriate taxes and pay your bills, I don't care WHAT you do with your money. It's none of my business. If she, or anyone here, wants to take their extra money, roll naked on it and then set it on fire, that's their business. Giving to charity is great - we all should - but it's not right to force people to do so, either by law or by shaming them into it. If it's your money, do what you want - give it to charity, building a 100,000 square foot house, feed it to the fish. It's YOUR money!!! You should be free to enjoy it however you wish.
Or a charity that fights illiteracy? What's ridiculous is that you pounced before comprehending my comment. My point was that the fundraiser should end, not that she should give any of the well deserved money away...
One more thing to add, you can follow Karen on Twitter I thinks she's @TheKarenKlein
Sorry, that was RETARDED of me; )
Peter..."retarded" really?
@Susan, ITA. It's her money now. PERIOD! I don't think any of us would like someone coming up to us ever payday saying we should donate at least 15% of our pay to some good cause. For all we know she could have major debt that this will cover and allow her to enjoy retirmement without financial worries.
She can do whatever she wants since it's her money but I think it's really uncool if she doesn't donate at least a tiny portion. She didn't earn the money.
In the big scheme of things $650,000 is not a lot to retire with. I don't care what she does with her money. I don't think charities are always on the up and up anyway. I use Denise Brown's charity as an example.
As far as other people trying this, I think that would be pretty hard to fake. This was a pretty gruesome vid to watch. The kid who posted this on facebook is an utter moron with a hugely disturbed ego.
I think that it is kind of cool that something that was so horrible for Karen turned out to help her so much. Leave it to those assinine kids to think what they did was watchable.
@saffron
Yes, start ANOTHER charity where there will be administrative costs where the $100k spends maybe $500 on actual anti-bullying.
Shaming these kids will teach future aholes why bullying shouldn't be tolerated.
She's under no obligation to donate money and nobody gets to tell her what to do with it. But I have to say, it would be nice to see her donating some of it. Just a little bit.
Anita...
Sure she didn't "earn" the money, but I get money for my birthday or Christmas as a gift and I didnt earn that either, but I sure is heck not going to give it away just cuz I didn't work for it.
Having said that, it'd be cool if she did donate some of it, but she doesn't have to and no one should think less of her if she doesn't.
@Henriette, I think the fake ones will get figured out. Think of Balloon Boy. But opportunist idiots will try it. And I kind of hope they do because it's hilarious when they get caught.
This money was raised in good faith, and the initial goal was $5,000.00. The fact that so many donated and so much was raised, just goes to show how deeply people were touched by this story. At this point, they should probably stop the fundraising.
And for those who say that at the very least she should donate a portion of these funds, I think that is wrong. As many have pointed out, people donated the money to HER, to make her life easier. It's her decision what she does with it. I hope she keeps every penny.
@Denise, agreed but have you ever gotten $650 large as a Christmas or birthday present? I'm going to put some smily faces so my question doesn't come off bitchy:
:) :) :)
$650,000 is enough to share at least a bit. $5,000 at least.
I'm probably the minority but why does it take a viral video to bring attention to the ruthlessness of bullies today? Why haven't people donated money to an antibullying organizations instead? I feel bad for what this woman endured but there are countless people bullied every day. Why don't we as a society do more for them?
I think she should do whatever the f she wants with her money. Good on her and the people that donated!
I'm so popular! In hindsight my retarded comment was inappropriate. My apologies to anyone I offended.
I hear ya. :)
And no, I haven't even gotten $650 small for a gift.
@ anita - I love your your not- bitchy smiley faces. Best comment in the thread :-) :-) :-).
Those smiley faces say I'm being sincere.
Yeah, doesn't make sense...
for example, my friend's house burned down and she got a lot of money donated to her...so should she be expected to donate a portion of her money to other people who's houses burned down?
@Peter, LOL. You will survive. But my niece would have called you out on that. These young 'whoopersnappers' do make this blog interesting :)
That's awesome! Glad for her!
Thank you Denise. Exactly.Sure they thought they would collect $5K but got $650K. So what? We really don't know what she is in arears to but if she can now retire that should tell you she didn't have much to retire with. She's 68 and could collect Social Security but obviously could not survive on that (who could?). Enough with the donate or it's bad karma or we won't think much of you. It started as a small gift that grew and it's all hers.
And there is an anti-bullying foundation. It's called The It Get's Better Project. Everyone who suggested she should start one should donate to that one today.They are doing great messaging and I am involved with this group. Love them!
She seems like a real nice lady and I wish her the best. I just hope that after all is said and done, she doesn't wind up like half the lottery winners -- broke, jobless and more miserable than when they started. You gotta watch how people around you handle sudden windfalls, but you could also be your own worst enemy. Here's to hoping she gets some sound, professional, financial advice before she spends even a penny.
I agree with Dana.
@Sadie- donate 100k?? I disagree. People donated the money to HER even though the money collected exceeded the $5,000 goal. Why do people begrudge others money or good fortune? She needs to divide that money over a certain number of years to ensure she has a comfortable retirement.
Too many charities use money towards administrative costs or expensive "fundraising dinners". Sean Hannity's charity fraud comes to mind.
People just need to do a better job of teaching their kids manners, and disciplining them.
What, now we can't even call ourselves names? Peter, retarded is a word and if you want to call yourself that then go ahead. Who's been harmed?
So Sherry are you going around calling yourself the N-word? I mean who cares, who's hurt, right??
its 2012, we all know the word is not acceptable. Defending it is almost as ignorant.
I am happy for her--she's going to help her own family with some of it.
Times are tough now--she didn't make much money when she was working and this allows her to retire early and will open up a job for someone else who needs it.
She's had a lot to deal with--the stress from the incident and the aftermath. I hope she can retire on this money and feel like she helped somehow to change something. She didn't ask for one cent and I think it is wonderful that enough people cared and gave enough for her to have this outcome.
@Liz
Totally! This lady is going to have a hard time retiring with just $650,000. It sounds like a lot, but it's not.
Also, a lot of charities would blow through her dough on administrative costs. Look at the ASPCA in Montreal. They are going bankrupt to pay some marketing guy.
Wasn't her JOB to prevent bullying on the bus (as a bus monitor)...so basically she wasn't doing her job, and now she's rewarded? Go figure..only in America. She should have been fired, because if these kids were bullying another student on this bus, she wouldn't have handled it.
pussykatt.....as harsh as you may sound, you are correct.
Idk....I'm all for people hitting financial lotteries. But you're right. You're make valid points.
Sadly though, if she got up and told them to shut their goddamn mouths before she knocked their asses to the ground, (which is what I would have done, maybe not knocked their asses to the ground but certainly, cursed them out and told them what little a-holes the were behaving like) parent's would have had her fired (sorry, I am a survivor of a Cedu-based schools where this sort of screaming in a child's face was acceptable, and let's admit it, often needed and much deserved). But everything now is so gaddman pc. And there in which lies the problem. THAT...and parents believe that it's everyone else's kid whose the problem but their own, which I feel is absolute bs.
Honestly if one of those little cum stains touched me I would have went OFF! Karen has more control than I do.
I think she should do whatever the hell she wants with the money. If those who donated wanted to give it to a charity, they would have! I'd be pissed if the cash I sent her way was given to something I don't necessarily support, too. Isn't demanding she spend it some way someone else thinks appropriate a form of bullying, too?
I am 110% with Pusssykat on this one..this woman was not being paid to ride the bus. She failed at her job and instead of being fired, she was rewarded with $650,000. As bus monitor, she was supposed to be in control of the situation and an authority figure. That doesn't mean she should have done something that could have gotten her fired, but at the very least she could have threatened to turn the kids in to the principal, have them written up, ANYTHING besides just sitting there staring out the window. Where there also children being bullied on that bus at any point? If she couldn't even stop herself from being bullied, how could she protect those kids? Now that Karen has profited off of failing at the job that she was being PAID to do, she could at least use her newfound fame to do something good. She already said she doesn't accept the kids' apology, which is pretty petty IMO, but here's hoping that she at least does something worthwhile with the money, like maybe helping the kids who are bullied every day but don't have America throwing money at them....
Jax I hardly think letting someone call themselves a disparaging remark ignorant and if I want to call myself the N word I shall do it.Just like if I want to call myself fat I will. Or the C word. It's MY call not yours. Once I start to hurl them at others I commend you for standing up to that. Pick the right fight.
great that people are falling all over themselves to donate to a little old white lady but will cross the street if they see a homeless person....
@ The D That's a broad generalization, dont you think? You dont know me. You dont know where I spend 85% of my free time. Which btw is helping Veterans and Homeless Vets. And what does color have to do with anything? The money I Donated to Karen is nothing compared to the time and $$$ I've spent helping others.
No wonder schools are afraid of taking actions towards children. There will always be some parent who will turn it around and blame the victim.
If she failed at her job, then the parents failed as parents for raising these children. How do you "fire" the parents. The types of kids who bully are raised by parents who don't allow their children to suffer the full consequences of their behavior and who engage in bullying others. Karen didn't do anything wrong, and many people who saw the full video can see that she tried talking to those kids.
Karen, keep the money and enjoy the rest of your life.
I don't really have anything to add to the debate going on, but I just came here to say that the crooked picture of the bear in the background made me smile a little. I hope that she takes that money, plops down on a beach somewhere and orders a drink the size of a bathtub. I do hope she donates a little, but I've gotten the impression throughout this ordeal that she just wants to be left alone and would just be going about her business if this hadn't blown up the way it did. I like that.
@pussykatt
You are stating what is known as "blame the victim" mentality. Such as murder victims who "should have known better than to walk around at 3 am." Or women who wear short skirts and their sexual history comes into question.
Actually, Karen's job was to make sure the kids got on and off at the right stops. As far as bully goes, she got this job (from what I read) because no one else wanted it. The previous employees had left from all the problems.
This stupid kids were NOT bullying other kids, but the monitor! There are kids who attack teachers in schools these days.
When I was working at a community college, I got threatened numerous times physically. I had to be VERY careful about how those incidents were handled, so the offenders could not have grounds for a lawsuit against the district.
Where I am right now in Northern California, there were a group of kids who did a senior prank on their school. They were suspended and could not attend graduation festivities. They have parents now who are SUING the school district!
I totally get why Karen could not do to much with those kids.
She along with every other bullied teacher deserves every penny. I am so glad that she found some happiness. I just hope she doesn't allow their negative words to allow her to ever get depressed.
She along with every other bullied teacher deserves every penny. I am so glad that she found some happiness. I just hope she doesn't allow their negative words to allow her to ever get depressed.
I just want to thank Another Josh for being the first to so quickly call out the inappropriate use of the "R" word. I usually read these too late to be the one to do that, so I am glad someone did.
While I think it's insane that she's been given $650K, I also think she should keep it simply because those gifting her this money wanted HER to have it. If they wanted their money to go to a charity, they would have given it to a charity.
@Peter- I say that if you feel that you are acting like someone with an IQ south of 70 and limited functional skills, then you should feel free to call yourself retarded.
I'm late to the game, but I read she was donating part of it. I think the anti-bullying thing would be best. But I agree that she shouldn't be under any obligation to do so, it would just be nice.
@pussykatt - It was her job, but I read somewhere that she'd been doing this job for awhile and nothing like this had happened before.
And she was being paid...I believe it was $15k/year. Some people have argued she also pay back the rest of her salary to the school.
LOVE this lady- she deserves EVERY PENNY of this money.
I am just so glad that someone who had been so unappreciated has had something so amazing happen!
Now she can rest, and enjoy the rest of her life. I have no doubt that she's busted her ass all her life.
The amount of unpaid labor that women do, if paid, would add trillions to the GDP.
She earned it, I have no doubt.
Why the hell should she have to donate any of her money to a charity?
As if she hasn't already donated most of her life and labor for diddly shit...
I hope she invests it wisely... and goes someplace warm.
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