Florida Dad Stands Up for Disabled Daughter, Now Faces Jail Time

The guy should be honored as a hero, not arrested. The charges need to be dropped or Gov. Crist needs to step in and pardon him. He has requested that people NOT donate to any legal defense fund for him. Instead, he would like the money donated to groups that are working to stop bullying.

"This is something that happens all over the nation. We have children committing suicide because of bullying, and that's unacceptable. We need to put a stop to it."

Link to "We Support James Jones" on Facebook

I wonder if her school allows personal assistance dogs? Like maybe a rottweiler or doberman.

I commend him for advocating for his daughter, however, by going about it the way he did he turned out to be a bully himself. He should have spoken to the bus driver, bus company or school to see what would be done about the bullying that was happening. At least then it would have been a teachable moment. Perhaps those kiddos needed some peer training to better understand the girls' condition. (I know,I know... Spoken like a teacher.... Yada, Yada.)

Dad probably embarrassed his daughter too. Maybe it's not PC but when he saw the bullying happen he could have shouted to his daughter across the bus not to worry because most kids quit being bullies when they stop wetting the bed.

Maybe she could have quit taking the bus?

Ratzilla wrote:

Dad probably embarrassed his daughter too. Maybe it's not PC but when he saw the bullying happen he could have shouted to his daughter across the bus not to worry because most kids quit being bullies when they stop wetting the bed.

I should have known to not take a drink while reading your post.

dz724 wrote:

I commend him for advocating for his daughter, however, by going about it the way he did he turned out to be a bully himself. He should have spoken to the bus driver, bus company or school to see what would be done about the bullying that was happening. At least then it would have been a teachable moment. Perhaps those kiddos needed some peer training to better understand the girls' condition. (I know,I know... Spoken like a teacher.... Yada, Yada.)

He did apologize on Good Morning America, but he had also previously contacted the school with no results. My first reaction when seeing the video on TV was that he has been watching too much A-Team, but after learning the whole situation, he reacted the way any caring parent would. They were putting condoms on her head. Shouldn't the bus driver have his head out of his ass enough to notice?

I was bullied in school by one kid when I was younger. My parents went in numerous times to the school to speak to the teachers, principal, superintedent & nothing ever got resolved. The bullying didn't stop until the kid & his family moved away. I commend this father for taking action, even if inappropriate. I just feel like our school systems don't want to be involved in those type of situations & they just look the other direction.

The Other One wrote:

My first reaction when seeing the video on TV was that he has been watching too much A-Team, but after learning the whole situation, he reacted the way any caring parent would. They were putting condoms on her head. Shouldn't the bus driver have his head out of his ass enough to notice?

That is bad. But I'm sure for a few dollars her dad could have gotten some older kids to do the same to the bullies. And he could request the condoms be in a "used" condition.

suzyr wrote:

Ratzilla wrote:

Dad probably embarrassed his daughter too. Maybe it's not PC but when he saw the bullying happen he could have shouted to his daughter across the bus not to worry because most kids quit being bullies when they stop wetting the bed.

I should have known to not take a drink while reading your post.

Glad I could bring a smile to your day.

The whole thing is messed up... I can neither endorse nor refudiate the guy's actions.

But this kind of thing should come as no surprise when every child is forceably institutionalized 8 hours a day for 13+ years.

Yeah, running wild on the streets all day would produce much better kids.

But on the other hand, when kids stayed at home and worked all day and their parents whipped the crap out of them for even speaking out of turn there was much less misbehavior.

Bighead wrote:

The whole thing is messed up... I can neither endorse nor refudiate the guy's actions.

But this kind of thing should come as no surprise when every child is forceably institutionalized 8 hours a day for 13+ years.

How long have you been waiting to use that word, Bighead? LOL...

As a parent of a special needs kid who was mercilessly bullied on the bus and school grounds, it's instinct to just react, then think later. After putting myself into "situations" trying to help my kid, I learned how to moderate my reactions, to lessen the effect on him. Ultimately, you're trying to help your kid, not make it worse for him/her, to fit in with the peers. Having a parent flip out, doesn't help that.

Quote :

How long have you been waiting to use that word, Bighead? LOL...

It's a regular part of my vocabulary these days... just like 'strategery'.

As for the OP, I personally don't blame this guy for making an ass of himself. He's stuck in a situation where his kid will be picked on... he's required to send his kid in every day to be herded around like cattle... he isn't allowed to stick up for his kid personally... AND people in the public schools won't do it either. It's a shitty situation for everybody.

Sure, he could've handled it better. Having a grown man flip out and threaten kids- even shithead kids- just isn't gonna work out. Now if he had a little more money, he could pay a lawyer to send a nasty letter to the school administration... and/or he could send his kid to a different school. But options like that aren't readily available for working slobs like us.

Bighead wrote:

Sure, he could've handled it better. Having a grown man flip out and threaten kids- even shithead kids- just isn't gonna work out. Now if he had a little more money, he could pay a lawyer to send a nasty letter to the school administration... and/or he could send his kid to a different school. But options like that aren't readily available for working slobs like us.

Or he could have hired a couple older kids for a few dollars to get even ten fold. Alot of kids nowdays would shove their own grandmothers face in a dog pile for a $20.

I guess I didn't know the previous attempt/ condom on head part of the story. It still doesn't make it "acceptable" but it does explain a bit more about why he reacted the way he did.

I forget that not everyone goes to a school like the one I work at. I can HONESTLY say that the teachers aren't afraid to call a kid out for bullying if it's been reported. I've done it myself a couple of times already this year.

I would think that she should have qualified for some "special education transportation" that might have reduced the encounters with these children.

There is a right way and a wrong way to advocate for your child and I personally would like to think I would have persisted that someone did something about the bullying even if I had to go above the building level to get it done. Noone learned a life lesson from this. But I am glad that he's been appologetic for the behavior. I don't think he needs to appologize for the intent behind the behavior.

You know dz, you brought up a thought. Maybe a good punishment for the bullies would be to make "them" ride on the short bus. The other kids would no doubt have fun with that.