Warning, the language in this video is explicit, and also downright depressing

The internet is a bizarre place, filled with dancing robots singing Bohemian Rhapsody, crazy lawyers suing charities and cartoonists for no good reason, pages and pages of tentacle porn, and gigs and gigs worth of hate-filled YouTube comments. But every now and then the internet dons a cape and becomes a super hero.

Last week a shocking video (above) of American middle schoolers verbally abusing Karen Klein, a poorly-paid, hearing-impaired grandmother of eight hired to keep them safe on the school bus was taken, and it went viral yesterday. Over 5,700 online strangers rallied to Karen’s side, donating $110,000 through Indiegogo to fund a vacation and maybe even an early retirement.

Within seven hours, the clip was posted to the phenomenally popular social news site Reddit, where it quickly reached the front page reserved for the most upvoted stories. Redditors quickly sprang into action, working to identify the specific school the students attended and sending emails notifying school district officials and local news outlets in the Greece, NY area.

The mainstream media got involved and now the horrid little urchins who bulled Klein are being investigated. Both the school district and local police have pledged to find out who did it and punish them; they have already questioned four students. The student who took the video has apologised and has claimed peer pressure. 13Wham.com reports:

“I had no clue it would go this far,” Luis Recio Jr. said about the cell phone video he shot Monday that shows fellow students bullying their Greece school bus monitor.

He says he shot the video because of peer pressure.

“They told me to record and I’m just like ok I’m going to record it,” Recio Jr. said.

According to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Karen will appear on Thursday’s Good Morning America (ABC), The Today Show (NBC), Fox & Friends (FOX News), and with Anderson Cooper on CNN.

Karen  has worked for the Greece, NY school system for 23 years, has also received flowers, letters, and messages from around the world, including from these Marines.

Shame on you, you malicious little brats, but well done internet, you deserve at least a hundred lolcats for your efforts.

[Source: Storify]