After the upsetting video of Greece School District bus monitor Karen Klein being viciously bullied by the children she was watching over went viral Wednesday, the Internet struck back with an outpouring of concern, kind words and a fundraising campaign that has raised more than $184,000 so far for Klein to use for a dream vacation.
Now, the 68-year-old is speaking out, telling the "Today" show's Matt Lauer she's overwhelmed by the amount of support she's received.
"I am amazed, I am so amazed," Klein told Lauer. "I've gotten the nicest letters, emails, Facebook messages, and it's like wow, there's a whole world out there that I didn't know."
Klein also appeared on "Fox and Friends," where she talked about how she was able to maintain her composure while the students were insulting her.
“I didn’t want to do anything to hurt anybody," Klein said in the interview. “... I have escaped a lot in my life, and I’m trying to let things go."
In the video, the lowest point of the verbal abuse came when one of the boys told Klein she didn't have any family because “they all killed themselves because they didn’t want to be near you." Klein's son took his own life 10 years ago.
With donations still pouring in to the fundraising campaign, which will not end until July 20, things may be looking up for Klein, but she still has a message for the parents of the children:
"I'm sorry that your sons acted the way they did," she told Lauer when asked what she would say to the boys' parents. "I'm sure they don't act that way at home, but you never know what they're going to do when they're out of the house."
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