Rutgers Bus Driver Fired Controversy

Warning - Here is my first of many very opinionated posts!

So in the past week, there has been a controversy about the firing of Pastor Stan McNeil, a "beloved" bus driver at Rutgers University in NJ.

Stan McNeil claims that Rutgers only fired him because he touched a disabled girl on the head, praying for her to heal.  He has done it before and was asked not to do it again.  But in reality, people, there is more to the story which many just have skipped right over.  Even journalists skipped over it!  Which makes me even more mad but let's get to the bottom line shall we?

Here's some background if you don't know what's happening.  Stan McNeil was a popular Rutgers University bus driver who is also a Pastor and every day on the bus, McNeil always had inspirational speeches.  I never experienced these speeches personally, well because I don't go to Rutgers but that's the not reason of this post.  Many students say that always looked forward to getting on the bus because he would always lift up their spirits if they are having a bad day.

Well good for them, but what about the students who are in wheelchairs that are bouncing around on the bus because he didn't tie them down?  Because that's the REAL reason why he got fired.  Not because he was praying on a girl who was in a wheelchair, to be healed.  Yes, that may play some role since well she did complain and he was told not to do it again.  But, he wasn't tying down the chairs which is a big safety hazard!
Sharp turns = student with chair bumping their head on the side of the bus or even they end up at another part of the bus.  A short stop = the chair going harshly forward where the person could land on their front and/or banging their head.  And if the person doesn't get a seat belt put on and they don't have a seat belt on their chair (because not everyone has one!), the person could be knocked out of their chair if any of the previous things happen.

All of the above could have happened if McNeil kept on with the job because he wasn't tying down the chairs and you want to know why?  Here is a quote from a newscast NBC did on him:

"Personally I was a little concerned about the time because you're spending time putting them on the bus and getting them hooked up so you're losing time," says Stan McNeil when asked about tying down the chairs.

Like really? Did he really say that? I have been saying that since the moment I heard him say that.  Right after he did, my mom and I looked at each other and just asked at the same time, "Did he really just say that?" So, of course I was expecting many people to talk about it and do a report of what he said but it's been two days now and nothing.  Many people are still supporting him and there are already over 6,800 signatures on a change.org petition to bring him back.  You know why?  Because they think he was just fired for religious reasons, not because of the safety reasons.

Time? Like really? Time was the reason you couldn't tie someone down? I hope you all realize that it probably doesn't take more than four minutes to get a person with a wheelchair on the bus plus strapping in.  And you're losing time? What time is exactly lost? Four minutes. Wow. That's a lot of time....Not. If you notice in the quote, he does say "them" so meaning he hasn't just not tied down one person, but he has done it numerous time.

As a student with a disability, I am definitely upset.  I rode the school bus throughout all of 13 years of public school and do you think there was once where they didn't tie me down? Nope. And you know how long it took to get me on the bus plus tying me down? I'll say it again - not even more than four minutes. I don't understand how someone can say that time is why they weren't tying down a chair down.  That's like saying you're not going to take a moment to put on your seat belt.

I mean, come on people.  There were more than religious reasons for this man being fired.  But did you research all of the reasons?  Of course not.  Only NBC, that I know of, has gotten something about safety reasons.  Yes, I noticed other news reports that do mention safety reasons were for the reason but you know where in those article that information was?  At the bottom, oh and not to mention, no where in the title of the article which is normally the first thing readers see and remember.

As you can tell, I'm very passionate about people knowing the real reason because I want to make sure that this does NOT happen again and that others learn to read EVERYTHING before they make assumptions.  I know that some already know the real reason and agree what I have said in this blog post but there are still so many who still don't understand the real reason behind this.

I hope you all understand where this is coming from and that you will share this with your friends because this is a very important subject.

Here is the link to the video of where Stan McNeil says the quote above - Video to NBC newscast of Stan McNeil's Firing (It is the top video that auto plays itself)

Feel free to comment on this post what you believe (whether you agree or disagree) and please share this post! :)

Thank you for giving me your time and listening to my opinion about this matter!

Until Next Time

CGoerlich <3