Little shits on a train

The BBQ Pit
1

Grr. Maybe the rest of you will think this is small potatoes - and I’m pretty sure it happens everywhere, every day - but this pissed me right off, so I’m ranting.

I was riding home on the light rail yesterday when four kids got on. Three looked to be junior high age (all under 5’) and the fourth was probably in high school. They were chanting a rap song at the top of their lungs. As far as I could tell, the lyrics consisted entirely of variations on “shit fuckin’ bitch” and other such pleasantries. I have no problem with well-placed profanity, but this was not it. They sat in the very back row of the car, right behind me.

A middle-aged guy two rows in front of me told them to knock it off. They immediately started cursing him out. “Shut the fuck up, old man!” “Fuck off!” “You can suck my dick!” This is all from kids too young to shave, who seem to think they can bully adults in public.

The guy continued to tell them to knock it off, that their behavior was unacceptable, and there was no reason for them to behave that way. He spoke in a normal tone of voice and didn’t swear, as far as I could tell. The older kid jumped in on it and asked if he had a fuckin’ problem, and if so, if he ‘wanted to go’. Five minutes into the exchange, the four kids started throwing pieces of trash at the guy. I did not want to be in the middle of that, so I got up and moved. So did three or four other people in that seating area.

That train is equipped with intercoms in the handicapped seating area for the wheelchair-bound to let the driver know when they need extra time to disembark. I walked to the nearest one - maybe fifteen feet from the little shits - hit the button, and loudly told the driver that he was within a hair of having a fight in the back of his train, and could security please meet us at the next stop?

The older kid promptly sat on the younger ones. I’m not sure if the swearing stopped, but the volume went way down and they stopped throwing stuff. The older kid appeared to have a calm conversation with the middle-aged guy until the next stop. I did overhear one of the little shits asking the bigger kid ‘what they should do about that interfering bitch’ while trying to throw intimidating stares in my direction. The bigger kid shook his head and told the kid to drop it.

There was indeed a security officer waiting at the next stop. The kids got off the train and nearly ran for the stairs. It was my stop too, so got off the train. I stayed near the security guard until the kids were down at the bus bays. I told him what I’d observed and apologized for possibly overstating the situation, but it seemed to be the best way to make the kids back down. He thanked me and said that that behavior ‘was not welcome here’, and he’d tell them to get off the property. When I left (taking the long way around to avoid any chance of the little shits trying to corner me), he was doing just that.

So I guess the system worked. I have serious doubts that those kids will learn anything from it, though. I wish there were a legal allowance for thrashing kids like that. I really do.

2

Fighting words are illegal in most if not all states.

Throwing things can also be a felony (look up “throwing missiles” statutes).

Those kids are lucky if all they got was a talking to.

3

Reminds me of two incidents when I worked University Security.

Four 10-12 year old kids in the Basketball arena late at night, we go to roust them out, me and another officer. Kids are walking up the stairs and just mouthy as all get out, even threatening to fight us. I laugh and tell the kid “I could pound you into the ground like a spike, and we’re not on camera right now. You probably don’t want to be making threats.” They got kinda quiet, only getting mouthy again when they were out of the building, by which time I didn’t care. You learn to let people run their mouths as much as they want as long as they’re doing what you tell them to do. But threats are something different. You have to address them.

Two 16-17 year old kids riding skate boards up and down the side of the library, have to roust them for safety/insurance reasons. Older kid spewing all sorts of nonsense as I walk them to his car. Tells me he’ll just come back later. “You know, there are no cameras on that side of the library. If I come back and find you lying there injured, I’ll just throw you in the bushes and walk away. It could be days before anyone finds you.” Kid didn’t come back.

Would I actually have done that? Oh hell no. But a few of the right words at the right time can work wonders when someone is running their mouth.

For kids like that in a public place, you being a woman, you should probably just suggest that if they try anything with you, they’ll be eating a lot of pepper spray. Even if you don’t have any. Say it very calmly and matter-of-fact-ly with a pleasant look on your face, then act unconcerned (while remaining on alert). It can be very intimidating.

4

Good suggestion. I’ve actually been thinking about getting pepper spray, just as a general precaution. In this case I had nothing to gain by confronting the kids myself (calling in security was far more effective), but if they’d brought the harassment to me that would have been a good tactic.

5

Do you mind if I ask what city this happened in?

6

Seattle. I’ve been riding the ‘rough’ part of public transit for a couple of years now, and this isn’t the first altercation I’ve seen, but it is the first one that warranted getting security involved. It’s usually pretty quiet.

7

I moved away before they put in the light rail. (Was this the SLUT or the line to the airport?) And where does it join up with the buses, the International District?

And try to stay safe, etc.

8

Oof. I wasn’t aware there WAS a “rough” portion of Seattle which I consider one of the most civilized places in the US. Ignorance fought. (Though to be fair I live in San Francisco, considered to be an idyllic wonderland of pristine beauty and, my god, what a shithole when you actually live here.)

9

Never mind. I was a little off base with my post.

10

I must be getting old, but goddamn… kids these days. Surely we can render them down into some sort of nutrient-rich gruel and feed them to stray cats?

11

May I be the first to trot out “I am sick and tired of these…” etc.

12

Is SLUT the real acronym & what for, exactly?

13

Colloquial. South Lake Union Trolley. Officially known as South Lake Union Line.

14

South Lake Union Trolley, apparently.

15

So called becauswe anyone can get on and enjoy a pleasant ride! :stuck_out_tongue:

16

Not meaning to threadjack here, but…really?

A shithole?

*I’ve never been to SF.

17

What I got from this was: wow, people still ride trains! :eek:

18

I lived there a couple of years. There are parts that are absolute shitholes. The tenderloin and Chinatown come to my mind.

19

Seattle has a lot of street people, and many of them are aggressive. It’s one of the reasons we chose Portland to retire in. Not that Portland doesn’t have street people, but there are a lot of foot and bicycle cops here to keep things under control.

20

My go to for even grown men that pull this shit on me is to very calmly say with a big smile, “Go right ahead and hit me. You and I both know that the minute you hit a woman is the minute every single man within 100 yards is going to run over and beat the ever-loving shit out of you. So, go ahead, hit me. It’ll be worth it to see you get killed by every single guy around us right now.” They always pause, reflect, then walk away.