# Little shits on a train **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 26, 2011, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404 "2011-12-26T06:35:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/21 "2011-12-26T18:17:14Z")
> [@Bloodless\_Turnip](#): > > Not meaning to threadjack here, but…really? > > A shithole? > > \*I’ve never been to SF. There are plenty of reason to like and to not like San Francisco,. Some aspects of the city are absolutely fantastic; others can be annoying or frustrating. But anyone who describes it as a shithole is pretty much a retard who has no fucking idea what he or she is talking about. Even the somewhat seedy parts of the city like the Tenderloin, would barely even qualify as run down in plenty of other cities. And Chinatown is just crowded because it is both a vibrant community in its own right, and a place that is close enough to downtown to attract a considerable number of tourists. There’s nothing at all “shithole” about it. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/22 "2011-12-26T18:31:52Z")
I lived in Oakland, and I agree it’s bizarre to call SF a “shithole.” It’s a real-life city with upscale and downscale areas. But I never even worried about walking around the Tenderloin on my own, scruffy as it is. And a lot of SF is quite nice and pretty fun. Are you just not a city person? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/23 "2011-12-26T18:42:10Z")
Being a Chicagoan, I know what shithole parts of a city can look like. What freaked me the fuck out about sections of SF is the middle of the goddamned street, middle of the day, utterly out in the open drug dealing. A couple of blocks from the high-end hotel I’m in for a conference, I wandered into the Tenderloin and boom, drug deals. I can’t think of anywhere you’d see that in Chicago so near the everyday/tourist/business district section. ---
**Author:** ![Haredye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/22d042/32.png) [@Haredye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haredye)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/24 "2011-12-26T19:14:15Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 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. And of course those kids lives need to be absolutely ruined forever simply because they were using swear words in public and throwing things. Right.:dubious: Of course if it were your darling perfect little angelic children who did this sort of thing, you’d bray how the OP was hysterical and overreacting and that your pwecious ittle angels were just acting out and they didn’t really mean it.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/25 "2011-12-26T19:28:43Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > 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. You are a fucking badass. Awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/26 "2011-12-26T19:41:31Z")
> [@Haredye](#): > > And of course those kids lives need to be absolutely ruined forever simply because they were using swear words in public and throwing things. > > Right.:dubious: > > Of course if it were your darling perfect little angelic children who did this sort of thing, you’d bray how the OP was hysterical and overreacting and that your pwecious ittle angels were just acting out and they didn’t really mean it.:rolleyes: If they wanna act all gangsta, then they need to really experience the gangsta lifestyle. All of it, not just the fun parts. Their lives won’t be ruined forever if they sit in jail for a few hours. Hell, even if they get convicted (which is pretty unlikely) they’ll probably be able to get the conviction expunged. If they’re old enough to ride on adult public transit by themselves, then they are old enough to know how to act. It’s only a very few kids who act out like this, and those kids should learn that actions have consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Haredye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/22d042/32.png) [@Haredye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haredye)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/27 "2011-12-26T19:57:09Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > If they wanna act all gangsta, then they need to really experience the gangsta lifestyle. All of it, not just the fun parts. > > Their lives won’t be ruined forever if they sit in jail for a few hours. Hell, even if they get convicted (which is pretty unlikely) they’ll probably be able to get the conviction expunged. > > If they’re old enough to ride on adult public transit by themselves, then they are old enough to know how to act. It’s only a very few kids who act out like this, and those kids should learn that actions have consequences. Again if it were your kids you’d be screaming bloody murder that your pwecious ittle angels were just misunderstood and they really didn’t mean it and how dare you accuse them of such a thing and other bullshit. Sure you’d let them sit in jail for a few hours.:dubious::dubious::dubious: Sure you’d let them be convicted of a felony.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/28 "2011-12-26T20:08:21Z")
Little animals who think they can, and who actually do, get away with physically intimidating adults today are not prevented from escalating tomorrow. Groups of good children do not threaten physical violence against people in the first place. Society might scare the piss out of a pack of budding criminals and set them straight. And if not, we might get their fingerprints into the system so that when they do escalate and rob/assault/rape/kill someone, they’ll be easier to track. So some little violent shits have to face the consequences of their actions? Sounds good to me. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/29 "2011-12-26T20:12:14Z")
Actually, no. My daughter kept her nose clean when she was a kid. The most trouble she got into, where someone else had to discipline her, was not doing her homework. And we didn’t whine and cry to the teacher that she’s dyslexic (which was the root of the problem), we worked with the teacher and decided how we were going to handle it. Granted, this wasn’t an attitude problem, which is the basic source of the little shits’ behavior. My daughter knew, from grade school on, that it’s not right to harass other people, and it’s certainly not acceptable to throw even bits of litter at them. So you’re quite wrong. Edit: This post was addressed to **Haredye**. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/30 "2011-12-26T20:42:06Z")
> [@Haredye](#): > > And of course those kids lives need to be absolutely ruined forever simply because they were using swear words in public and throwing things. Their lives are ALREADY fucked up if they think they can behave this way. What are we, as a society, standing to “lose” if scaring the kids straight _doesn’t_ work? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/31 "2011-12-26T20:42:17Z")
> [@voguevixen](#): > > 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. I work on 3rd Avenue in Belltown. Half a block away is the YWCA women’s shelter, and there are a lot of disturbed people about. A couple of blocks down, around the McDonald’s and Westlake Station, there have been several incidents of violence including beatings and shootings. I’ve seen more than one news report of teens fighting and intimidating people on buses. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/32 "2011-12-26T21:04:48Z")
> [@Haredye](#): > > And of course those kids lives need to be absolutely ruined forever simply because they were using swear words in public and throwing things. > > Right.:dubious: > > Of course if it were your darling perfect little angelic children who did this sort of thing, you’d bray how the OP was hysterical and overreacting and that your pwecious ittle angels were just acting out and they didn’t really mean it.:rolleyes: Crawl back under your rock, troll. Damn betcha they need to be tossed in the slammer for a few hours. And don’t trot out that bogus beef that I wouldn’t think that way if it was my kid. I would, and did even when it was _my father_ who was letting me stew for a while. I learned my lesson quite rapidly, and so would they. **Lynn** , you didn’t need to add that **Haredye** was “quite wrong.” He posted, therefore what you said is a truism. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/33 "2011-12-26T21:06:41Z")
> [@Haredye](#): > > And of course those kids lives need to be absolutely ruined forever simply because they were using swear words in public and throwing things. Is that what I wrote? I mean, you quoted me in your post, but you seem to be replying to something else entirely. > [@Haredye](#): > > Of course if it were your darling perfect little angelic children who did this sort of thing, you’d bray how the OP was hysterical and overreacting and that your pwecious ittle angels were just acting out and they didn’t really mean it.:rolleyes: For a poster I’ve never even heard of before this post, you sure seem to think you know an awful lot about me. Trouble is, you don’t and you’re wrong. Are you always this big a douchebag, or is it special because of the holidays? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/34 "2011-12-26T21:18:19Z")
Don’t mind **Hairpie**. He’s sprinting toward the banish line. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/35 "2011-12-26T21:57:46Z")
> [@Haredye](#): > > Again if it were your kids you’d be screaming bloody murder that your pwecious ittle angels were just misunderstood and they really didn’t mean it and how dare you accuse them of such a thing and other bullshit. Sure you’d let them sit in jail for a few hours.:dubious::dubious::dubious: > Sure you’d let them be convicted of a felony.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: graduate high school more, n00b. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/36 "2011-12-26T22:10:25Z")
Simply because it’s mandatory: I have had it with these motherfucking shits on this motherfucking train! ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/37 "2011-12-26T22:29:25Z")
I found out one of my sisters-in-law was a “shit on a train” yesterday. :smack: She took the train from downtown Chicago out to the ‘burbs for the inlaws’ Christmas get-together. As my husband was waiting for her to get off the train, he heard a departing passenger talking about “the crazy woman in the red coat” who’d thrown some kind of fit. Cue his sister in red coat and her husband approaching. My husband took a moment alone with our brother-in-law to ask how the train ride was. When BIL waffled, my husband asked what was up, and all BIL would say was something to the effect of, “We were asked to move for some reason, and “Nancy” didn’t take it well.” He was able to get out of BIL that apparently it was a raging temper fit on par with their dad, who has bipolar disorder and does **not** like to be crossed. Great. :smack: They also spent about 15 minutes arguing in our driveway later that night (we were supposed to be waiting for the next train) about her jumping down his throat in front of the family, then treating it like it was no big deal. At least it ended with her seeing his side of things - and our neighbors not calling the cops. (We just let them argue it out and went inside.) ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/38 "2011-12-26T22:41:08Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > What I got from this was: wow, people still ride trains! :eek: I ride 4 trains every work day. Sometimes on weekends I ride trains for recreation! 😃 Well, I ride trains on the weekend TO recreation, not FOR recreation. I don’t have some kind of train fetish, I swear. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/39 "2011-12-26T22:59:16Z")
> [@Haredye](#): > > And of course those kids lives need to be absolutely ruined forever simply because they were using swear words in public and throwing things. > > Right.:dubious: > > Of course if it were your darling perfect little angelic children who did this sort of thing, you’d bray how the OP was hysterical and overreacting and that your pwecious ittle angels were just acting out and they didn’t really mean it.:rolleyes: No, if my kid was acting like this I would get seriously medieval on his sorry ass, Grendel. ---
**Author:** ![FlyByNight512](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FlyByNight512](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyByNight512)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/40 "2011-12-26T23:12:29Z")
> [@voguevixen](#): > > 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. I put ‘rough’ in quotes because it’s really not that bad compared to other stories I’ve heard. Seattle has a lot of crazy homeless people, and every now and then you hear about gang violence, but my overall impression is that it’s not bad. There are places I wouldn’t go to alone after dark, and the “worst” areas I’ve just never had a reason to go to, but I’ve rarely felt threatened. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I work on 3rd Avenue in Belltown. Half a block away is the YWCA women’s shelter, and there are a lot of disturbed people about. A couple of blocks down, around the McDonald’s and Westlake Station, there have been several incidents of violence including beatings and shootings. I’ve seen more than one news report of teens fighting and intimidating people on buses. Yeah, Belltown is one of those places that I would not go to alone after dark, and I’m not sure if I’d take a job there. Westlake is strange - it’s the center of the shopping district, and there are cops all over. But there are also ‘undesirable elements’ in large numbers too. Other cities I’ve seen seem to have the ‘undesirables’ pushed out of the big commercial centers more thoroughly, probably at the insistence of the business owners. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404.md?page=3)