# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/41 "2011-12-26T23:21:12Z")
> [@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. …how often does that happen that you have a go-to move for it? 'cause, tbh, unless you are really unlucky or a raging bitch that kind of situation should arise once or twice in your life. ---
**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, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/42 "2011-12-26T23:37:08Z")
> [@Laudenum](#): > > …how often does that happen that you have a go-to move for it? > 'cause, tbh, unless you are really unlucky or a raging bitch that kind of situation should arise once or twice in your life. You’re not a high school debate coach, are you? 😃 You’d be surprised… ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/43 "2011-12-26T23:48:49Z")
I had a similar experience last week on the commuter train in Chicago. 3 teenage girls got on downtown. All nicely dressed, clean, looked well cared for. They did not get off at the next to last stop (where I got off), so I know they come from a financially stable community-the last stop. I suppose there is an outside chance they were just visiting this upscale suburb, but I doubt it. Anyway, they sat down and immediately in VERY loud voices started to describe all manner of things that are not usually covered in polite conversation in public. Stuff like “the first few times I was pregnant…” this from a girl who couldn’t be more than 20 at the utmost–she looked 16. Her story of her pregnancies ended with loud mention of the abortion clinics she’d visited. The other 2 girls were not as obnoxious, but they were just as loud about their drinking, their “hook-ups” and their plans for the weekend. It was surreal. It was so over the top I didn’t think it could be true. Thing is, they were looking around like “who’s gonna rise to our provocation?” Nobody took the bait, although the conductor took them to task at one point for their loudness. Their response to his telling them to quiet down was to become verbally abusive, “Fuck you, fuck this train, who do you think you are, dissing us?” etc. I wish I had said something to them. It was very uncomfortable. Then again, I think to be them must be a horrid thing, so their having to live with themselves might be enough of a punishment. Ok, wishful thinking on my part. I hate to sound like one of those old people, but truly, I see this behavior more often today than I have in the past. Why? No parenting? Piss poor parenting? Kids just taking the piss? What is the right response? ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/44 "2011-12-26T23:53:07Z")
> [@FlyByNight512](#): > > 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. I dunno. I lived and/or worked in Belltown for 15 years ending in 2009. It was a much sketchier area in the early '90s than now, but even so, neither I nor any of my friends in the neighborhood ever had any problems even with many many late nights at the Croc, or the Frontier Room (RIP) or a number of other bars that have come and gone. Homeless people can be weird, persistent and smelly, but they’re extremely rarely dangerous to passers-by. And almost all of the violence played up by the local news is drunk meatheads rolling out of the clubs looking for and finding trouble with similarly minded drunk meatheads. ---
**Author:** ![FlyByNight512](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FlyByNight512](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyByNight512)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/45 "2011-12-27T00:16:14Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > The conductor took them to task at one point for their loudness. Their response to his telling them to quiet down was to become verbally abusive, “Fuck you, fuck this train, who do you think you are, dissing us?” etc. Wow. Did he call security? You _really_ don’t say that to an authority and expect anything other than getting thrown out on your ass, at least not in my world. If the conductor let it pass, though, there probably wasn’t much you could do. ☹ ---
**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 27, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/46 "2011-12-27T00:24:57Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > What is the right response? Rendering into a nutrient rich gruel. No doubt. ---
**Author:** ![FlyByNight512](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FlyByNight512](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyByNight512)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/47 "2011-12-27T00:25:52Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > I dunno. I lived and/or worked in Belltown for 15 years ending in 2009. It was a much sketchier area in the early '90s than now, but even so, neither I nor any of my friends in the neighborhood ever had any problems even with many many late nights at the Croc, or the Frontier Room (RIP) or a number of other bars that have come and gone. Homeless people can be weird, persistent and smelly, but they’re extremely rarely dangerous to passers-by. And almost all of the violence played up by the local news is drunk meatheads rolling out of the clubs looking for and finding trouble with similarly minded drunk meatheads. This Frontier Room? [http://www.yelp.com/biz/frontier-room-seattle-2](http://www.yelp.com/biz/frontier-room-seattle-2) I ate there a couple of weeks ago, there’s a BBQ-and-bar place alive and well using that name. Good food, too. Yeah, homeless people are almost invariably harmless. They’re not the ones that worry me. I’m just not going to hang around somewhere known for drug deals and drunks on my own after dark. I’m a strong believer in discretion being the better part of valor. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/48 "2011-12-27T00:26:20Z")
> [@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: That is possibly the stupidest thing I have ever read on the Dope. You’re a nitwit. ---
**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 27, 2011, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/49 "2011-12-27T00:46:59Z")
> [@Laudenum](#): > > …how often does that happen that you have a go-to move for it? > 'cause, tbh, unless you are really unlucky or a raging bitch that kind of situation should arise once or twice in your life. > [@silenus](#): > > You’re not a high school debate coach, are you? 😃 > > You’d be surprised… Oh, it’s happened to me more than a couple of times. The thing is, I used to live in Las Vegas, and I used to work swing shift, and I enjoyed going to arcades after work. So I’d be out in a rough part of town, after midnight, and I’d get threatened by punks. It was a combination of the area and the time of day. I’m a rather odd female of my age…although I was taught that girls didn’t physically fight, I was quite a tomboy, and I learned to fight boys when I was growing up. So I was able to throw a punch if I needed to. The fact that I didn’t back down and get all quivery and teary was quite surprising to the punks, they were used to women meekly backing down. Now, probably I wouldn’t have won every fight, but the fact that I was willing to fight made just about every punk back down. My father (RIP) always told me that no matter how tough you are, there’s always someone who’s a bit stronger, a bit faster, and a bit tougher. So even if you think you’re the toughest person in the neighborhood, quite possibly the guy you pick a fight with is the toughest person in HIS neighborhood. And those little shits haven’t learned that sometimes, it’s a bad idea to try to pick a fight. Sometimes, you pick a fight with someone who looks very meek, but who is, in fact, much tougher and faster and stronger than you are. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/50 "2011-12-27T01:15:58Z")
> [@FlyByNight512](#): > > This Frontier Room? [http://www.yelp.com/biz/frontier-room-seattle-2](http://www.yelp.com/biz/frontier-room-seattle-2) I ate there a couple of weeks ago, there’s a BBQ-and-bar place alive and well using that name. Good food, too. It shares the name but is a pale shadow of what it used to be. It had probably not been mopped in 20 years, the booths were blown out and comfy, the drinks were huge and incredibly stiff, and the jukebox was the best anywhere. It was the dive bar to end all dive bars. Except maybe the Nite Lite. [This is probably a bit harsher than I might be,](http://www.facebook.com/pages/Original-Frontier-Room/105477629496284?sk=info) but it warms me to see that others remember the place fondly… ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/51 "2011-12-27T01:28:41Z")
OP, your response was perfect - I don’t think saying there seemed to be a fight brewing was overestimating things. And you’d actually be surprised at how kids that age, at least the younger ones, can react to authority stamping down on them just a little; we had problems with some local little shits for quite a while, and eventually a couple of things happened that definitely merited a police report, partly because I knew they’d be on CCTV. So I reported it to the police and to the housing association and kept a diary of everything they did. I was concerned that my report might escalate matters, but it had got bad enough that I had to do something. The police actually did follow it up, tracking down the worst ones and talking to them at their homes. (I’m not privy to what else happened to them, like an [ASBO](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Social_Behaviour_Order)or social services involvement, but the latter at least is highly likely). Some of what they did merited a hell of a lot more than that, but the important thing is that ever since then we’ve had no trouble at all and I haven’t seen them out and about attacking random people like they used to either. So those kids might be less rude next time they’re on the train too, or at least some of them might be. Not all wannabee gansta kids really want to do stuff that gets them into trouble. They’re just pushing their boundaries, and it’s good that you got to show them that there really are boundaries. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/52 "2011-12-27T01:29:15Z")
> [@FlyByNight512](#): > > Yeah, homeless people are almost invariably harmless. They’re not the ones that worry me. I’m just not going to hang around somewhere known for drug deals and drunks on my own after dark. I’m a strong believer in discretion being the better part of valor. 🙂 I can’t argue with that really, everyone’s got their own line. But the two predominating features of Belltown are giant condo buildings and, to use the vernacular, ‘douchebag’ bars. It’s not particularly a run down neighborhood. It happens to be a relatively moneyed area with a lot of homeless service agencies embedded in it. There’s more drug dealers downtown at 3rd and Pike at any given time than you will ever find in Belltown. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/53 "2011-12-27T01:53:30Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > The fact that I didn’t back down and get all quivery and teary was quite surprising to the punks, they were used to women meekly backing down. Now, probably I wouldn’t have won every fight, but the fact that I was willing to fight made just about every punk back down. This is along the lines of what I have done back in the day when I was younger and more likely to be in an undesirable area. Apparently I have a facial expression that looks like pure evil crossed with pleasant anticipation, which causes bullies to think twice about messing with the poor widdle female. I had occasion to use it once when I was with a friend and she later told me she wasn’t sure if she should be more afraid of the punks or me. I told her it’s all an act - most bullies are afraid to go after something that isn’t showing fear - if you can also look like a complete psycho, so much the better! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/54 "2011-12-27T01:57:15Z")
Anyway, there was also a notorious train shitter in London, i.e.a man who actually got on trains and shitted on them. Often in front of people (one was a friend of mine). I know he was eventually caught, but for some reason Google won’t accept me typing london, train and shitting or shitter or even shit into my search results - it changes them all to variations on shut - and I only have moderate safe search on. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/55 "2011-12-27T02:11:25Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Anyway, there was also a notorious train shitter in London, i.e.a man who actually got on trains and shitted on them. Often in front of people (one was a friend of mine). I know he was eventually caught, but for some reason Google won’t accept me typing london, train and shitting or shitter or even shit into my search results - it changes them all to variations on shut - and I only have moderate safe search on. Try “london train defecator” ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/56 "2011-12-27T02:28:45Z")
Ya know, Bernie Goetz is still alive. Maybe he should move to Seattle and be brought out of retirement. ---
**Author:** ![FlyByNight512](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FlyByNight512](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyByNight512)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/57 "2011-12-27T04:43:49Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > You’d actually be surprised at how kids that age, at least the younger ones, can react to authority stamping down on them just a little. A couple of people have mentioned that to me now. I’m glad to hear it - my experience with severely misbehaving kids is pretty much nil, so I don’t know how such stories eventually play out. I still stand by my opinion that a swift paddling would be the ideal response to such behavior, but I’m glad to hear that the present system usually does work. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/58 "2011-12-27T13:12:32Z")
A propos of nothing: first read the title as “little shits in the rain”. Instantly brought to my mind a slightly juvenile Rutger Heuer lamenting that he’d…_seen_ things…you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. C-beams glittering in the dark near Tannhauser Gate. All those moments that would be lost in time like… little shits in the rain… ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/59 "2011-12-27T13:22:52Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > Apparently I have a facial expression that looks like pure evil crossed with pleasant anticipation, which causes bullies to think twice about messing with the poor widdle female. Hence my earlier suggestion. I learned that a long time ago. If you seem unflustered, mildy amused and unconcerned with their threats, bullies get totally confused and somewhat afraid of what might happen if they mess with you. “S/he isn’t afraid! S/he thinks it’s funny? S/he must have 30 blackbelts to think that way!” A little bit of martial arts training along the way wouldn’t hurt. It gives you confidence, teaches you how to anticipate a blow (so you don’t just go all fetal, which is important for survival) and how to throw a couple of your own. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404/60 "2011-12-27T13:46:40Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > 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? Only if the stray cats can then be rendered down into a nutrient-rich gruel to be fed to fish on fish farms. The circle of life. As a NYC subway rider, little and big shits are an all too common occurence. And yes, we ride trains. A lot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-shits-on-a-train/607404.md?page=4)