Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Getting back to JMH's original response. What he doesnt seem to understand is that many folks would prefer the path of conflict avoidance. What seems colorful to a 20-30 something is seen as threatening to someone who's not quite as adventuresome.

Bus-Tran in Dayton OH as a great example. The prime hub at downtown was routinely swarmed by 'urban kids' after school. They were just kids goofing off, but after a few purse snatches and failure of the 'Urban Ministers' to address the situation, preferring to charge police who tried to control the situation with racism. The city dwelling older generation largely stopped using public transportation in the end.

I also blame hip-hop, as well as the colorful language.

 

You piss me off so much.

I am describing human nature... in reality. And you have to get on your meme machine.

Exactly what did I Say that's racist, Don? And I told you WHY the olders felt uncomfortable... and it wasnt only white olders, either.

 

When I was first stationed at Ft Lewis WA, (outside Tacoma) I did not have a car. The local busline would pick us up near our barracks and generally would take you all the way to... the mall. When I had been there a month, the first crackhead I had ever seen came on board, and it was a disconcerting site, if you are a small town boy from Ohio. She was as high as high gets. It was very sad.

The other sad thing I saw on the bus line was on a March day that was pretty nice by greater Seattle standards, meaning that the rain had largely quit falling and the temperature was about 55 degrees. A disheveled lady was on the bus with her young child, and the child wanted to take off the heavy winter coat he or she had on (I can't remember). The mother screamed at the child "NO!!! LEAVE IT ON!!!" She was so harsh on the kid that it almost went over the line to abuse. I didn't see her hit her child but I am pretty sure it happened at some time, and I mean hit as opposed to spank or smack on the hand.

Both were very sad. I didn't miss the bus when I got my car.

That being said, even when I had a car I used Seattle's bus line to get around when I could get to town. I would park and ride, they had a very good system, along with the monorail.

 

Heather loves her car, and you can take it from her when you pry the steering wheel from her cold, dead hands (nicely manicured of course).

 

Seriously Don. It has nothing to do with Racism. Now I don't know the area that Fog is talking about, but if my wife said to me "Hey, I'm going with Jane to East Colfax in Aurora (Denver) to see Tim and Bob Show play, I would be a little worried. Yes, they are socio-economic status isn't the same as mine, but that has nothing to do with it. What has something to do with it is the crime in the area.

I take the bus probably 50% of the time for my commute which is 45 minutes. My bus is 90% commuters. However, I don't think I would jump on some of the local buses, not because I'm scared, not because I'm lazy, but because I choose not to get on a filthy, dirty, smelly bus. That might make me a snob, but so be it.

I really hate it when people throw out the race card when it has absolutely nothing to do with Race. I expect more from you Don.

 

Because it wasnt necessary. It's almost the exact thing Obama said about his Gran. It's a fact of life. It wasnt necessary for him to bring that up, either.

the FACT is the olders would be wary of punks or goths, but it was the black kids caused the concerns. Mainly 'cause they enjoyed being 'scary'. {Remember when you were a kid? Maybe you didnt but I bet you knew someone who did act out, for effect.}

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I recall now that a men's group took it on themselves to chaperone the stop at school times.
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Fact is, in my forties when I walked by that transfer point all the time I never saw anything but kids acting out a little. It didnt bother me at all.

What bothered me was when I actually took the bus, for a reason I dont remember, and a kid got on with his ghetto blaster and about drove the rest of us crazy.

 

I don't have kids, but I used to watch my friends kids alot and can tell you that they didn't have a car nor would we even take public transportation the vast majority of the time.

 

The suburbs and sprawl have made car travel a neccessity across the US and Canada. If I lived where they had decent transportation options I would stop driving. When I go to NYC (I live in upstate NY) I always take the train into Grand Central Station and take the subway everywhere else. Safe, efficient, and fast.