Took BART down to Millbrae early Thanksgiving morning and can truly say I encountered the dregs of humanity, proving that BART has a long way to go in cleaning up their act.
In my car, one young man, clearly blitzed out of his brain from drugs and/or mental illness, ranted and argued with presences only he could perceive. He was loud and obnoxious, and didn’t seem particularly dangerous, but still, the few passengers in the car—including me—kept a wary eye on him.
At the other end of the car sat another young man. I didn’t especially notice him until we got to his stop. He arose, walked toward the door and then violently threw an empty soda can at the face of a young woman who was just sitting there innocently alone; to judge by her luggage, she was going to SFO. This was so shocking that it temporarily immobilized me. I had the thought of tackling him if he persisted in assaulting the woman, but by that time the man had exited the car and was gone. I asked the lady if she was all right and she was.
Finally, there was a middle-aged woman who, when she arose from her seat to exit, revealed a big, naked ass, which must have come into direct contact with the seat. I thought of the next person to use that seat, who would not have been aware that a bare derriere had recently squatted there, and I wondered what germs were crawling on it. The whole thing made me shudder.
I call these individuals the dregs of humanity. In many respects, they’re what our entire movement is about. Can’t we be free of these people? Is there no way for us to organize ourselves so as to stop them from assaulting our dignity, health and safety? I think there is; I suspect you think so, too. But the opposition is mighty, and by “the opposition” I refer to persons with political power who believe these miscreants have the right to act as they do, on BART and in all other public places. I couldn’t disagree more.
On the way home, on Friday afternoon, BART was considerably more crowded. There were no incidents equivalent in scariness and revulsion to my trip down, but still, the trip was harrowing, because in two or three instances some very sketchy young men came in. I need not define the word “sketchy.” Let’s just say, had you been on BART and seen them, your senses too would have been heightened, your alert button switched on. In the end, they did nothing untoward, except to be obnoxious, but it was interesting to see how the other passengers behaved. Almost like herd animals, we drew closer together, psychically if not physically. Eye contact was made, as if to say, “We’re all in this together. What will you do if one of them gets violent?” In my case, I took comfort in the presence of a large, middle-aged Black man wearing an orange MUNI vest. He was especially vigilant; he never took his eyes off the punks, and I would bet that he would have been the first to rush them if they did anything bad. When he got off the train I was sorry to see him leave—but by then, we’d arrived at 12th Street, and I had only one more stop to go before I reached my own destination.
We can and must have this conversation. People do not want to feel menaced. Yes, it’s the big city, and living in any large urban metropolis poses challenges, but it’s a matter of proportion. I can take a bit of frisson. I grew up in the South Bronx; I was taking the New York subways from the age of seven. I know the rules. But when things get as bad as they are in the Bay Area these days, a line has been crossed. I don’t want to feel this fear, this sense of impending doom, every time I step outside my door. We have a right to safety, security and peace of mind. The wokes who run Oakland are wrong, wrong, wrong to defend, enable and empower the dregs of humanity. That’s why the wokes have to go. So do the dregs.
Steve Heimoff