I look behind her to see two gangster-type kids, not much older than 17 or
so, telling her to "shut up bitch" and other things while she continued to
yell. I'm still trying to figure out what the situation is (is it a lovers
quarrel, are they drunk, on drugs) and the bus stops at the next stop. She
yells some more, and they do too, and they get off. Now, I didn't see this
because people were in front of me, but apparently they spit on her and hit
her before leaving. She yells some more at the bus driver and finally
someone joins in at yelling at the driver too. I ask him why he doesn't
call the cops. He comes back to the back of the bus to see what is going
on. He's obviously dumbfounded at everyone yelling at him for not having
done something when apparently she had been yelling for quite a while for
them to turn the radio down. He says *nothing* and goes back to the front
and keeps driving the bus.
So now the woman starts yelling at *us* for not having done anything to help
her and for not standing up to them. Some guy says she was right and one or
two other chime in but most people look at her like she was crazy. I give
her something to wipe the spit out of her hair, and we talk a little bit. I
apologize for not helping (what can you say; it's already happened) but told
her I just got on the bus. We talked some more and I said, "You know, I
understand your frustration at the driver, but he was probably thinking of
drivers he's known who *have* become involved and who then are forced to
face the guys they kick off when they show up later with a *gun*. That
didn't impress her any.
But it's true...I know you drivers think about that all the time. But what
about us? If we (the riders) stand up to guys like that, what are the
likely responses? I have a big mouth...I'm one of the first to yell at a
driver if he's doing something stupid or ridiculous, like when the
33-Stanyan turns around at Castro and 18th during rush hour when there's
dozens of people waiting for a bus and there's none behind him, despite
claims to the contrary.
What frightens me is that I probably *would* have said something to those
guys given about 2 or 3 more minutes of being on the bus. This all happened
in the space of one stop on Geary. What would happened to me then? Would
their ire turn towards me? Would other riders have risen to help? *I*
didn't rise to help when I could have, and now I feel guilty for that woman
being spat upon. I feel guilty for not chiding the driver for not stopping
while the rider was pleading with him. I feel guilty for not yelling with
her *at* the other passengers for being such cows. And then I think, what
if those guys had a gun?
So how the hell am I supposed to handle a situation like this? Ignore?
Plead with the other riders to back me up and then demand they turn the
radio down? Carry a knife just in case? Carry a cell phone and call the
cops? I feel so frustrated and pissed off, at the driver, the situation,
the guys with the radio, *even* the woman herself. She yelled on the bus
about all the MEN on the bus who stood by and did nothing while she needed
help. I felt mad because she didn't stop to think that guys like that don't
respect women, but they won't hesitate to take up the "challenge" if a guy
tells them to be quiet, and they may take up the challenge with a gun.
What the hell are the riders supposed to do?
Jeremy Sammons
Rider