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Lawyer: ‘It’s a Free for All’ for Criminals on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

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Re: Lawyer: ‘It’s a Free for All’ for Criminals on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

#211

Post by selestify »

pteredactyl wrote: post #201
diogenescynic wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Criminals have more rights than children. This is the most succinct way I’ve seen it explained and it’s 100% accurate. You’re also right about the fear of upholding the law. It’s sad AND ridiculous. A relevant article about another local offender cops just ignore: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/heatherknight/article/Co...

Thanks. It came to me when I saw a Mom with kids get harassed by a crazy person on the sidewalk. Also there's a similar story in Bernal where a crazy person kept shitting in front of a school. But nobody could do anything about it (for fear of hysterical backlash). I can't find the article though.

What's the risk of a backlash actually occurring? Seems ridiculous.

Re: Lawyer: ‘It’s a Free for All’ for Criminals on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

#212

Post by [deleted] »

selestify wrote: post #209
rorykoehler wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it really though? I feel like Americans regularly say things like this (guns is another similar topic) which only reflects an inability to think many steps down the line from the outcome. There is something deeper at play and I would suspect that it has to do with economic insecurity and lack of opportunity which is further compounded by a lack of education and social cohesion in general. American values are all w…

How would one go about fixing such abstract things as social cohesion and societal values?

[deleted]

Re: Lawyer: ‘It’s a Free for All’ for Criminals on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

#213

Post by pteredactyl »

selestify wrote: post #211
pteredactyl wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks. It came to me when I saw a Mom with kids get harassed by a crazy person on the sidewalk. Also there's a similar story in Bernal where a crazy person kept shitting in front of a school. But nobody could do anything about it (for fear of hysterical backlash). I can't find the article though.

What's the risk of a backlash actually occurring? Seems ridiculous.

That's a good point. I think there's this recent fear that someone will ruin your life with a well-written blog post.

Something something privileged white male something something out of touch with mental health something something homeless issues

I guess it comes down to not caring.

Re: Lawyer: ‘It’s a Free for All’ for Criminals on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

#214

Post by emerged »

pteredactyl wrote: post #203
manfredo wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't speak for the above commenter, but in a way street people in SF really are more free than employed people. If I were to break into a car and steal stuff I'd get jailed and released a couple days later, or even the same day. But I'd probably get fired. Whereas someone with no job would get jaled and released with no real consequences. Because the city refuses to enforce many crimes (basically, anything short o…

I agree. I try not to think about it. Or what I could do for myself and the community with my tax dollars. Instead of sending them 5000 miles away to DC. What a joke. Also not to mention, if you were jailed for some reason, you'd get fired and probably fined $10,000. If you don't have the money: Well, Welcome to the streets! People are so ego-invested in this absurd and hysterical reality. I don't get it. I will say…

It seems to be a similar sort of addiction as Candy Crush. Hysteria is a kind of entertainment, always easily accessible.

Re: Lawyer: ‘It’s a Free for All’ for Criminals on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

#215

Post by fareesh »

wolco wrote: post #170
ryanmonroe wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't believe there is this large "criminal apologist" political force as you say there is. On the example you gave of a decision to hold back police force at an Antifa counterprotest, the police chief gave this explanation: "If police had deployed tear gas, they could have dispersed the black bloc, but they also would have gassed hundreds of peaceful protesters – including seniors and children – who had marched ov…

Left or right, I haven't heard of any politician taking on the bart safety issue.

https://twitter.com/CBakerAD16/status/1028014127967494144

Re: Lawyer: ‘It’s a Free for All’ for Criminals on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

#216

Post by louisswiss »

thatswrong0 wrote: post #112
esotericn wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this just an American thing? Healthcare funding, or something? I've never been to SF, but I've visited NYC, and the subway there feels like stepping in to a horror movie. During a two week visit I saw people passing out and being ignored (I was the only one attempting to help), individuals swinging around bricks in socks, and various other obvious examples of severely mentally ill individuals. In London I've never…

The funny thing is that, to me, the NYC system seems to work so much better than San Francisco’s, based on my usage of it. And NYC also has a much bigger police presence than San Francisco, which results in it feeling like a much safer city.

Agreed. NYC didn't feel much worse than London or Berlin. Even late at night. Public transport in SF was scary.

Re: Lawyer: ‘It’s a Free for All’ for Criminals on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

#217

Post by louisswiss »

lacker wrote: post #9

I was especially surprised when that gang of 50 people stormed a Bart and robbed a bunch of passengers and nobody was ever arrested. I don’t know if it’s the Bart police at fault or the Oakland police but it sure seems like law enforcement is weak on the Bart.

Very rarely see police on the Tube in London (or in Berlin, Lisbon, Milan or Barcelona for that matter). Still little crime (other than pickpockets) and practically no violent crime.

Seems to me like the problem is probably bigger than just failings in law enforcement.

Re: Lawyer: ‘It’s a Free for All’ for Criminals on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

#218

Post by louisswiss »

esotericn wrote: post #75
twblalock wrote: post #38

This is why it's hard to get support for public transit funding. People don't want to take public transit if they will fear for their lives, or be surrounded by drug addicts and mentally disturbed people yelling at and spitting on other passengers. BART trains and stations are like this on a regular basis; Muni has the same problems but not as bad. I've seen this kind of thing happen on Caltrain late at night also, b…

Is this just an American thing? Healthcare funding, or something? I've never been to SF, but I've visited NYC, and the subway there feels like stepping in to a horror movie. During a two week visit I saw people passing out and being ignored (I was the only one attempting to help), individuals swinging around bricks in socks, and various other obvious examples of severely mentally ill individuals. In London I've never…

> individuals who act more like rogue AIs than human beings.

That's a chilling but very accurate description. I don't have children, but I doubt I could live in SF/LA/NYC with kids. There isn't a major European city I'd say that for.

Re: Lawyer: ‘It’s a Free for All’ for Criminals on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

#219

Post by rorykoehler »

selestify wrote: post #209
rorykoehler wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it really though? I feel like Americans regularly say things like this (guns is another similar topic) which only reflects an inability to think many steps down the line from the outcome. There is something deeper at play and I would suspect that it has to do with economic insecurity and lack of opportunity which is further compounded by a lack of education and social cohesion in general. American values are all w…

How would one go about fixing such abstract things as social cohesion and societal values?

A new social contract that distributes wealth more evenly. A focus on education, nutrition and healthy urban environments. Supporting parents so they can support their children (2 working parents is an absolute recipe for disaster). All the normal stuff we know we should be doing but don't. If you are interested in the importance of childhood and parenting there is a great doc series on Netflix called "The beginning of life".

Re: Lawyer: ‘It’s a Free for All’ for Criminals on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

#220

Post by cylinder »

anigbrowl wrote: post #157
pteredactyl wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's true though. Do you ride BART or live in SF or Oakland?

I don't think it is, and yes I do. I'm well aware that crimes happen on BART, someone was murdered at my local station not long ago. But I don't think that 'lawless' is a good description, although many of my journeys take me to stereotypically sketchy stations or occur late at night. It's because of this subjectivity that I said I hoped the case would turn on a more rigorous definition.

A guy was murdered at your station recently and a girl was murdered randomly at another station less than a week ago. On the same system! And you think this is normal and not an indication of lawlessness? This is not normal! If there were murders regularly on systems outside of the US they would be national events. This is a good demonstration of how we got here.
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