Passenger Trains > article/video of light rail train used as homeless shelter.....

https://mynorthwest.com/3462940/rantz-shocking-video-shows-light-rail-train-used-as-homeless-shelter/

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A problem in a number of cities but definitely not surprising in Seattle.

Homelessness is a complex situation, but the homeless do not belong on light rail trains. This is why Metro Transit does not run the Green Line (St Paul-Mpls) all night long any more.

Ed Burns

Gotta love the part about Sounder management calling fare enforcement "racist".  Typical Seattle mentality.

A Sound Transit spokesperson says the “severity of the problem displayed in the video is particularly concerning” but called this situation “new information for us.”

So what planet are they living on?

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(Sound Transit) does not intend to use law enforcement, as the Board of Directors does not trust police officers to act without bias and feels the criminal justice system is beyond reform.

Then the Board of Directors is beyond reform and needs to be GONE along with the misfits who appointed and confirmed them.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/10/22 16:03 by GenePoon.

My wife and I visited Portland in 2016 to attend the bi-annual crew reunion of the AFT crew. We were very taken back by how full the greater downtown was with panhandlers, homeless folks and persons passed out on lawns and park benches. We made the mistake on our first day there to walk a number of blocks from our hotel to a restaurant that was recommended. That was the last time we did that. IIRC in a 6 block walk I'd say we were hit on at least 5 times for money by really scary looking vagrants.

   I'm told it's even worse now with sections of the greater City of Portland having become " no-go" zones even in daylight. 

    Sad and scary.   Ross Rowland 

Portland and Seattle have city administrations that are considered "woke" with enforcement of simple public health and safety rules considered "racist" because a large number of those that are homeless are minorities and considered untouchable by police due to the attitude that police are the problem. And why does Sound Transit expect private security guards to handle the problem? They have no police powers and are pretty much limited to telling the offender to move on. They most certainly aren't armed though they may have a taser or mace. And rough handling of a panhandler or homeless person who won't move on may subject them to a lawsuit by an attorney for a group that believes the homeless are the victims and those subject to their actions are the problem.

I'll be in Seattle in a couple of days with LA rail and was looking forward to riding the light rail, especially the new sections. I may just take a ferry across the sound to enjoy one of the islands.

Not sure exactly what "woke" means but if what we experienced in Portland is the real life "woke" then God help that town as it won't be long before it's totally ruined.

   IMHO-Ross Rowland 

Rebranding bums, hobos, vagrants, tramps, beggars, arsonists, felons, thieves, derelicts, vandals, transients, sociopaths, addicts and drunks as "homeless" was a genius marketing strategy of the homelessness industries. Homelessness is a growth industry large enough to support multiple coalitions of homelessness coalitions.. More "homeless" headcount = more public $$$$$$$.
   
http://homeless.lacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Homeless-Coalition-Contact-Info_1.9.18.pdf

RFandPFan Wrote:
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> Gotta love the part about Sounder management
> calling fare enforcement "racist".  Typical
> Seattle mentality.
How about if that Sounder management person spent a day or two in a few statins with the security people and let them jointly pick which fare evaders are caught.  Then process the number and see who it's racist. Everything is racist these days.

I doubt if those security people are armed.  I'm sure it's quite dangerous to walk through the train rousting vagrants.  I'm sure plenty of the homeless have firearms.  Seattle destroyed its police force in the 2020 "defund the police" era.  It's going to take enforcement and they don't have the force to do the job.  

And Ross, according to Marriam-Webster, Woke is: aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)

John