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| SF Bay Area's light rail system |
Cynthia shared her experience during her commute yesterday on FB, and said we could share it here. It seems a democratic collective voice doesn't carry much weight these days.
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Riding
home on BART yesterday in the early afternoon before rush hour, was a sleepy,
calm, uncrowded ride. The train stopped at Lake Merit and 4 BART police stormed
into our car. They demanded to know if there was any trouble on our train.
The few of us on the train all piped up, "NO!" One of them then awoke a peaceable sleeping, likely homeless, man by roughly shaking him and yelling "It's the police!" in his face. The startled man looked TERRIFIED. Another cop demanded from the rest of us whether the sleeping man was causing trouble. We all said no. They demanded of the man where he was going and told him to get off the train. When he said a San Francisco station, they made a circle around him as he got himself shakily up and walked out. Why 4 armed police felt entitled to bully a sleeping man, I have no idea.
They left the car and then came back in and demanded of all of us whether anyone was starting fights on our car. We all yelled, "No!" They left again. They then returned to our car and demanded that the only dark black person - a young woman in her 20s - come with them off the train. She asked why; they did not answer.
They escorted her off the train and one officer returned to our car, demanding to know whether she was starting fights. We all yelled back, "NO!!!!" A few minutes passed and the young woman returned, sat in her seat and started to cry, head down, mortified. The police then left and the train started. Wtf?
The few of us on the train all piped up, "NO!" One of them then awoke a peaceable sleeping, likely homeless, man by roughly shaking him and yelling "It's the police!" in his face. The startled man looked TERRIFIED. Another cop demanded from the rest of us whether the sleeping man was causing trouble. We all said no. They demanded of the man where he was going and told him to get off the train. When he said a San Francisco station, they made a circle around him as he got himself shakily up and walked out. Why 4 armed police felt entitled to bully a sleeping man, I have no idea.
They left the car and then came back in and demanded of all of us whether anyone was starting fights on our car. We all yelled, "No!" They left again. They then returned to our car and demanded that the only dark black person - a young woman in her 20s - come with them off the train. She asked why; they did not answer.
They escorted her off the train and one officer returned to our car, demanding to know whether she was starting fights. We all yelled back, "NO!!!!" A few minutes passed and the young woman returned, sat in her seat and started to cry, head down, mortified. The police then left and the train started. Wtf?
BARTing while Black or poor.....
1 comment:
This is horrific. It shows that the offensive of the 1% rolls on. they have strengthened their state apparatus both in terms of weaponry, body armor etc, and ideologically, beat down the poor and the minorities. They will get to the big battalions of the working class later. This is their attitude. This shows that there has not been a change in the attitude of the ruling class in spite of the street mobilizations of Ferguson, Baltimore, New York, etc. In spite of the mass praying and forgiving after Charleston. The ruling class are going to keep going. It will take an even bigger explosion of resistance to throw their offensive back even for a time. I send a big congratulations and thank you to all the people on the Bart who collectively shouted no and defended the people the cops were harassing. I am wondering did they let the poor man, back on the train as well as the young African American woman. Or did they think that they had to more careful with the young African american woman after Ferguson, Baltimore, Charleston, net York etc but they could be more laid back about going after the seemingly homeless man. Sean.
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