Chest-puffing assholes on the 49

OK, Roguish Passengers on the 49. We need to talk.

Just when I was having polite, inane conversation with the slightly off-kilter woman next to me, you two up the ante and start bickering like kids in a sandbox. After she fled from the bus like it was on fire (thanks to you two), all I had left to do was watch you assholes fight over who stole whose shovel from the pail.

All I can gather is that Roguish Passenger 1 touched RP2 wrong. RP1 kept insisting he didn’t mean to, but for some reason, chests were puffed, voices were raised and everyone in the back of the pee-pee smelling bus (evening commute bonus!) looked around hopelessly for a flak jacket.

Props to the big guy with a briefcase who suggested the homies (his word, not mine) calm their asses down and stop starting shit. You’re far braver than I, Briefcase Man.

How about a lesson, for both Muni and life? If you think someone touched you wrong, especially if you’re on a crowded bus, get over it.

Oh, and another thing: the age-old issue of gentrification in the Mission. People like to complain about how chi-chi boutiques and the pending arrival of American Apparel assault the perceived character of the neighborhood. While I don’t think boutiques and the snobby salespeople that go with them should displace the fruit stands and taquerias that the Mission has become famous for, I don’t think we should discount the fact that with dollar stores, cheap drinks/eats and the delightfully gritty atmosphere people like to brag to their friends about comes the type that’ll, say, fight someone on the bus for touching them wrong.

Does this happen on your bus when it’s in Pacific Heights? The Marina? I’d bet it doesn’t, but someone set me straight if you’ve seen otherwise.

-Tara

4 comments

  • Joaquin

    God Damn Hipsters Fucking up the Mission, they are the cause to the rise in the cost of living I’ll be damned if I have to move to Bayview-Hunters Point or Richmond.

    GO BACK TO NOE VALLEY BITCHES!!!!

  • k.du

    Tsk, tsk… One can hardly blame hipsters for the rising cost of living. Unless by hipster, you actually mean Mr. Soon To Be Former President. Which by that definition, I whole heartedly agree. But, if by hipster, you should mean the frail looking creatures that frequent the Mission’s coffee shops, record stores, and vintage boutiques…Well, those delicate souls couldn’t possibly be blamed for more than crimes of fashion.

    T- what do you think the correlation between tempers flared and down economy are?

  • K – I think there’s some correlation between tempers flared and the downturned economy, but I’m not convinced that that’s a very major factor in increased violent crime. But when people are laid off or can’t find work, they are generally more pissed off and edgy than normal. So it does make sense that there would maybe be more petty fights, and perhaps even some more petty thievery. I’m convinced it takes a special kind of mindset to partake in violent crime, regardless of how the economy is going.

    Still, wealthier areas of town (I am on those north-side buses sometimes) are just as affected by the national crapfest of an economy we’re currently enjoying, yet they don’t seem to see the same ghettofication of their Muni lines.

    And to throw some additional cents in to the other argument, I think the Mission remains one of the cheaper/moderately priced areas of town. Noe Valley, Hayes Valley, Pac Heights and the Marina it ain’t, you have to admit. I still like this character everyone speaks of (as well as its delightfully central locale) but I’m certainly not one to speak against clearing out of the riff-raff. That said, note that the riff-raff does not include the old ladies walking down the street with their groceries. Nor does it even include the tragically hip kids (and they’re definitely annoying, I’ll tell ya that much) infiltrating the coffee shops and record stores with their bad taste.

    The only ones that should truly be admonished are the ones coming into the neighborhood to threaten other people in some way.

  • We’re talking about many different things here.

    Some people will just fight no matter what. Some people are quicker to react negatively because of factors brought about by the economy and how it pertains to them. These idiots who bumped into each other and puffed chests probably have all sorts of other issues that are manifesting, however unfortunately for us, on the 49.

    But the ghetto factor of that part of the Mission is undeniable. I’ve been in the neighborhood for six years now, so maybe I’m part of the problem Joaquin refers, but we all deserve clean, safe neighborhoods, right? I’m not talking about displacing anyone, but if responsible businesses want to move into the neighborhood and have a positive effect on all our lives, why on earth not.

    But I do take issue with Joaquin’s point of “hipsters” being “the cause to the rise in the cost of living.” Look around — rents have gone up all over the city and the area. I’d even guess that not too many of the no-gear, bad-clothes, trying-too-hard, wearing-bad-ear-gear kids don’t even live there. They just ride their bikes through, spend all day in the park, and drink coffee at places with mediocre coffee. Still, they’re not to blame for much more than eyesores.

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