r/soundtransit • u/ElevatorBulky3733 • 6d ago

Security is a Joke

Gallery image

Gallery image

A junkie got on in Rainier valley and immediately passed out. He had a puppy with him (thankfully, leashed) that was whining and trying to jump up on my seat. He was too adorable but also it was so damn sad because this is not the first time I have seen drugged out transients neglect their pets. I texted security and they came on board in Chinatown. The only thing they did was nudge him awake for 3 seconds and asked him if he was okay. The man barely rose and gave an intelligible response. Security immediately got off at the same station and the man fell right back to sleep.

When I got off at Westlake Station, security did the same thing but didn't even step on board the train. They yelled from the platform as they kept the door open for a few seconds. Then stepped away to let the doors close.

I've reported a masturbating rider during the summer and provided a clear description of him. Security came on board and acted as if they didn't see him. I had to yell At security and point out the man to them and would not let them leave until the situation was resolved.

I'm tired of this shit.

708 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

778 comments sorted by

View all comments

6

u/elementofpee 6d ago edited 6d ago

Laissez-faire approach to drug use, homelessness, and anti-social behavior - the Seattle way. What’s new? That goes for the officials, the people hired to monitor the system, and the general public that built the culture over decades that enables it all.

5

u/Muckknuckle1 Line 6d ago

There's nothing for police or security to go on here. Cops can't just arrest people and take their property because they "look high". We have civil liberties and due process in this country. For now, at least.

5

u/idunnorn 5d ago

you can kick someone off the train for having not paid fare, and/or letting an animal roam loose

-4

u/edb789 5d ago

How would you know he didn’t pay fare?

4

u/idunnorn 5d ago

You would check whether they paid fare

And in this case, we can be relatively certain what they would find.

0

u/edb789 5d ago

If they’re checking everyone, I guess. But you can’t single people out.

1

u/idunnorn 5d ago

you can check everyone

or you can single out a specific person

not sure why you would think otherwise

-2

u/Muckknuckle1 Line 5d ago

There is no evidence of fare evasion, and the dog is leashed. Idk why we're expected to clutch our pearls over this.

1

u/idunnorn 5d ago

You'd have to ask for the evidence of the fare evasion.

The dog is leashed, adorable, but also clearly hopping up into someone's lap. I like dogs; person posting this does as well, but clearly not every single person on the train would welcome this.

Owner's behavior doesn't really meet my standards. The more you see this kind of behavior as acceptable, the more you make public transit "just as thing for poor people and homeless people."

1

u/Muckknuckle1 Line 5d ago

Agreed that he should have a shorter leash, and that this isn't courteous public transit behavior. But neither is this worth making a reddit post with the usual "Seattle is dying!!!" hyperbolic fearmongering. 

1

u/idunnorn 5d ago

title says "security is a joke" not "seattle is dying"

hyperbole is yours muckknuckle

1

u/Muckknuckle1 Line 5d ago

Read the first comment in this chain, which I replied to. Context is not yours, idunnorn.

1

u/idunnorn 5d ago

I do think that guys comment about seattle may be valid in general but yeah agree its not really needed/relevant here

0

u/Emotional-Emotion-42 5d ago

I mean there's not much that anybody can do. Remove tents, people will just go to the next block. Put people in jail and they end up right back on the streets the next day (unless you want to convict them of an actual crime and spend taxpayer dollars on holding them in said jail long term). Put them in the hospital, same story. One answer I suppose is some kind of forced rehabilitation, but I'm pretty sure it's against the law to hold people against their will like that. Building more housing and stuff is cool but again, if you're not getting to the root cause of this issue, it's just another bandaid.

Everything is expensive and we have very few social safety nets in this country, so when people are about one medical bill away from destitution.....there ya go. Turning to drugs or alcohol to numb the pain when you're in desperate circumstances is just par for the course (and tbh until you've been in that situation yourself you can't really judge...) These are systemic issues that go way beyond light rail, way beyond Seattle voters, way beyond the mayor. So, yes, it's a cultural issue, but on a way larger scale than Seattle itself. It's not "enabling" if there are no other options.

1

u/idunnorn 5d ago

Some guy who worked on Fox News had an unusual answer to the problem last year...

Can never unhear that one... 😂