As for anyone who thought the next generation will be less prone to violence if we take away guns, guess what? Fists can be just as lethal, especially to the head. And much more so to a young head with a not-yet fully developed brain.
The era of striving to raise a happy, well-rounded, educated, perhaps artistically talented and/or physically active, who embraces diversity and is able to resolve differences without resorting to violence, is sadly over.
The second article is Anger and heartbreak on Bus No. 15 , about a bus driver driving the downtown route in Denver, which includes Colfax Avenue and Union Station. (Downtown Denver, particularly Union Station, has been deluged with increasing homeless people this past year, many of whom are seriously mentally challenged or drug-dependent).
Denver's Union Station problem with the homeless and mentally ill has been reported by local news several times but nothing like this exposé.
The driver, a Turkish immigrant who has driven this route for 10 years and whose smiling face is on the side of many buses, indeed seems to be a saint, but the stories of her poor, mentally troubled, drug-addicted, violent, physically impaired passengers go from sad to sickening as the incidents get more and more bizarre. As I read further along, I don't even recognize my own city. But because the author names the streets the bus stops along, and I am familiar with those intersections, I have no doubt he's accurately describing the scene. (I can't speak to whether those he interviewed who told him the stories are embellishing or not).
Seriously, the negativity unleashed by this long-form article is so great I think some people may get PTSD just from reading it. I can't imagine how the journalist who wrote the article could stand to delve into such sadness and madness for the months it it likely took him to elicit such minutiae from so many different people.
Sometimes exposing the truth can result in change as people get outraged by the plight of one group or another. Unfortunately, I think this article will just make more people turn away in disgust, determined to avoid downtown Denver at all costs, which will be a shame. Especially if Union Station, which was recently re-developed as an upscale transportation hub and tourist attraction at a cost of $500 million, with nearby expensive new high-rise apartments, restaurants, bars, supermarkets and even some historic buildings, ends up like the equivalent of the Bowery in Manhattan. The Denver bus union president calls it a "lawless hellhole".
As for the bus driver, I hope she opts for a different job. Driving the same bus route for 10 years (making the same 228 stops on Colfax Avenue each shift) can't be healthy for anyone. She's a vibrant young woman -- her life should be more than driving this bus route and going home to an empty apartment to burn sage incense and drink "a calming herbal tea". She's obviously dependable, caring, and accomplished. She should be elevated to a managerial position or be offered a managerial job by some other company reading the WaPo article.
This is an open thread, all topics welcome.
