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This one made me late for work. way to go drunk guy!
He appeared to be native, and this is important to the story, because he played the race card.
The bus driver stopped as normal to pick this guy up. Actually, he was dropping off a nice lady who had asked him for advice on a connection she needed to make, which meant he was stopped for a minute or two longer than usual, which gave this wonderful specimen time to stagger up.
Now, this gentleman was obviously drunk. He trotted up to the coin deposit and threw in a few coins, then looked at the bus driver. The bus driver looked at the coins... it was about $0.50
The fare was $2.50, as was clearly posted.
For the record, I had seen this guy before. He had gotten on this same bus weeks before, and flat out refused to pay. It was the same bus driver too.
"I need another $2.00" The bus driver said. From his expression, he knew where this was going.
I got up and moved near the front of the bus. I was in my Security uniform for work, and I had helped usher this guy off the bus before.
"That's all I got." The gentleman exclaimed... not sheepishly or apologetically... he sounded proud. Like a kid that had just dropped his first dookie in the potty. He smelled a bit like it, too.
"The fare is $2.50." The Bus driver replied.
"Then gimmie my money back!"
Now, as with nearly every public bus in the Western Hemisphere, and probably most areas of the world, the money goes into a sealed box. Bus driver can't get it out even if he wanted to. And rules forbid him from giving any of his own money (Safetey reasons, don't want them to think bus drivers have money). So he obviously can't do that.
"I can't do that. Pay the rest of the fare, or get off the bus."
Drunk guy, undeterred, leans in closer, as if conveying a great secret. "Thish... thish bus... thish is gov'ment... right? Gov'ment paysh for dish, right?"
The Bus driver obviously was tired... this was the end of his shift, possibly even his last run of the night, and I could tell he didn't want to fight with this guy. "Yes, part of it."
"Well... th' gov'ment tooksh my land... took my peoplesh land... you get off my land, and I'll pay the fare."
*Sigh* I'm not one for stereotypes, so this was painful to watch. I hate to see jerks like this perpetuating them.
But, race card or no, we were deep in Drunken Logic Land. For those of you who have never had to deal with entitled drunks... when they reach a certain point of inebriation, they are IMPERVIOUS to logic, threats, reason, or most forms of persuasion. It doesn't matter how irrational their argument, you CANNOT convince them otherwise. And if you make the mistake of arguing with them, they can continue the same argument for HOURS, even long after the other side has conceeded defeat.
Bus driver knew this. So he asked the guy where he was going. He was going somewhere the bus didn't go, which meant he needed a transfer. Which meant the bus driver would either have to try and kick him off, which would take time, or give him a transfer and legitimize the whole nonsense.
I would have been happy to help him, but he handed the drunkard a transfer and said "I never want to see you on my bus again, got it?"
So, I expect I'll see him again next week
He appeared to be native, and this is important to the story, because he played the race card.
The bus driver stopped as normal to pick this guy up. Actually, he was dropping off a nice lady who had asked him for advice on a connection she needed to make, which meant he was stopped for a minute or two longer than usual, which gave this wonderful specimen time to stagger up.
Now, this gentleman was obviously drunk. He trotted up to the coin deposit and threw in a few coins, then looked at the bus driver. The bus driver looked at the coins... it was about $0.50
The fare was $2.50, as was clearly posted.
For the record, I had seen this guy before. He had gotten on this same bus weeks before, and flat out refused to pay. It was the same bus driver too.
"I need another $2.00" The bus driver said. From his expression, he knew where this was going.
I got up and moved near the front of the bus. I was in my Security uniform for work, and I had helped usher this guy off the bus before.
"That's all I got." The gentleman exclaimed... not sheepishly or apologetically... he sounded proud. Like a kid that had just dropped his first dookie in the potty. He smelled a bit like it, too.
"The fare is $2.50." The Bus driver replied.
"Then gimmie my money back!"
Now, as with nearly every public bus in the Western Hemisphere, and probably most areas of the world, the money goes into a sealed box. Bus driver can't get it out even if he wanted to. And rules forbid him from giving any of his own money (Safetey reasons, don't want them to think bus drivers have money). So he obviously can't do that.
"I can't do that. Pay the rest of the fare, or get off the bus."
Drunk guy, undeterred, leans in closer, as if conveying a great secret. "Thish... thish bus... thish is gov'ment... right? Gov'ment paysh for dish, right?"
The Bus driver obviously was tired... this was the end of his shift, possibly even his last run of the night, and I could tell he didn't want to fight with this guy. "Yes, part of it."
"Well... th' gov'ment tooksh my land... took my peoplesh land... you get off my land, and I'll pay the fare."
*Sigh* I'm not one for stereotypes, so this was painful to watch. I hate to see jerks like this perpetuating them.
But, race card or no, we were deep in Drunken Logic Land. For those of you who have never had to deal with entitled drunks... when they reach a certain point of inebriation, they are IMPERVIOUS to logic, threats, reason, or most forms of persuasion. It doesn't matter how irrational their argument, you CANNOT convince them otherwise. And if you make the mistake of arguing with them, they can continue the same argument for HOURS, even long after the other side has conceeded defeat.
Bus driver knew this. So he asked the guy where he was going. He was going somewhere the bus didn't go, which meant he needed a transfer. Which meant the bus driver would either have to try and kick him off, which would take time, or give him a transfer and legitimize the whole nonsense.
I would have been happy to help him, but he handed the drunkard a transfer and said "I never want to see you on my bus again, got it?"
So, I expect I'll see him again next week
) the bus driver will have the freedom to make a better choice. 
maybe it's time to just get over it and STFU about it, already.
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