Otto+T's+Op-Ed+Article

//by Otto Tielemans//
 * THE PUBLIC CARRIAGE**



media type="file" key="ottot-muckrakers-2012.mp3"

Dear God I cannot take this any longer. For months I have been forced to ride the “public carriage” on account of my zero period art class. Having to wake up at 4:50AM to ready myself and catch a bus at 5:50AM is bad as it is. But having to take a bus that is overcrowded with homeless people and possible convicts makes the experience all the more dreadful.

The beginning of the trip is always smooth. I board the bus and for several minutes enjoy the luxury of having an empty bus. The driver goes through the streets (which have yet been illuminated by the sun) without any need for stopping. However, nothing good lasts forever and the driver eventually has to stop. The first passenger isn’t bad. A woman who appears to be in her mid-40s pays the fare and as custom opens up //The Los Angeles Times// and reads for the remainder of the ride; going into her own little world. The next passenger is an old man who eats breakfast at Burger King;by a woman who works in Oxnard. Then there is the passenger who works as a nurse in a retirement home and then there is a lady who brings her lunch in a Scooby Doo lunchbox. Until this point, everything is fine. Nobody is disturbed or bothered in the slightest manner. You can even smell the sweet aroma of peoples shampoo. But as my carriage reaches the mall, the entire setting is ruined.

In the blink of an eye, the bus is populated by the unwanted. The homeless, convicts, and gangsters come on board and build so much tension that its practically tangible. I eye the driver and see him pacing up and down; waiting for the moment in which he can drive off and stop the incoming flood of these people.

Now I know that I shouldn’t be irritated by these people. I know that they have a hard and poverty-stricken life, but I just can’t take it anymore. Their body odor spreads as quickly as poison gas. They populate the vehicle faster than the speed of light. Worst of all they sometimes fight with each other! They yell at each other, claiming that the other has taken their seat which has somehow damaged their integrity. Some of the homeless passengers think they are in the military and come on board the vehicle with huge camping backpacks; filled with miscellaneous objects that would only be needed for surviving some god forsaken tsunami in the Philippines. Other passengers look like they have escaped from some type of mental institution and talk to themselves; yelling out animal noises here and there.

Weak and intimidated I sit in my seat and watch the madness play out. Quietly taking everything into account I tell myself “Is there not some law that prohibits such madness? Is there nothing that the law can do in this regard? It’s just so…. uncivilized!” And uncivilized it is. It may sound harsh but sometimes I feel as if the “Whiteman’s burden” must be applied to these people. But of course, nothing can be done in this regard and I am stranded alone on the bus until it is 6:36AM and I pull the string to stop the bus. It is in fact the best part of my morning when I can thank my driver, step out of the door, and take a deep breath of the fresh air.