Protests that don't solve problems.

This morning as I got off the shuttle, I looked down to see a request written in chalk on the ground "Don't ride BART 'til justice is done." I had to sigh and roll my eyes. For anyone who isn't aware of the case in question, BART is the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit system, our commuter train. On July 3rd, Charlie Hill, a homeless man, was drunk in the Civic Center station. When the BART police came to get him to stop causing a disturbance, he became agitated, pulled a knife, and allegedly attacked the officers. They responded with lethal force, though one was also armed with a Taser gun. A very vocal minority proceeded to picket the stations, and even bring the system to a halt by standing in train doors at the stations. It has been a real mess. It was unfortunate, but probably wouldn't have elicited as much of a response if there had not been a shooting in 2009 as well.

Of course I wish neither had happened, I would have to be pretty callous to not care at all, but the fact of the matter is this; the police are trained to respond to percieved threats in a manner to prevent harm to bystanders, or themselves. It is all well and good to say in retrospect that the officer with the stun gun should have been the only one to open fire, but in the heat of the moment, his partner defended him, and that is to his credit. I do not agree with over the top violence, but where do you draw the line? Someone attacking another person with a weapon that could well kill them isn't an appropriate behavior, and I certainly can't say what I would have done in the officers' shoes. Whatever happened on that station, we cannot be sure of; but to fault the police for doing their job when you are not willing or able to do do the same job is petty and mean; the sort of thing Monday morning quarterbacks are made of, except with the self-righteous stink of "moral authority" surrounding them.

The protesters didn't even stage their protests in places that would inconvenience the BART police, they crowded onto the trains and punished the people who rely on those trains to get to work and school. BART is not a business, it is a government-run service. By shutting down the service, the protesters didn't even accomplish anything. It was just an excuse to get out of the house and cause some mayhem. The signs they carried should have read "We hate authority." Which isn't THAT bad a thing, it's when you hurt other normal people, and use the confusion as an opportunity to commit crimes of your own (looting did occur) that you become the scum of the earth. These same people, if being held at gunpoint by a mugger, would surely be upset if the police showed up and told the mugger to settle down, without actually stopping him. The whole situation is an exercise in silliness. They were punishing the wrong people for a situation that, while could have been handled better, was not handled wrong.

Don't ride BART.... ok, if you'll buy me a car....