MAX Train Attack – Curbing Violence In Public

A comment on the recent stabbings in Portland, OR

In my blog I keep up with some people and the news in Portland. Few days ago a man on a MAX (light rail) train stabbed 3 men, killing 2. The suspect had been yelling racial slurs at a girl in a Muslim hijab. A witness shared that the victims had tried to get the guy to leave the train, they told him he was saying disturbing things, and then the suspect stabbed them when one victim got too close with his cell phone.

This story has brought back so many painful memories for me as my son was an innocent victim of downtown street crime over 2 years ago. Very hard to listen to the news and hear family members crying for their lost ones! I had to turn their weeping off. My deepest condolences to the families!

Some are calling the train attack a ‘hate crime’, but I believe there’s a bigger issue in this we all can learn from. There are gangs, homeless, mentally ill in Portland like in all cities. This suspect had a lite criminal record, but wrote rambling diatribes on FB that wandered all over the place. When asked to defend his sanity by a reader on FB, he referred to a court case in 2013 where the judge said he was ‘sane’.

I’m on the side of saving lives, and maintaining dignity in the face of a few slurs, instead of losing ones life, and causing eternal pain to loved ones, & bringing fear to the  community! The suspect was clearly mentally ill, used confusing terms, uttered prejudicial slogans, and rambled with little sense of connection with others around him … both online, and on a video of him on the train the night before.

There are people on the internet, everywhere, who very intentionally hate Jews, blacks, whites, police, the Left or Right, etc. and write or blow up places on purpose. Then there’s distraught suicidal husbands, youth high on drugs, homeless or mentally ill who won’t hurt a flea unless pushed over the edge. If you’ve worked with the homeless, police, or mentally ill at any time, you know what I mean.

Police, mental health experts, educators have some common strategies for dealing with those who’re mentally ill or ‘high’ on drugs …. ‘don’t try to reason with them! Don’t take the law into your own hands and risk your life or the safety of those around you by arguing with an unstable person!’ If you don’t know someone, then you don’t know what they’re capable of doing to you. Calm and vigilance is what’s required even when physical violence has been initiated.

Some hateful people are just waiting for someone to push their buttons, they can attack you simply if you look their way. Gang members might strike out in that manner, for no reason. But most ranting unstable people will become violent only if we try to force ourselves into their ‘space’. Truly unstable people don’t have normal lives with jobs and family, they can’t control their mental process …..  some are in deep pain, some are just agitated all the time. It’s impossible to calm them with any ‘words’! They just don’t hear anyone but themselves! Don’t try to be a ‘nice guy’, or ‘hero’ by trying to argue or reason with them! You might be asking for trouble!

Stay away from a ranting hate-fulled person if you feel scared, like you’d go to the other side of the street to avoid a suspicious person at night. What makes me so sad about this incident is that the train conductor spoke thru the loud speaker for the ‘person who’s causing the commotion …. get off the train or I’ll call the police!’ And the suspect yelled back he was getting off at the next station!!! He was starting to get the idea he wasn’t wanted and the police would be called. The mother and teens were already safe in the back of the train.

It seems the victims were ‘boxing the guy in’, a witness said. They told the suspect to ‘get off now’, just as the train was pulling into the station, and the suspect had gotten up to leave! Oh, the pain caused by that misjudging of the suspect! Just such a terrible, terrible tragedy for so many!

As best you can, assess if a ranting person is a frustrated guy or part of an organized gang, etc. Is the person a teen, or on drugs? We can live having our feelings hurt, but can die if we provoke a deranged man or complete bigot. We don’t know the heart of everyone and what kind of family or struggles they came out of, therapy sought, rehab?

We don’t need to label people all the time and get filled with hate, but use restraint, tolerance! We need to maintain a sense of strength and clear thinking for our younger generation when we hear abusive, confusing rhetoric. There’s a time to speak up, and a time to stay quiet.

There are things to be upset about these days, and there are those who will try to take us on with their anger. I’ve had to deal with parents at the schools I’ve run who were downright threatening! I stopped a man once from stealing items from my car after I assessed his age, mental capacity, attitude.   You have to develop that part of you that we call ‘gut instinct’, develop the part that understands human nature ……. that can see what’s going on in the scenario so we consider the long term repercussions.

I don’t personally believe it’s good to call people martyr’s because they took on an unstable person, it’s the wrong message to send to youth. If we see a person mumbling out loud on Fifth Avenue in front of a food cart, we don’t need to tell the guy he’s offensive, or tell him to leave. We can call ‘911’ if that’s the case. It’s better to be vigilant and escape a potential criminal act, so we can go on to have a productive life. We should never sit and let someone be beaten, but ‘words’ we can ignore, walk away from. We can refuse to let negative words keep us hostage just like civil rights leaders, Gandhi have done in the past and accomplish more for our cause than violence or negative words ever could.

I’ve been called names or bumped into violently at a concert or been the victim of sexual harassment. It’s a part of life to run into people who’re out to hurt others, and those people don’t care who’s in their path. I’ve had to grit my teeth, and walk away a few times. Angry predators will not stop seeking their prey …. frustrated mentally ill people can usually be ignored …. we can learn who to fear. (Read Dr Phil’s book “Life Code’ to read about true predators).

Being out in public takes some discretion …. we all take into account the busy times of the day, park our cars near a lighted area at night, but it’s the erratic person who can create chaos and pain if not handled properly. If you’re a parent fearing for your child during verbal abuse, move your child out of the way the best you can. You can contact security, pull the emergency brake, call ‘911’ in many places. Don’t let fear stop you from clear thinking, acting.

I recently rode the MAX from the airport and took a different route to Downtown. Some gentlemen gave me the schedule for the next transfer but I told them I refused to stand alone at that stop but wanted to be with a group of people while waiting for a transfer train. I didn’t want to be a sitting target for a stray bullet, a ticked off gang member. I read it happened recently at a station nearby.

I’m so glad for Marc’s legacy and for the voice I have to share some hope and sanity in this life. There’s a criminal mind who’s looking to hurt, an insane person who can’t make his thoughts come together right and then the ’emotionally’ pained person who’s going thru a crisis. Many of those lost people are more to be pitied rather than hated. We need to keep that in mind.