The original tweet had a photograph showing the face of the black MTA worker who ate on the train.
From "A D.C. author shamed a Metro worker for eating on the train. Now her book deal is in jeopardy/The backlash was swift, with many accusing the woman, Natasha Tynes, of trying to get the employee fired" (WaPo).
Eating on the train is a criminal violation in DC, but the current policy is not to hand out tickets. The head of the MTA workers' union asserts that because Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik sent an email on May 8, telling officers to "cease and desist from issuing criminal citations in the District of Columbia for fare evasion; eating; drinking; spitting, and playing musical instruments without headphones until further advised," the worker eating on the train was "clearly was doing no wrong." If that logic worked, then everyone jumping the turnstile is clearly doing nothing wrong.
Tynes — who identifies herself as a "minority writer" — has taken down the post an apologized. I see (at Heavy) that Tynes is "Jordanian-American." Her book, "They Called Me Wyatt," is described at Amazon like this:
When Jordanian student Siwar Salaiha is murdered on her birthday in College Park, Maryland, her consciousness survives, finding refuge in the body of a Seattle baby boy. Stuck in this speech delayed three-year old body, Siwar tries but fails to communicate with Wyatt’s parents, instead she focuses on solving the mystery behind her murder.This is a problem with reincarnation, no? All the babies have a backstory. Anyway, this book, whatever its worth, is apparently not going to get published because people on the internet were so offended that Tynes would invoke the city's law against the city's own uniformed representative, where the uniformed representative is a black woman.
Tynes styles herself as "a Social Media maven" (quoted at Heavy), and she's written for mainstream media (including WaPo) and appeared as pundit on TV shows on the subject of "immigration, race and the need for belonging in a new land."
Tynes got battered with criticism on Twitter. She was called "anti-black" and a "snitch." The company that was going to distribute her book — Rare Birds Books — wrote:
"[Tynes] did something truly horrible today in tweeting a picture of a metro worker eating her breakfast on the train this morning and drawing attention to her employer. Black women face a constant barrage of this kind of inappropriate behavior directed toward them and a constant policing of their bodies. We think this is unacceptable and have no desire to be involved with anyone who thinks it’s acceptable to jeopardize a person’s safety and employment in this way."And the company that was publishing her book, California Coldblood, is postponing publication and supposedly considering what to do. It said:
“We do not condone her actions and hope Natasha learns from this experience that black women feel the effects of systematic racism the most and that we have to be allies, not oppressors.”At WaPo, the highest-rated comments are supportive of Tynes. #1:
What the? The person who did the right thing is punished while a Metro employee who embodies so much that is still wrong there is not? The fight against racism is tarnished when the charge becomes a shield to deflect legitimate criticism.#2, addressing the statement by Rare Books (quoted above):
Absolute nonsense. And I say that as a black man. Only in a First World country is this "something truly horrible". I have lived and worked around the world. When it comes to horrible things done to women, this does not even make the top 1000. Rules are rule[s]. Black woman or not. If metro will not punish her, then no one else should be punished. Just get rid of the no eating rule.Rules are rules. That's something not everyone is willing to say these days. Of course, there is a difference between believing in the rules and appointing yourself as the enforcer and choosing public shaming as the method of enforcement. Does racism play a part in the motivation of private individuals to self-appoint and to shame? And does the shame-chooser take her own race into account and think she has a privilege if she is non-white? There are obviously some big risks invoking that privilege. And if you've made a reputation in a field that has to do with minorities and empathy — things like "the need for belonging in a new land" — the stakes are sky high.
Imagine riding on the metro one day and you're irked to see a uniformed worker openly eating when everyone else has been told for years no eating on the train, and you're a social media adept, or so you think, and you snap a picture and toss up a little tweet thinking you've said something pithy and apt. And your whole life is ruined.
On the plus side, when you're a writer, everything is material. There's always the next book: "They Called Me Racist."
By the way, in retrospect, "You worry about yourself" — which sounds jerky — was fantastically good advice.
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151 comments:
There are rules for some..for others, as long as you check the right box, you are exempt!
Seattle has babies?
Remember this skit, where Eddie Murphy becomes white only to find out all the rules he was told as a black person no longer apply?
It's now become true, but for black people.
If SNL had a real sense of humor they'd re-do the skit and swap the races.
“Equal justice under the law” is and always has been a pretty lie we tell schoolchildren. Before, that mainly meant that the wealthy and powerful got away with things the rest of get punished for doing. Today, it seems to reach the level of this article were a government employee - especially if female and “a person of color” can’t be called out for prohibited behavior.
Black women should be allowed to do whatever they want because systemic racism.
Does racism play a part in the motivation of private individuals to self-appoint and to shame?
Did she leave the white employees who were eating on the train out of the picture and comments?
Because that would be something more than self-serving speculation by those seeking confirmation of their own anti-white biases.
African American women are higher on the Social Justice Totem Pole than Jordanian American Women. I noticed that had to be established before the proper shaming could take place.
Also, never use a Social Justice Warrior publishing house. They'll drop you like a rock to score Woke Credit.
Kevin: I have always loved that Eddie Murphy skit. The corollary to the theorem: "All of my problems are because I'm black" is "White people don't have problems." Once people see how silly that second statement is, they begin to doubt the validity of the first statement. More and more these days, I'm seeing the wisdom in GW Bush's reference to "the soft bigotry of low expectations." It applies to many observers expectations of the behavior of the metro employee.
How did the race of the offending worker enter into the debate? Why because lefties see racism under every rock, pebble and blade of grass.
When Democratic worlds collide ...
Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik sent an email on May 8, telling officers to "cease and desist from issuing criminal citations in the District of Columbia for fare evasion; eating; drinking; spitting, and playing musical instruments without headphones until further advised,"
You want more Trump? This is how you get more Trump.
"African American women are higher on the Social Justice Totem Pole than Jordanian American Women."
What if the Jordanian-American is gay? Or Muslim?
Commuter trains have a lot of rules. Some conductors apply them. Some don't.
"'Does racism play a part in the motivation of private individuals to self-appoint and to shame?' Did she leave the white employees who were eating on the train out of the picture and comments?"
We don't know, but she is being judged by people who have their own racial framework (≈ racism) and they project, perhaps not realizing what they say about themselves. They are looking at a picture of a black woman eating and they may think, that's disgusting, and they really are having a bit of a racist reaction and, in self-defense, they ascribe the racism to Tynes, imaging her to be disgusted by a black person.
When do you see another person eating and think yuck?
Are you sure you do that without any racism?
Half the people on the train are probably breaking a rule. Boarding wrong. Talking in the quiet car. Taking up too much room. Occupying a vestibule. Not moving to the middle. Wrong ticket.
"Rules are rules" is not a tautology.
The first "rules" is taken broadly enough to cover eating on the train, and the second "rules" is taken narrowly as serious rules like turnstile jumping.
The claim is that frivolous rules deserve the same seriousness as fundamental rules.
Obviously they don't. They'd stand on their own instead of borrowing in the argument.
The complaint is a valid cry for fairness but the whole get fired thing is leftist idiocy. Companies fear backlash from the idiot mob because it costs money.
“When do you see another person eating and think yuck?”
If the person who’s eating isn’t a very attractive woman, it’s disgusting. And even then, it can be disgusting if she’s eating something that smells really bad. That’s the rule.
Was the black woman typically black overweight or was she foxy.
I can't believe they will not enforce the "no spitting on the train" rule - that is what is gross!
The no eating rule is to reduce cleaning costs.
Dagen McDowell cautions attractive women against eating sausages in public.
If you allow eating you get the Grand Central Station pizza rat all over again.
"You worry about yourself" versus "If you see something, say something."
I'm so confused on how to reconcile and apply these. Can I get more rules, perhaps some heirarchy? Maybe a strict rule that a rule isn't a rule, or that it means only what someone decides it means - neither more nor less - and that changes based on what it needs to mean. After all, which is to be master?
That is all.
Black women should refrain from eating bananas in public.
They’re both wrong. The woman should not have been eating on the train, but Tynes, by including her face in the picture, effectively tried to get her fired. Tynes tried to ruin her life so I’m limited in the concern I can express over the blowback.
I forgive them both...but I am not a hypersensitive Lefty Partisan.
And I believe rules are rules. The people who do not believe that tend to be on the Left.
She was trying to create a hive mind that circled around her and gave her warm fuzzies. It did circle around her but it was sharp and brittle. This is a danger everyone should be aware of now. You may think it is madness but it is and she should face the consequences of this madness that she wants to play with.
>What if the Jordanian-American is gay? Or Muslim?
I haven't worked out all the rules of social justice precedence yet, but a Gay Muslim Jordanian-American Trans-Man would be pretty near the top.
Unless you're an Old Rich White Male running for office in the Democratic Party.
A man drinking with a straw is disgusting.
True story: I read here that men look silly drinking with straws. Since then I have observed that this is true. Straws make men look gay, NTTAWWT ! I no longer use straws. I was out with some people this week, was served a drink with a straw, took it out. When asked, I said straws are for girls. Analysis: true.
The Post: it's all who, whom all the way down. If you apply the rules equally, in anything, then group characteristics start to show and that's...racist.
“Worry about yourself”.
More than excellent advice, and would solve the vast majority of our first world problems. (Twitter shares would plummet, and it would be a nicer place).
Blogger Kevin said...
You want more Trump? This is how you get more Trump.
Danger Zone!
It irritates the flip out of me when people knowingly and willfully break established rules - and those who created the rules ignore the breaking. Change the damn rules if you aren't going to enforce them.
Having said that, I don't care if someone is black, white, brown, yellow, red, or green, if you break, I'm going to be irritated. Depending on what it is, I may be confrontational because sometimes there is a safety issue involved. Our young, woke, Jordanian friend may be a mostly a rule follower and this irritated her, too, and after being somewhat confrontational and basically getting a back of the hand response, she decided to get even. The tweet was passive-aggressive, allowing her to escalate the confrontation without fear of perhaps an uglier altercation. Or so she thought. Also, what whitney said.
“Black women face a constant barrage of this kind of inappropriate behavior directed toward them and a constant policing of their bodies.”
These people need professional help.
One morning years ago, I came to work and found one of the drafters eating his Burger King breakfast with the styrofoam container placed on top of a stack of mylars on a reference table. I told him to get that the hell off the drawings, and he threw a fit protesting loudly including: "That's discrimination, man!"
I wondered what he was talking about and finally figured out that since he came from the Isleta Pueblo, he must be an Indian.
My position still is that I don't care if you are the Queen of England, you don't place your breakfast dish on top of a stack of completed mylars!
It is a criminal act to eat on a train, but it is just not enforced? Why? Across the nation, we are trying to decriminalize drug possession, but in DC, it is criminal to eat on a train?
The largest ethnic group in DC is Black.
This is mostly about the power of the majority (although DC blacks recently slipped below 50%) and of unions.
And I assume a majority of Metro riders in DC are black and thus the greatest sufferers of Metro arrogance and poor service.
I’m reminded of the whole Michelle Rhee episode in DC. She brought discipline and improved quality to the DC schools but she was ousted because she was not black and thus a racist. Oh, and the teachers union hated her.
"True story: I read here that men look silly drinking with straws. Since then I have observed that this is true. Straws make men look gay, NTTAWWT ! I no longer use straws. I was out with some people this week, was served a drink with a straw, took it out. When asked, I said straws are for girls. Analysis: true."
I'm glad to see you learning from this blog.
Perhaps more evidence will come to light, but there is at present no evidence that Tynes is a diversitist (e.g. racist). The only reasonable conclusion is that the people criticizing her are projecting or Pro-Choice. Let the witch trial progress.
Michelle Rhee episode in DC. She brought discipline and improved quality to the DC schools
I remember her. She lost her job because of diversity and her confrontation of administrative excesses. Not black, not white, nor Jordanian. Another American of Asian descent who exceeded the quota. Recently, there was a black women, I believe at Google, who lost her job for offering constructive criticism of special interests inside the company. A diversity chief, no less.
Tank said:
"If you apply the rules equally, in anything, then group characteristics start to show and that's...racist."
A useful insight for the Madison School District, but an insight they intentionally ignore.
Tim is right. The worker's face should not have been included. That made it personal and petty, weakening the point of the complaint.
What does the MTA do with people, employees, who violate their rules? Censure? A fine?
How does social justice address efforts to unmask, "dox", or otherwise publish identification? How does justice address the same issues?
Who authorized Chief Pavlik to suspend enforcement in Metro? Why punish law-abiding commuters? Has anyone protested this move?
"Rare Bird" (no "s") Books.
Black women face a constant barrage of this kind of inappropriate behavior directed toward them and a constant policing of their bodies.
That's a line from The Book Of Stupid Sayings For All Occasions.
Now here at The Metro we have two basic rules. Memorize them so that you can say them in your sleep. The first rule is: Obey all rules. Secondly, do not write on the walls, as it takes a lot of work to erase writing off of walls.
The Woking of the Pelham 1 2 3.
It shouldn't have been tweeted at all. If the employee's actions offended her, the proper and professional response is to complain to the MTA, not shame the woman publicly.
Damn it, Fréder is right. Damn autocorrect
Social justice is on trial for violating justice and common sense.
Being someone who actually takes WMATA daily, there was no reason to think this would do anything. WMATA has enough trouble with workers falsifying maintenance reports that they're not doing anything about someone breaking a minor rule.
The mask has long ago fallen from the "equal justice under law" thing. Law is no longer social contract, but a political tool.
"cease and desist from issuing criminal citations in the District of Columbia for fare evasion; eating; drinking; spitting, and playing musical instruments without headphones until further advised,"
That's taken from the lyrics to Prison Pipeline High School's fight song.
And don't forget: put on your headphones before playing the mandolin or harmonica so you won't be able to hear yourself play. Until further advised, that is.
"What does the MTA do with people, employees, who violate their rules? Censure? A fine?"
-- It matters, usually though, nothing. They were even forced through arbitration to re-hire people who literally lied about performing maintenance that could have killed people or derailed a Metro trains. WMATA is a joke.
A 'social media expert' got hammered on social media? Good.
1. Freder is right: Tweeting about this issue is not the best way to address it.
2. Had the employee been a white male, there would be zero backlash.
Social media is more a threat to our survival than climate change.
Mockturtle: Tweeting about actually might be the only way to get it to work. The bus line I've been on has been systematically late for years. It also routinely did not stop for one of the disabled people in a wheelchair. I tried for years calling them, leaving email complaints, etc., etc. It wasn't until I tweeted to WMATA's public account that they even acknowledged drivers should not be doing that. Every other phone call or email WMATA received never received a response. If you guys were talking about a non-broken system, you'd be right.
Also, I think people should stage a protest to the no enforcement of fare evasion by as a group, not paying the fare until they reverse the decision.
It's a trial by press, and has been normalized by the media, social justice, environmentalists, other activists, politicians, and coup plotters. Justice needs to get ahead of this in order to mitigate its progress and serve regular people.
protest to the no enforcement of fare evasion by as a group
Fare evasion, bring your lunch to MTA day, and other common causes subject to prosecutorial discretion. It won't be chaos, but rather anarchy, until order is restored, thus the left-right nexus. And the unmasking, "doxing", leaks, and other publications will cease their progression. What a dysfunctional convergence.
The non-enforcement policy is the converse of the "broken windows" concept. I don't think the law-abiding among us will like the consequences. It seems we have to keep relearning the same lessons every generation. Cities finally became safer, so people get more complacent, and soon we're back to the "Son of Sam" days of the 1970s.
Neither woman's life should be ruined. The MTA worker should be punished according to the rules governing MTA employees and then be allowed to return to work, and the author should fade back into obscurity.
The idea that the Black woman must be held to a different standard, and treated differently because she is a Black woman is simple, pure, racism.
I would imagine the problem with everyone eating food on the train isn't the eating process, it is the garbage piling up everywhere.
The trains are nasty enough by virtue of having so many inconsiderate people jammed together. Slobs who just toss their breakfast burrito remains on the floor would create a mess.
I assume the black worker wasn't having a sit down bacon and eggs with toast breakfast :-)
"The MTA worker should be punished according to the rules governing MTA employees and then be allowed to return to work, and the author should fade back into obscurity."
-- Trust me -- nothing will happen to the Metro employee. Compared to rules that we know WMATA employees get re-hired after being fired for, this is literally nothing. No one was going to die from this. She didn't misrepresent their time cards. She didn't claim to fix a broken track and not.
It was a minor violation, and they don't take safety seriously.
"Slobs who just toss their breakfast burrito remains on the floor would create a mess."
-- Pretty much true. The trains can get disgusting -- from convenience store wrappers, fast food remains, to things like half eaten bags of fries with ketchup on them, bones, crumbs of all sorts, etc.
Neither woman's life should be ruined.
That is the answer.
treated differently because she is a Black woman is simple, pure, racism
Ah, diversity. One step forward, two steps backward. Not quite wicked, but a dysfunctional convergence in progress.
Matthew Sabian suggests: Also, I think people should stage a protest to the no enforcement of fare evasion by as a group, not paying the fare until they reverse the decision.
Great idea! Both of your points are well taken. My only experience on mass transit has been across the pond[s].
When do you see another person eating and think yuck?
When the person is a slob. Slobs come in all colors.
Dagen McDowell cautions attractive women against eating sausages in public.
Nobody but you knows or cares who that is, and anyway, well brought up women know to cut their food, particularly sausages and bananas, into pieces. I don't know though about what S O A P O P E R A W O M E N do.
I doubt very many attractive women eat sausages.
When do you see another person eating and think yuck?
In a mass transit situation: when they are standing near me and I have to hear them slobber and chew. Also be afraid that they are going to get whatever they are eating on me when the stumble, fall or press against me.
In a restaurant: CLOSE YOUR MOUTH when you chew, you animal, and stop talking with food spewing out of your mouth. Yuck!
Dagen McDowell cautions attractive women against eating sausages in public.
Who ever that is? But, I suppose it is OK for UGLY women to eat sausages in public?
Stay off Twitter
I have only seen black women eat on metro trains.
I get the hoohaw on social media, but that's a side issue and mostly tribal to boot. We all were given to understand that being "judgmental" was evil about 20 years ago. It can and will get you in trouble.
The problem is that the police have stopped enforcing laws and people have taken to social media to shame the police to get back into the business of law enforcement. But they don't understand the new rules.
People who stab other people usually get arrested if film of the stabbing shows up on Facebook or Twitter. In a similar way, people who coldcock strangers on the subway platform on camera sometimes get arrested. Drunk drivers whose cars hit buildings or other persons get arrested if they fail Breathalyzer tests. There occasionally are investigations when prominent persons or good-looking teenagers with their whole lives ahead of them are murdered. Also nice doggies. Everyone else is SOL.
This is how we keep the crime rate down.
Rules are rules from the left viewpoint is a racist, bourgeois, member of the property owners, viewpoint.
Since these rules for example impact Blacks more, they are part of a system of racism.
And people by pointing this out, as part of an online mob, show virtue.
There is a term I’m looking for. I don’t think it’s deconstruction. It’s a way to basically discredit anything as racist, such as ways of acting, morals, standards, etc.
The above reasoning is why so many Democratic major city’s are dying. Baltimore, Chicago, Seattle, etc.
I hope everyone who was against this Twitter shaming will remember this the next time some public shaming for cake baking or the like comes around.
Democrats eating democrats via the social justice mob they have created. Too damn bad.
What rules are broken and by whom? When mother breastfeeding baby on DC transit!
"Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik sent an email on May 8, telling officers to 'cease and desist from issuing criminal citations in the District of Columbia for fare evasion; eating; drinking; spitting, and playing musical instruments without headphones until further advised....'"
Weirdly, it seems the rules can be different if you're DC, Maryland, or Virginia. DC's city council seems to have decriminalized turnstile jumping this past December, and the mayor vetoed the bill. It seems to already be a civil offense in Virginia.
"Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik sent an email on May 8, telling officers to 'cease and desist from issuing criminal citations in the District of Columbia for fare evasion; eating; drinking; spitting, and playing musical instruments without headphones until further advised...'"
Authorities issuing orders like this is just a lagging indicator that you're living in a Third World shithole.
Is 'doxxing' the new 'tar-and feathering'?
Are we selectively utilizing shame? (slut/fat shaming a no-no-)
How do we determine what should be shamed?
(from yesterday)
Of the non-white/minority/"disenfranchised", who enjoys the most privilege?
Identifying with which group gives the best advantage?
Does identifying with more than one enhance the advantage?
Is this advantage "privilege"?
Why are 'Blacks and Hispanics' the premier minorities?
Is it because they are the majority among minorities?
Are they favored/focused on due to their majority status?
Is it wrong to favor/focus on a group due to their superior numbers?
Why cannot presumably serious people, like book publishers and distributors, just "keep calm and carry on"? And implicitly tell the Twitter mobs to GFY? They will be on to something else in a couple days anyway.
"Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik sent an email on May 8, telling officers to 'cease and desist from issuing criminal citations in the District of Columbia for fare evasion; eating; drinking; spitting, and playing musical instruments without headphones until further advised...'"
In Third World cities you need more and more money to get away from having to share public space with people who shit the nest (and then complain that the nest is full of shit).
In Third World cities located in First World countries, you get the bonus of demented identity politics, raising the ordinary daily shithole experience to the level of dystopian nightmare.
Well, I know a book distributor I never want to do business with. Not because they canceled her book, but because of that robotic cant about policing bodies.
BART trains are rolling out devices to reduce turnstile jumpers and so a San Francisco TV station shows video of turnstile jumpers, every single one being Black! Including one obese man who couldn't "jump" so he slithered on the ground. How does the TV station get away with this? In San Francisco!
Snitches get stiches.
This is not a SJW issue, it's about common decency. Maybe the transit worker missed breakfast because she had to drop her Alzheimer mother off at day care. Maybe her car broke down. Who knows? Twitter lady's life must be so awesome, if this is her biggest problem. Fuck twitter.
Bloody hell. I start reading the comments, and I eventually reach Freder's. And he is right. Another morning ruined!
A good example of how Twitter makes everything worse.
Phil 314 said, "This is mostly about the power of the majority (although DC blacks recently slipped below 50%) and of unions.
And I assume a majority of Metro riders in DC are black and thus the greatest sufferers of Metro arrogance and poor service."
That's not actually the case. Most Metro riders are probably government employees and they commute from Maryland and Virginia, and although an increasingly high proportion of government employees are not Caucasian, most of them are not African-American.
Although much of the cost of the DC Metro is paid for by taxpayers the tickets are still quite expensive and therefore most of the people on it use it to go to and from their jobs or school.
Almost half of the DC Metro, or maybe it's more than half, is outside of DC.
Almost everyone that is employed by the DC Metro is African-American. I don't understand how that happens in a public agency and in an area where the majority of people are not African-American.
The white people are lobbyists, consultants, and federal government workers. The blacks people with jobs work for DC.
The Plantation
As local context, WMATA employees have a long-held reputation for incompetence, rule-breaking, and hostile customer service, with a similar history of management turning a blind eye. Tweeting is appropriate because the woman's real complaint is with the scofflaw culture of the organization, and those of us who ride Metro understand that complaining within the institution would be useless. But yes, the employee's face should have been blurred.
Oh Diversity Divine!
The Ed School at my former employer hosts a public elementary school, now called the Campus School (formerly the Training School, formerly the Demonstration School so you get the idea of its flagship status . . . ) Anyway, over the decades it has taken in fewer neighborhood kids (not sure it has any now, except for children of certain employees) just as our city and campus have become more and more international.
But the son of my neighbor and work successor, a child whose father is from New Zealand and whose mother is Chinese, and who both work on campus, isn't diverse enough . . . so off he has to go to the middle school miles away.
OTOH, the Campus School was once among the most highly rated in the public system; now it's among the worst.
Narr
One week in Fundamentals of Education and an afternoon as a teacher's aide . . . enough for a lifetime
The "white" woman of course. Blacks are sacred.
I know she's Arabic, but for the purpose of this issue, she's white. Such fine distinctions are beyond the ken of Blacks.
1) There's no way the woman would have gotten negative feedback if she had posted a picture of a white male committing the same offense. 2) There's no way that the black woman involved was in any danger of losing her job. 3) I would judge the nature of the offense based on the smell of the food rather than the action of eating it. A sausage and pepper hero should not be consumed in a subway train. I have witnessed this. Jerks who do such things deserve to be shamed.
Dagen McDowell cautions attractive women against eating sausages in public.
Nobody but you knows or cares who that is
She’s a terrific reporter/panelist on the Fox Business Channel. Most around here would like her. She’s smart, attractive, and whip smart.
- Krumhorn
Yes, Freder is correct. In principle.
But, in practice? All too often, if you do "the professional thing", there are no consequences to the rule-breaker. And it's easy to feel silly, because you know your "complaint" will disappear into the circular file.
Matt Sablan and Crazy Jane are right. Making a big fuss about this gets all the roosters and hens riled up and hurts the "snitch" with the blow-back, but it might just get results. And it's probably the only way.
Like f'rinstance: It'd be nice to know why Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik issued his "cease and desist" order in the first place.
No one likes to see rule enforcers breaking the rules so Tynes probably expected to get a lot of support for her tweet. I'm glad the tweet failed because I don't like seeing social media used to bully people. I also don't like that the woman in the photo felt entitled to break the rules and that people on Twitter excused her doing so. I don't like Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik saying that "cease and desist from issuing criminal citations" is the same as doing these things is "clearly was doing no wrong". (TL;DR - I dislike everyone involved in this.)
Tynes should have contacted MTA first. Then, if she got the "clearly doing no wrong" answer, she could have tweeted about her complaint and the reply. The Twitter response probably would have been different, especially if she left out the photo. (I wonder if the Twitter algorithm makes tweets with photos or video more likely to show up for others than simple text ones. Or if people are more likely to like or retweet photos. If so, that's an incentive for people to include photos.)
Bob: I think the order was in part because of things like a kid being detained/arrested (mattering on the report) for having a lollipop on the train. Though I'm not sure if that was recent or last year.
When do you see another person eating and say yuck?
The only time I’ve thought that was when the tender morsel the other person is eating was struggling and trying to avoid being eaten. Other than that, bon appetit America!
I resent the implication I’m supposed to have an opinion about this.
the employee's face should have been blurred
That would be fair. Then the organization could review its policies, cease and desist from prosecutorial discretion, of customers, presumptive customers, and employees, or, if it is ruled by social justice, order comprehensive sensitivity training.
I know she's Arabic, but for the purpose of this issue, she's white.
White Arabic. Diversity is a many Pro-Choice thing.
Remember “Black Jeopardy”? One of the categories was “Mind Your Own Business.” Which was funny because it was true. There are lots of values that Blacks and conservatives share.
From the social media maven twat who posted the pic, to the smug bitch eating on the train to the SJW publisher's bigotry and prejudice to the pile on cowardice of the distributor- This is one of those stories that has no hero.
I am on the side of the picture taker. I would not normally be, if I thought the subway authority was enforcing the rules. It doesn't seem to.
It is vigilanteism and it is what you get when when the authorities (police, conductors,health inspectors, whoever) do not enforce the rules.
It becomes up to the individual citizen to enforce them.
It may be taking pictures of civilians eating on the train and sending them in to the authorities. In the case of an authority eating on the train, public shaming may be the best.
Yes, include her face. If she has a name tag or badge include that too. Identify her as much as possible. It may not embarass her but if it gets enough publicity it may embarrass the subway authority into taking disciplinary action.
I'll be interested in a followup story to see if they actually did. I expect that there will be an "Ay, Bendito. She has suffered enough embarassment. We can't punish her any further."
John Henry
No photo next time.
Now the super rats will come.
I am curious why she would want to have a book publisher AND a book distributor. Normally the publisher would handle distribution.
I am curious what either one of them will do for her. Get her in book stores? That used to be a big benefit with with publishers but not so much any more.
I've published with the world's largest book publisher Taylor and Francis/CRC Press) They did everything a publisher is supposed to do. I have no complaints at all.
Only real complaint is that, by contract, there is not much I can do to promote the book. That is their sole responsibility. I can't even get cheap author copies. I can buy them at a discount but, with shipping, they cost more than if I buy them from Amazon.
On the other hand, I have published several books through Amazon. Far, far better deal than a traditional publisher. Much higher royalties (30-70% vs 10%) Cheap author copies that I can send to reviewers, professors and clients, much easier to change anything in the book. For example, I changed font size after I saw the proof copy. It took a day. CRC, 2 minor changes delayed publishing by 4 months. CRC did copy editing, my Amazon books I hired a professional editor who not only edited copy (punctuation, syntax etc) but content as well. They greatly improved the organization, readability and technical correctness. My book is used as a text in a dozen or so universities (including UW) because I was able to send copies to professors. Because of the professors, it is carried in at least one bookstore (UW) and possibly others. It is available via B&N and most other book selling sites.
I will never publish through a traditional publisher again. Not because they are bad. Because publishing through Amazon is so much better.
I have even set myself up as a publisher of sorts. Currently working on republishing John McConnell's series of books on quality. Negotiating to write and publish a book for a manufacturer.
Losing her publishing and distribution deals may be the best thing that could happen to the picture taker.
Sarah Hoyt has published 40-50 books over the years, many traditional, most of the more recent ones independently. Anyone interested in writing a book should read her blog for a lot of info on this.
John Henry
It’s nice to see that this blog others MEN over shorts and straws. No slippery slope or slippery thinking here.
Without picture eating in transit is best way getting rid of evidence.
Sophia Loren and il mortadella.
BTW:
My Packaging Machinery Handbook, Achieving Lean Changeover and other books are available via Ann's portal.
Free PDF copies of my Machinery Matters and Secrets of Buying Packaging Machinery books are available for download at www.fraingroup.com/ebooks/ Or you can buy paper copies via Ann's portal.
John Henry
“When do you see another person eating and say yuck?”
Subway cars are enclosed spaces. When someone breaks open cooked food, like takeout fast food, the odor is pretty strong. And not pleasant. So “yuck” is pretty close.
The trains are nasty enough by virtue of having so many inconsiderate people jammed together. Slobs who just toss their breakfast burrito remains on the floor would create a mess.
I am a 25 year veteran of Chicago Els and buses, starting at age 10 until 35 when I purchased my first car.
There is a lot of crazy shit that goes on from masturbators to fondlers to roving youths taking money through intimidation. More than a few times I found myself on the Southside because I missed my stop. The experience in Black neighborhoods is not much different than that in White/ethnic/mixed neighborhoods if you ride during rush hour.
If you ride just after school is out, there are tons of smokers and kids eating burgers, fries, etc. The CTA has never enforced the rules. The smell is pretty bad and the smoke makes your eyes water.
30 years later, I am not sure I would ever take an El train again.
Narr,
I have a Master of Science(!!!) education degree from one of the better schools.
I also had almost 30 years experience teaching in the same university's MBA program.
Education education is a total joke. there is less academic rigor than I would expect in a good 4th grade class.
BURN DOWN ALL THE SCHOOLS OF EDUCATION!
Make an education degree a positive disqualifier for teaching.
Masters degrees in education are a positive scam on the students, their parents and tax payers.
OTOH, since one of the things I do professionally is training, the degree looks good on my CV. I didn't learn jackshit that is useful but my clients don't know that.
John Henry
https://youtu.be/QzThUJMC9jo
Mortadella.
I have no sympathy for Tynes- none. As always with the Left eating the Left, I post this
Ann Althouse said...
"True story: I read here that men look silly drinking with straws. Since then I have observed that this is true. Straws make men look gay, NTTAWWT ! I no longer use straws. I was out with some people this week, was served a drink with a straw, took it out. When asked, I said straws are for girls. Analysis: true."
*******************
Know what else is gay?
Guys drinking from hot coffee mugs held with both hands.
Even worse? Guys drinking from hot coffee mugs held with both hands covered by overly-long shirt/sweater sleeves.
Gag me with a straw!!
Trouble understanding the post. So DC Metro rules, but they don't punish anyone by handing out tickets? So, what's the point? Or did I misunderstand.
In any case, I'm of two minds. First, who cares if the employee was eating a sandwich. Why waste your time tweeting about it? Second, "rules are rules" so why get upset that the rule breaker is Black and the snitch is white? Would it be OK, if the employee was hispanic or white? And the snitch wasn't "Becky" but a minority?
But when you live in Liberal-land this is the kind of weirdness you get.
Once the boomers die out, maybe we can get away from this idea that blacks are really "Special needs kids" who need to be protected and given special favors. They're equals and don't need that.
If I was Black, I'd be pretty insulted by the idea that people like me are not civilized enough to be expected to pay the fair, and not eat or spit on a train. Why are people so racist at this point in history. I expect and demand more from my pets than some people do of adult humans. Do these people even have the intelligence to see what they are saying about Black people?
Make no mistake. Blacks know they get a pass on lots of stuff. They know and they take advantage of it, becuase they are people. Even young children would get that. Stop the pernicious racism of low expectations.
I don't see this as a racial thing, more of a class thing. Could happen with two people of similar race. Educated writer with nice office digs or working from home, eating when and wherever they want in their office or home. Flexibility with some control.
Versus - public transportation worker that may have been called in to cover a shift unexpectedly, may have a lengthy commute themselves...on this day they just couldn't get it together to have breakfast before work. Or even diabetic and HAD to eat. I'm not diabetic but do get really bad low blood sugar and can't even think straight until I eat. I am probably more sympathetic to one that needs to eat for that reason.
IMHO - unless she was being an absolute slob, flinging bacon grease on passengers I'd have let this go. I kinda revere train/bus employees as a heavy user of public transportation myself. If it wasn't for them I'd have to fucking drive more - I'd hate THAT far more than a munching driver/worker.
""You worry about yourself" — which sounds jerky — was fantastically good advice."
Worry about yourself = don't try to hold me accountable. It is indeed fantastically good advice from people who prefer anarchy, to people who have the illusion that rules matter and should be sorta enforced. A society of inward-looking unaccountable narcissists is easier to rule by our overlords.
This story reminds me of the woman who was flying to South Africa and made some dumb comment on Twitter,. By the time her plane landed her career was ended.
Education education is a total joke. there is less academic rigor than I would expect in a good 4th grade class.
This is true and the products show it.
Perhaps Tynes was hungry, on this occasion or another, but in following MTA rules, resisted her temptation or need, and was forced to watch an MTA employee flout the rules set forth by her organization. So, then the question is if the people who set the rules should be held equally accountable, and, perhaps, at what level (e.g. class): executive, manager, worker, etc.? The diversity angle is, on its face, weird, and likely the product of inferential treatment.
Fouls on both ladies here. Yes, the employee shouldn't have been eating on the train. On the other hand, a public worldwide shaming attempt of the employee on social media is out of proportion to the nature of the offense, this would be like the New York Times publishing a photo of a maintenance worker in Central Park putting an empty water bottle into the trash can instead of the recycling bin and demanding something be done.
For first offenses, the best option is usually to privately reach out to a supervisor and take care of things behind the scenes. Shaming attempts such as this are usually reserved for serious and repeated offenses after other avenues have been exhausted.
The tweet was monstrous and the reason has little to do with the fact that the employee was a black female. It's monstrous because it's cruel and reflects an arrogant and calloused view of her fellow human beings. You just DON'T put someone's livelihood in jeopardy absent extreme circumstances, and catching someone in minor misbehavior doesn't count! Like the employee isn't an actual person, who has to feed herself and her family and take her sick dog to the vet and help care for her elderly aunt and make her car payment and G-d only knows what other obligations. No, apparently she's just a prop for your social media persona. Let s/he who has never made a personal phone call while at work, come home with a pen from the office supply, or called in sick when they could have probably dragged themselves into work cast the first stone/tweet.
Are the people who criticized on Twitter also monsters?
RigelDog, you can't have it both ways. If her livelihood is in jeopardy over this, then her employer doesn't consider it minor. And vice-versa.
"of the black MTA worker who ate [while supposedly working] on the train"
An AA hire.
It'd be nice to know why Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik issued his "cease and desist" order in the first place.
Fare jumping was "de-criminalized" in late 2018 by the DC city council, because enforcement was disproportionately affecting black riders. The hands-off policy as to food dates back years, after a black middle-school girl was arrested over French fries (no one at WMATA has any good judgment, it seems). I saw an article that said that Metro police still write about 1200 food-and-drink citations every year, but they're almost all alcohol-related.
“because enforcement was disproportionately affecting black riders”
Translation: because violations were disproportionately committed by black riders
I tend to agree that broadcasting this to the world was excessive. But not nearly as excessive as the publisher's reaction. Rare Bird Books (a name surely beyond satire) really has jumped on the Woke Train with the pious pronouncement that they "have no desire to be involved with anyone who thinks it’s acceptable to jeopardize a person’s safety and employment in this way". How on earth did this Tweet jeopardise the employee's safety, or must one assume that "safety" has such an expanded meaning in modern American usage that, like "racist" it no longer has any meaning.
So DC Metro rules, but they don't punish anyone by handing out tickets? So, what's the point?
"Rules" = suggestions/recommendations-- it's veiled begging, but hey- it doesnt hurt to ask!
I am aghast that WMATA has given up on fare evasion. The Federal govt (you and me and everyone else) gives WMATA hundreds of millions of dollars each year and they cannot be bothered to enforce their fares?
WHOA!!!
Nobody's life needs to be ruined, but Natasha needs to mind her own damn business.
"It's monstrous because it's cruel and reflects an arrogant and calloused view of her fellow human beings. You just DON'T put someone's livelihood in jeopardy absent extreme circumstances"
That made laugh. A good friend just lost his job because they found out he was a Trump supporter.
Screw the metro worker. They’re lazy bums anyway and their jobs wouldn’t exist in a rational society in the year 2019. Automate all mass transit and start handing out pink slips ASAP. It’s shameful how our bus and subway systems are all so shoddy AND expensive.
It's called the Reparations Chit. Started turning up in my neighborhood about 5 years ago when Maryland started spreading around Section 8 Housing.
Every day on the way to & from work I swing by the local 7-11 to grab coffee and smokes. And every time there are 1-2 cars parked in front of the entrance, yellow lined curb with fire hydrant and NO PARKING. But there they are - black people who think the rules don't apply to them.
The rest of us park in the parking spots and walk 20 feet to the door. Because we're not special like them. Our ancestors were not enslaved (at least not in America), they only sacrificed their lives to end slavery.
So they park wherever they want. The police stopped enforcing the laws. And they also stopped enforcing vagrancy laws so now we get accosted by huckster panhandlers demanding "a few dollars". You've seen this movie - next come the smash and grab robberies, then a shooting. Then the hardworking Iranian family closes up shop, followed by others. Then the spaces are leased out to liquor stores and pawn shops. And the blacks who ignored.laws about broken windows whine about food deserts.
It's been an amazing thing to witness - how a handful of Section 8s could turn a nice community like Montgomery Village MD into the shithole they came, simply by bringing their bad habits and low class values with them. I bet their kids do the equivalent to the school system. They are like a cancer, one malignant cell is enough to bring everything down. I don't even bother with landscaping the yard now. Mjght as well put liptick on a tranny.
Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of cocooned elitist liberals though. Imagine a neighborhood of Ingas finally suffering the consequences of their socialist policies, and having to smile while they get reamed else they be accused of Deplorable Racism. It's priceless.
But it's not about race - I keep telling myself that. It's not a black thing, this uncivilized shiting in your own nest. Surely there are white asian and latino folk who ignore the curbside parking rules because they are "special"... And it's important to me that this uncivilized inferiority be proven a human condition, not a black condition. Because what would that mean if it wasn't?
So every day I linger at the 7-11 to catch a glimpse of who gets in these illegally curb parked cars. So I can catch that One White Guy driving away and say to myself "See? It's not just a black thing blah blah bad apples in every barrel blab..."
It's been almost 3 years now.
Fen, some blacks get away with stuff because they are feared. No one dare tell them what not to do because they'll be accused of racism. Or maybe shot. Just as Islam is sacrosanct. You don't find any art exhibits showing a 'Piss Muhammad' work. They know they'll get blown up if they do. It's all a not-very-subtle form of terrorism. We're being played for the suckers we are.
In the Southern-sunbelt "Edge City" where I live, the mass transit system is run by idiots and staffed by morons. One of their rules in their new "Ride Civilized" campaign is, "No listening to radio without ear-phones." But I have been on buses on which the drivers violated this rule by playing "soul music" (is that still what it's called?) and Gospel music on the vehicle's radio. I auppose if I had protested, I, too, would have been told "Worry about yourself," or something earthier.
Son worked in the prestige liquor store here until a few months ago. At that place and other stores he'd seen a lot of shoplifting and attempted shoplifting, which was bad enough, but the final straw was around Christmas when a carful of partying Black sorority girls hauled up and parked in a handicapped spot. A local guy, sometime patron of the store, wheelchair bound, started berating them and they told him to "shut the fuck up this is [redacted] and we can park anywhere we want!"
Argument ensued, with customers and staff coming out of the store . . . one of the sorority bitches (relax, I call all sorority girls bitches) smacked a black female store employee upside the head with a handbasket and then there was a pushing, scuffling, hair-pulling, windmilling melee, including the gathering of a posse of young Black men to warn all the white guys not to touch any of the sisters. As if.
It made the 10 pm news, and I saw my son on the periphery of the crowd, trying to see what was happening and avoid running into anyone as they lurched around. The cops showed up soon after, and seem to have handled it pretty well. My son thinks the sisters were looking for trouble--they'd been in earlier and were pretty obnoxious.
Narr
Talk about privilege--probably future teachers
Son worked in the prestige liquor store here until a few months ago. At that place and other stores he'd seen a lot of shoplifting and attempted shoplifting, which was bad enough, but the final straw was around Christmas when a carful of partying Black sorority girls hauled up and parked in a handicapped spot. A local guy, sometime patron of the store, wheelchair bound, started berating them and they told him to "shut the fuck up this is [redacted] and we can park anywhere we want!"
Argument ensued, with customers and staff coming out of the store . . . one of the sorority bitches (relax, I call all sorority girls bitches) smacked a black female store employee upside the head with a handbasket and then there was a pushing, scuffling, hair-pulling, windmilling melee, including the gathering of a posse of young Black men to warn all the white guys not to touch any of the sisters. As if.
It made the 10 pm news, and I saw my son on the periphery of the crowd, trying to see what was happening and avoid running into anyone as they lurched around. The cops showed up soon after, and seem to have handled it pretty well. My son thinks the sisters were looking for trouble--they'd been in earlier and were pretty obnoxious.
Narr
Talk about privilege--probably future teachers
RigelDog, you can't have it both ways. If her livelihood is in jeopardy over this, then her employer doesn't consider it minor. And vice-versa. ))))
I understand what you're saying, but I'm starting at the question of where MY agency/choices come into the picture if I see an employee goofing off--not what my choices would be if I were that employee's boss. It's not my business to go scouting about for employee malfeasance and then try to get them fired, and I think that non-tattling is the ethical, merciful choice. I don't want that karma on me; more specifically, I want to do unto others and to "do justice, and love mercy" because of my religious convictions. For instance, husband and I have gotten some darn rude servers from time to time, and the most that we do in response is tip lightly. They may be having a bad day. They may be ill-suited to the job and if so that problem will sort itself out with time. I would, however, tattle on an employee if I saw them doing something dangerous, abusive, or overtly criminal.
Fen quoted me, then said: "It's monstrous because it's cruel and reflects an arrogant and calloused view of her fellow human beings. You just DON'T put someone's livelihood in jeopardy absent extreme circumstances"
That made laugh. A good friend just lost his job because they found out he was a Trump supporter.)))
Fen, that's exactly the horror I'd like to see us avoid as a society. And it's one of the countless reasons that underlie my opinion that the Left today is without a moral foundation. They HAVE no mercy; it's no longer about (supposedly) educating people to be more sensitive and to have another chance if they transgress---it's about personal destruction, even unto the next generation. For instance, I thought about going to a pro-life demonstration that was held in Philadelphia over the weekend, not to demonstrate per se but because I think what state representative Brian Sims did to past protesters at Planned Parenthood was vicious bullying and flirted with official oppression. Do you know what stopped me? If I were caught on camera and recognized, my KIDS livelihoods could theoretically be affected.
So long as we let ourselves be bullied by the Left we can expect to continue to be shat upon.
Live by the woke, die by the woke. Stay off Twitter.
Back when my girl was about 5 or 6 we went to a local water park. Nice place. A lot of blacks. Several rides my daughter wanted to go on she couldn't- she was too short. She asked me why the black kids shorter than her were getting on them. I deflected answering. She's in her 20s now- she knows why now.
Better that a black kid should get injured or die on a waterslide than a white lifeguard have his life ruined by a charge of racism for keeping the kid off the ride. We never went back, even though it's the closest waterpark to our house and I like waterparks.
Oh, last year I saw my first black lifeguard, ever. She grew up and learned to swim and lifeguard on a Caribbean island, not here. When I went through boot camp in 1973 there were two things all the boot pushers assumed- and still do. Recruits from NYC or Chicago, no matter the race, don't have a driver's license. (Whether of not they can drive is a different story...), and black recruits can't swim.
It is ill advised to correct a black person's behavior on public transportation. Two quick examples:
I'm on a 5 bus on Minneapolis's north side. Nearly all of the passengers are black except for me and some other white guy I don't know. Two black males in the aisle next to us are starting to smack each other in what could escalate into a full blown fight. I'm seated by the aisle, so that would suck. Well the dumbass cracker next to me interjects himself into the situation by speaking to them like they were kindergartners. So the two guys verbal turn on him with me in the middle. They are telling the guy to shut the fuck up and this idiot just keeps on trying to reason with them. All I'm thinking is shut the fuck up you moron. We're the only two white folk on this bus and we're sitting side-by-side, so it's a safe bet they think were together and that's not good for me. But he just kept at it to the point where I almost stood up and said, "I have no idea who this dumbassed cracker is." Fortunately their stop came up and they departed.
The second, same bus route during rush-hour. Two young, black males are loudly discussing their most recent sexual exploits in explicit detail. The bus has lot of women on it, so a white guy tells them to stop out of respect for the women passengers. One of the males pulls a gun and empties it into the guy. Five surgeries later and he's still not right. They never caught the guys, which is why Minneapolis installed multiple cameras on every bus.
Never, ever call-out a back person's bad behavior on public transportation. No good will come of it.
"Black sorority girls hauled up and parked in a handicapped spot.."
This is where you should say, "Stop me if you heard this one."
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