Antoine Association Administration

Striking punch, after punch, after punch, after punch--

--There are too many incidents going on throughout our Transit System involving drivers being punched, passengers being punched, or school kids running muck and disturbing the peace throughout most of their bus rides to and from school and home and/or even on the weekends.

Let's recap what has happened:

Incident 1 - A guy in a red shirt and black jeans runs on a bus and assaults a bus driver and frightening passengers as the bus comes to a stop running up on a curb almost close to a tree, the dude just gets off the bus and walks away thinking everything was cool, but wasn't in the end after he was caught a week and a half to two weeks later.

Incident 2 - Students riding the bus from St. Charles has been a constant problem every since most of last year and years before that going to and from school and this year, they've started a fight with a random dude for no reason because he wasn't wearing Name Brand Clothing. Senseless and foolishness acts like that was nothing more than cowardly and wannabe punks like those kids who attack people younger than them and possibly shorter than them, as Sherriff David Clarke would put it.

Incident 3 - A bus driver was assaulted after telling a guy to get off the bus for disrupting other passengers after she was nice enough to let him on the bus because his bus passed expired on the last day it came to an end. I think the dude knew that, he was just being dumb and after she was struck, a couple of days later, the same guy who hit the bus driver was actually one of two guys riding the 21 who tried to take a UWM Students iPOD, which brings me to the next incident.

Incident 4 - A UWM Student had her iPOD stolen and she was fighting back and a lot of other passengers were helping out, but it became too much and the dude went got away free by taking her iPOD. A couple of days later, someone spotted the dude who took the girl's iPOD and he was recently caught. As for the second dude that was involved in it, I don't know if he was caught or if the dude who punched the bus driver in incident two was caught after the days the girl from UWM had her iPOD taken and if they were hanging out together (for all of the wrong reasons) to pull the crap that they had did.

The UWM student said "when goes around, comes around". Karma will come back to haunt you (the dudes). Well, it did and now they are where they are at now.

Incident 5 - A bus driver was assaulted as of Wednesday after telling some dude to stop banging on the seats and talking so loud and as the bus came to a stop to let off people from the destination, the driver was struck in the face with a broken nose all because he asked someone to stop making beats banging on the window and seats and was asked to lower his voice.

Incident 6 - This incident occurred as a passenger that was sitting down asked the bus driver did a certain bus go to a destination and if I remember correctly either the passenger was on the 12, 23, or the 76 asking the driver did the bus she was on was going to 60TH & Hampton (if I'm not mistakening). Right there in the front, standing up close to the exit next to the passenger in the right some dude struck a lady for no reason all because she just asked a question to the bus driver to which she may have not known.

Six incidents throughout this year is way too many and now I think it's time for passengers and drivers of the Milwaukee County Transit System to get down and get personal because apparently even Private Security which is through Wackenhut, working with the Milwaukee County Transit System isn't enough.

I would hate to be another victim if it came down to any situation for no reason I would get struck, but I will tell you that I will be fighting back no question or doubt it. This has gone way too long and too far for innocent passengers and drivers are being violated for unnecessary intentional purposes. I think passengers who have been struck and violated should be carrying pepperspray as well. It's not considered a weapon, like you can just hit someone with a bottle and they're going to go unconcious.

The MCTS has been asking for protective shields since 1996. If they've been asking for that for 12 years then why hasn't that stuff been done or put up already? Now, these men and women throughout our Transit System has no other alternative than to carry pepperspray just to protect thereselves, because we all know that one or two Milwaukee County Transit Security Guards isn't going to be nowhere near enough to stop this problem, but will MCTS finally get what they have been wanting and asking for for these past 12 years, getting it approved by the Milwaukee County Executive Board?

To tell you the truth, I'm starting to get uncomfortable riding the city bus myself and if this continues, somewhere down the line some day, not to be jinxing this or anything, there won't be any more city bus riding anymore which means MCTS stations and drivers won't be making their money that do make driving on their routes. I think many of us who are just a bit uncomfortable or feeling afraid need to start going on the defense and go on the offense when being threatened or violated.