Two high-profile incidents on Australian subways show the country continues to deal with deep racial tensions.
1) This incident was blamed on drunkeness, but it’s still deeply disturbing.
2) In this incident, a female governmental employee refuses to give up her seat and turns it into a racist hate attack.
What the heck is going on the British public transport system these days? Three disturbing incidents have appeared on YouTube in the past week alone.
1) Racist Woman Ejected From Bus: Very little context for what set this woman off, but she’s pissed, racist and takes a swing at the guy. She picked the wrong person to mess with. Can’t blame him for reacting as he did.
2) ScotRail’s Big Man: A young man boards the train without having paid for his ticket. He fights the elderly ticket collector for a while before a “big man” steps in and resolves the situation.
3) Emma West’s Crazy Racist Rant on English Bus: This is the oldest incident of the bunch, but perhaps the most shocking. A woman, with her young child in tow, begins spouting horrific racist vile at the busload of people. She was subsequently arrested for her tirade. Emma West, 34, will spend time in jail out of concern for her safety.
This does not surprise me at all. An Italian bus driver was caught on video using not one, but two, cellphones as he took passengers to Rome’s Ciampino airport. The video shows him speaking on the phone, while trying to work his e-mail on another at the same time. He uses his elbows to steer the bus, while driving at what appears to be a high rate of speed.
At least in theory, driving with a cellphone is against the law in Italy. In my personal experience, drivers do it all the time and the law is rarely enforced. The Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, posted the clip of the driver to their website. A regional transport commissioner said on May 12 that the driver has been suspended, pending the results of further investigation.
Not Intent on Arriving 