Degradation of the human race via the rat race (Pt 1)

 I saw today one of the more upsetting acts of civil duty at work.  One particular bus driver for the Santa Monica Blue Bus system which I travel to and from work on occasions is the veriest miserable driver I have experienced, and he happened to be the driver today (word of the day being used for you, Mr. Dave McGrath!).  He clearly lacks any and all motivation to communicate in a polite manner to any persons seeking guidance who are not familiar with the transit system.  I am previously familiar with this driver and his attitude, as I have noticed the sub-par demeanor in the past.  I can easily tell if someone is miserable by simply saying “hello” and “thank you” to the driver when I board.  Today, I received no reply – I was expecting that from my past travels.

An old lady in a motorized scooter got on board a few stops later, to which the driver had to (in a clearly irritated manner) fold the front row of seats on the bus back for her to park.  He stood to my side in the next isle of seats while she tried to finagle her way into the scooter area.  She obviously needed to use the isle area he was now occupying to get her scooter positioned correctly (it sort of was looking as though it were the same process of parallel parking a car).  He mumbled at her in a spiteful tone about moving, and hesitated to move for some time.  She slowly moved into the area he was standing, to which she stated once more that she needed that spot to pull into the station.

At this point he snapped at her with “If you run into me I am going to kick you off of the bus”.

I couldn’t believe what I had heard.  How could he say something like that to her?  I’m sure that everyone on the bus (including he) could see that she needed that space to maneuver the scooter, yet he remained steadfast in the way.  They battled back and forth with some more light arguing, until she was finally at rest in the correct position for take-off.  She told him that she remembered him giving her trouble before.  She stated that he took off while she was clearly going to the bus stop through a crosswalk.  He replied that he saw her in the crosswalk, but “how was (he) supposed to pick (her) up on the bus is (she) was in the crosswalk?”  This means that he saw her, KNEW she was attempting to catch the bus, but took off anyways.  What is that shit?

Seriously, I am dumbfounded that someone could be so terrible to an elder who is clearly not trying to cause problems.  I today have lost a shred of my hope that there is still a chance for the mass majority (everyday people) to prove to their good will.  I can’t understand how someone would be in that terrible of a mood that they could willingly ditch a person to save a half of a minute on their bus route.  Then again, I can’t understand how someone could consciously choose a career path which requires one to voluntarily sit in the worst traffic in the country for an 8 hour shift.

These are the thoughts of a newly visional 26 year old spilled onto his computer hard drive.  Hurray to an increased sense of self, surroundings, and thought!