Letter to the editor

Column about bus ride offensive

I read with interest Erin Brachlow’s reflection on… Column about bus ride offensive

I read with interest Erin Brachlow’s reflection on her 84B bus ride (Sept. 3, 2002), and also her experiences on living in South Oakland. I thought at first that she was serious and only later that she was in fact that this article is an attempt to point out that she – compared to many of her neighbors and bus companions – has an extremely privileged existence.

Children play on her street. About 16.2 percent of all children living in the U.S. live in poverty. Perhaps she and her housemates could club together and buy the children a baseball and bat or a football. After all I am sure they would prefer to play with them than bricks.

The elderly lady perhaps would like to be able to buy new clothes and have access to the same medical treatment Brachlow has, as this may help cure her cough.

The men who seem to ride the bus all day may get free transport, and a bus may provide them with a warm or cool place to be, depending on the season, as they may not be able to afford $3 for a cup of coffee. Does Brachlow enjoy the privilege of heating, air-conditioning and hot water in her home? Do these unshowered men enjoy the same?

A mother stressed by being forced to work for minimum wage vents her frustration on her child. A child she would probably prefer to spend proper time with and rear herself instead of placing her with strangers so the government can reduce the welfare roles. Brachlow shouldn’t judge, as she will probably never understand.

Words of advice: If Brachlow no longer wishes to ride the bus with the smelly, the sick, the morbidly obese, etc., she should stay in her ivory tower or walk, and those who – unlike her – have to pay $1.75 to ride this bus may be better off for not having to share the bus with a woman with a superiority complex.

Anne Kearney

Graduate Student

MSW