Green Line riders, trolley driver put themselves between woman in hijab and crazed screamer

I've been a daily T rider for over 40 years, but I have to say I am just about reaching critical mass with all the slobbering drunks, opiated zombies, screamers, extremely loud sob story guys, people defiantly smoking in the stations, oblivious people falling on the tracks and, sorry if I'm being politically incorrect, just plain out and out mentally ill people. I hate to be one of those people who say "it was better years ago" in some mythical time that never existed, because I have seen this type of behavior on the T for years. But it seems much, much more prevalent now. What has caused this upswing? Save for the clinically mentally ill who obviously need help, why can't people pull themselves together?

I'm heartened by the story, but confused by the photo: Which person is the bully in action?

Where is she in the picture? Or Fake News?

Where the transit police notified of this rolling hate crime? Did they respond and how long did it take for them to get there. According to their website that have a force of about 275 officers where are they when you need them.

Can somebody link us to news of any official response to this incident ? Everywhere else seems to be shamefully silent about it.

I'm glad to hear this.

It helps counteract how I'm feeling about an incident last week. A woman got angry at a T bus driver who made her pay. The passenger started yelling about how she hates T drivers, "especially the lesbians". And when I called her out on it, bystanders started yelling at *me*.

I saw a very similar incident unfold on the Orange Line, not too long ago. The women in question, who were sitting quietly when they were verbally attacked and berated for "looking Middle Eastern", were right in front of me. People had to jump in and tell the guy to leave them alone. We didn't call the conductor or the cops. We just dealt with it. We didn't take photos.

I'm surprised at the comments from people who disbelieve the story. This kind of thing happens all the time. I've heard credible accounts of numerous other incidents. They are rarely reported or documented. Probably they should be, but at the time something is occurring people are generally trying to defuse the situation, not draw it out.

The example in Portland Or had a negative outcome due to the situational differences. While this incident in Boston had a more positive result, the two events are very different. I'm from Portland ,Or . The Portland stabbings were preventable if specific interventions could've taken place.I work in the mental health field and discussing this case with peers ,we all came to that same conclusion: One was the ranting man who was already in a state of psychosis, shouldve been ejected from the train hours prior by Transit Police. . The man in Portland had been ranting for at least an hour previous to the other passengers getting on, according to witness reports. The assailant in Portland had a prior history of violent behavior and lashing out and had spent most of his adult life in the penal system. Later he admitted to Police to a stabbing in downtown Portland ,so he was already predisposed to homicidal actions. . Physically intervening in that case was extremely dangerous given the assailants mental state,record of homicidal actions, and instability. The victims unfortunately were not properly trained to deal with someone like that . They acted with good intentions but with a tragic outcome. Forensically, to confront someone in that state ,already agitated,ranting and aggressively posturing is unsafe. What should've happened is the targets of this mans diatribe should've been moved away from him, THe 3 males and the 2 young females, his objects of fixation, should've deboarded the train. The ranter /assailant in Portland only started fixating on the two young girls wearing the hijab after they got on. That indicates symptomatic behaviors . He would've ranted about anything random but once they got on he fixated on them as mentally unstable people do. They also fueled his delusional thought process and reinforced his White supremacist belief system. The Portland case wasn't a case of a white supremacist targeting Muslim girls in a hijab,but a mentally unstable individual fixating on those girls because of their hijabs. He didn't specifically board that train to target Muslims, He was a lone wolf ,who was mentally unstable and decompensating who latched onto a fixation. Its also important to note that even Fascist / Right Groups wouldn't claim this man as a member of their community. Clearly the case in Portland Or, is also testament to systemic failures that allowed this dangerous volatile individual to walk free,unmonitored ,untreated, undiagnosed and unsupervised. That's an important key difference. The way he stabbed his victims is telling as well. He had his fist balled up with a four inch blade protruding from the middle of his fingers. He basically hard punched his victims with the blade. he did this after the 3 males surrounded him and one of them ,well intentioned, gently put his hand on the assailants chest and told him to calm down, according to witness reports. . The offender was already agitated and elevated, so that action would've been a trigger to attack. That's why when people are in that state ,its best to dis engage and get to a physically safe space ,away from them. They are not processing anything rationally so anything you say or do will be perceived as an attack. The killer in Portland attacked the 3 males the way a convict does. The balled up fist with a blade concealed within is a convict trick . Anyone that's works in the field and is familiar with clinically symptomatic behaviors recognized what happened. There was a lot more going on in the Portland scenario than how the media spun it as a simple case of Muslim targeting and White Supremacist attack. . Really the conversation should also focus on why this man was in the prison system so long and why his mental symptoms weren't treated in all that time,and how he was released without proper monitoring. . Boston case had a better outcome because there was timely intervention by not only the passengers but the driver as well, ejecting him from the train. the principal agitator was also not an ex convict with a violent homicidal history.