Originally written 08-22-2006

Man talk about in media res. I boarded the number 3 bus at Barton Springs and Lamar today tenatively. There was some sort of shouting, and for some reason that usually happens when someone is having trouble getting off the bus. I made my way to a recently evacuated seat only to see that an argument was still going on between a bald gentleman wearing a wifebeater outside the bus and the two people sitting behind me. I had apparently taken the bald gentleman’s seat.
It became clear pretty quickly that the man behind me to the left, a self-described anti-racist had trapped a homeless man (who may or may not have been a friend of the accused neo-nazi that had just been left spitting venom on the sidewalk) in the window seat of the bus. He explained that being an anti-racist was not the same thing as being non-racist.
There is apparently an anti-racist league in town. I have no clue what they do, although if this guy is any indication they antagonize people on busses. So the homeless man wants the anti-racist(ar) guy to move, because he was there first and this ar guy is definitely hostile. The ar guy asks the homeless man not to touch him in a raised voice and they argue the endless argument of who should have to move and who owns public transportation. The ar keeps telling the homeless guy to “Be Cool Man”, but anytime he actually calls down he calls him a nazi lover under his breath. At one point the AR guy invites the homeless man off the bus to fight him. He supposedly has a ring with gloves and referees. This anti-racist boxing alley is apparently somewhere around manchaca and lamar. In any case, eventually the anti-racist guy gets off and life returns to normal. I started writing my blog post when suddenly I notice that we aren’t moving and a car has pulled up. Out stops a capitol metro security officer who begins talking to the bus driver. I don’t know if they knew they were dealing with a neo-nazi when they sent this guy, but he was not your stereotype of security guards. He was a very tall, muscular black man. I could tell the homeless guy behind me was trying to disappear into his seat. He talked to the bus driver in hushed tones for several minutes. Talk about dramatic silence. After a few minutes he came back to the middle of the bus and asked if anyone on the bus had been assulted or injured by either of the guys earlier. No one still on the bus had been so he left. Probably not that much of an adventure to read about, but a pretty exciting end to a dull workday.
It would be awesome if they got Samuel L. Jackson to play the role of the Cap-Metro Security Officer.