Hobo Shenanigans

I ride the L to and from work now and, when the weather gets really cold like it is now, the train seems to be overrun with hobos. During my commute home today, one hobo went crazy and started cursing everyone and causing a ruckus. Finally, one woman was fed up with his shenanigans and got on the intercom to alert the conductor about the problems in Car 2. That just made the hobo even more incensed. (Sadly, this was all happening between stations so we couldn't even stop and put the bum out.) The conductor got on the loud speaker and announced that the police would meet the train at the next station and get the crazy guy. When we got to the station, the crazy guy grabbed his milk crate full of stuff and ran off the train to hop on yet another train across the platform. By the time the CTA people arrived, he was gone.

I have no issue with the homeless riding the rails when the weather is cold outside, like it is now, as long as those folks don't bother anyone else, take up multiple seats, and/or stink up the car. I understand it's cold outside and the homeless can find refuge on the L when we have frigid temperatures. However, they need to understand that public transit isn't just for them. If they can't sit quietly and mind their own business and become disruptive or threatening to others, then they need to be removed from the train. I know many of these folks are mentally ill and that adds yet another dimension to their many problems. In a perfect world, these folks would receive help for their mental problems, but our world isn't perfect. Too many people fall through the cracks of society and we're left with the ones who go cray-cray on the train.