Muni Diaries

Photo by Brett L.

The other day, Kelsey tweeted @munidiaries looking for some answers:

My roommates got bleach thrown on them the other night on the 14. Anyone see anything?

Um, what? To that query, she provided the sordid details below:

She was on her way home with some friends on the 14 on Friday night after the bars closed in the Mission, and back on her way to downtown where we live. I guess there was a man (unsure if it was a transient or not) sitting in the front of the bus, staring oddly at my roommate and her friends. She is not one to just brush it off, and is definitely one to speak her mind. So she did, and called him out, asking why he was staring and told him to stop. He proceeded to throw a Ritz cracker at them (oooh! scary!), and then they lashed back at him some more.

He then held up a water bottle with a clear liquid in it and said, “Do you know what’s in this bottle, girl? Do you know?” or something along those lines, and then after guessing it was rubbing alcohol, he proceeded to splash all three girls with the contents, which they immediately discovered was bleach as soon as it started dying their jackets and leggings/pants that it got on. According to her, just as this happened, the bus came to a stop and the man ran off of the bus. Around 8th and Mission, the driver made everyone get off and had to report the incident, but my roommate and friends went home instead of sticking around.

Ugh.

So, as always, be careful out there. As a lady who’s been in uncomfortable transit situations time and time again: I say Kelsey’s roommate had every right to be left alone on the bus. I’ve gotten angry more times than I could count over similar issues, and I’ve had my long-suffering husband advise repeatedly to hold my tongue and be the bigger person…because it could mean being the bigger, alive person. So, do we all just stay quiet and assume everyone is carrying bleach (or worse)? What do you do when you feel threatened or angry on the bus? Sound off in the comments.