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Once again, people with red berets ride the T
By adamg on Sat, 01/14/2017 - 9:15am
A group of people taking inspiration from the old Guardian Angels have started patrolling Boston and the T: The Boston Arch Angels. In recruiting fliers posted on the Red Line, they vow to deter crime, make citizens arrests and provide first aid.
H/t Ron Newman.
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Comments
Wow, I didn't realize things
Wow, I didn't realize things had gotten that bad.
Haven't you heard? Our nation
Haven't you heard? Our nation's cities are hellholes where nobody but criminals dare to go.
Weirdos
Had the red line car i was on yesterday "protected" by these guys. They make the ride REALLY uncomfortable.
Why?
Is the T really that unsafe? I've been commuting on the T for over a decade and I don't think I've ever witnessed a crime. These dummies just want to feel important.
My experience is different
I also have been riding the Red Line for many years, mostly in Dorchester and downtown. I've seen bloody beatings, harassment of women, racial harassment by whites on blacks and blacks on whites, harassment of gays, fist fights, and physical confrontations between police and teenage students, with a cop slamming an aggressive student against a wall. I have not witnessed, but am very aware of street crime near all of the Dorchester Red Line stations, day and night.
I don't see this kind of stuff every day, but it happens.
That having been said, these guys in their funny red hats don't make me feel any safer.
T
It's dangerous on the orange line south of Ruggles.
Oh, yeah, those JP hipsters will cut you
As an Orange Line regular (not five days a week, but two or three) who takes the train all the way to Forest Hills, um, no, I'm not real concerned about my health while on a train.
While it's not Mayberry
It's also not NYC in the 70's. In the past 5 years of daily travel, I've had one guy that think about trying to mug me (he was doped up on something that made him slow, so I just walked away quickly) and a crazy woman threaten to stab me.
Needed The Guardian Mechanics, Not The GuardianAngels
Perhaps a few people with good train repair experience to supplement those already doing their job might make the Red Line better than these Silwaites.
To compliment what someone else said above. The Guardian Angels rode the T in the Mid-80's and I felt better without them than with them. They used to stand by the doors loading over the car and poking their heads out at each stop. Thanks for holding up the ride buddy, but we're ok here.
I feel sad for some of these
I feel sad for some of these guys since they look to be former addicts just trying to do the right thing. But Boston doesn't need another Miracle at this moment: it needs jobs and opportunities for the disenfranchised. God bless these folks,though, for trying to do good
We don't live in the Bronx...
...in 1983.
Next we'll have Curtis Sliwa making pronouncements in front of the State House and Morton Downey jr will rise from the grave.
This is all so silly.
See Something Do Something
Thank you for doing something about safety on the subways. Your biggest problems will be resistance from MBTA management for bringing to light to crime and drug problems on the MBTA. Expect media stories in the next week calling you a bunch of untrained vigilantes riding the rails. The MBTA will also do a few puff pieces telling riders that crime is at its lowest in thirty years. Thank you Adam for posting the video which will start a conversation on how to make the subways safer. The MBTA should provide the angels with free passes when they ride the system.
Their motive is commendable
But if you think crime on the T is out of control, the answer is more trained cops, not some out of shape middle aged people with no training who will not come out of a fight in good condition.
and
who arent trained in deescalation like police are.
either way, im looking forward to hearing about these guys making stuff worse
This ^^^
Bingo!
Way to be the "problem" that you are trying to solve.
Yes and no
We definitely need more civilians who have vowed to speak up and not let up if they see harassment, intimidation, fights, domestic abuse, etc., since this tends to be what people (especially women and racial minorities) fear on transit rather than the very infrequent acts of serious violence.
But I can do without the quasi-military aspect of this and the "taking the law into our own hands" mentality. This type of action has been necessary in times and places where the official government is actively refusing to act, and actively endorses racism, sexism, bigotry, etc. (I'm thinking especially of Black-led groups that built schools and food pantries and mental health organizations in the south in the '40s-'60s when it was acceptable for police and social services organizations to just turn people of color away, and queer-led movements that did similar.) This isn't to say there aren't problems with policing and government, but I don't think we're at a point at least in Boston where people need to start a quasi-police/quasi-military movement. The part about "will make citizens arrests" scares me. I would hope that all decent people who are able would join together to detain someone they witness assaulting someone, but going out there with that intention bothers me.
Why not instead start a peacekeeping group that just wears pins or shirts stating that they will speak up and video any instances of harassment or hostile behavior, escort people to safe places, etc.?
When called by a panther
Don't anther
Don't hold your breath waiting for anyone,
regardless of gender, making a citizen's arrest or attempting to stop a bad situation. A 'townie' [read: local], yeah, it's possible; a hipster, 20 plus year old 'professional', college student (meh, maybe dudes might)....not a chance. They'll either give everyone the stinkeye, attempt to use their phone camera, or pretend nothing is going on, with their head buried in their phone. Afterwards, they'll go online and post a missive on some blog like uhub.
They should drop the whole
They should drop the whole citizen's arrest business. In Massachusetts, citizens arrest's can only be used in cases where someone has, in fact, committed a felony and not a misdemeanor. If the person ends up innocent then they can turn around and sue for violation of civil liberties. So instead of providing police with information that could help convict a criminal, they just end up mucking up the works and hurting themselves in the process.
Citizen's arrest
given that more cops on the t
given that more cops on the t is not happening, nor is it likely to happen, and these guys can't make it happen, then what?
Adorable!
(obligatory "adorable!" comment)
Sarcasm
I'll save the "Adorable" comment for when these guys rescue a kitten or beat the shit out of some innocent guy because they assumed he was up to no good.
I'm guessing the latter will happen before the former.
(Sorry Elmer)
Adorable!
I want this guarding me at
I want this guarding me at all times
I want a squad!
Marching and changing the guards and what not. Bad ass.
Code name?
Yeah, but does kitty have a code name nobody can quite get straight?
Did that guy say he lost 3 of
Did that guy say he lost 3 of his parents???
losing 3 parents
I'm no fan of what they are doing, but had to respond to this. If you've been partially raised by a step parent and lose them, or lost your parents as a child and then been parented by good foster or adoptive parents, you think of those new parents as real parents. In those cases, yes you can lose a third parent.
My father married a widow with two children. He eventually adopted them. She died when they'd been married 10 years. When he dies, they will have lost 3 parents.
Extraordinary
To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.
To lose three ... enemy action?
Operation Hobo Vengeance
Be warned, evildoers, they've got bindles! They're all armed with MD 20/20s!
One wonders how many jumps an Arch Angel has to do to earn that Parachutist Badge on the beret. This is obviously a crack squad--a Sterno squad at the very least.
Please watch the video
You will see a group of individuals who lost loved ones to violence or to the heroin crisis. Instead of playing the blame game they are doing something positive. They should be applauded not mocked.
They are not doing something positive
They are doing something that is irrelevant at best, and will have very negative consequences as they are not trained, are there to fight, and have no oversight as to who they pick on or why.
Sorry for their loss, but they're acting out
I disagree. Their efforts are misdirected. Their behavior may result in some short-term gratification -- it may make them feel better, in the moment -- but if they were really "doing something positive', why would they ever stop? And they will stop -- they always have. I think this is the third time that I've seen them cycle through Boston; they come and they go. So, if we proceed from the assumption that the Guardian Angels are each and every one sincerely motivated by their personal losses of dear ones to violence or addiction, I think it's reasonable to conclude that they're not finding the answers they seek in the Guardian Angels -- otherwise they wouldn't quit.
Hmmmm....
1. I suspect most if not all of these folks met each other in 12 Step recovery. That could be a positive.
2. The T is running a campaign which is an extension of the see something say something campaign. Who has noticed the signs identifying instances of potential violence of which have a twist?
3. There are folks who want to do violence and are open to any opportunity. I have encountered them. Put a person looking for excuse against a person who is having a bad day and potentially nitro meets glycerine and shakes up.
4. Are there enough T police? Not if the goal is to enforce all T regulations. Perhaps if the willingness to be violent is decreased by the presence of folks who are communicating a willingness to step in where there is a problem then T police can deal with the quality of life issues such as kids who are just being kids but are being a pain to everyone else, folks playing radios at loud volumes and even encouraging riders to move to the middle of the train car or bus.
5. The T can be dangerous for thievery. That is why T police warn against using cell devices in on the T. You're a target for somebody who wants to steal an iPhone. Does this happen? Ask the T police.
6. Would I feel safer or less safe? If I believed that the folks truly are wanting to help maintain then perhaps. Unfortunately I don't trust my fellow T riders to be willing to speak up when problems arise. So maybe we either need folks who wear colorful outfits - or more T police (but that costs more money).
thumbs up
If only I could thumbs this up many more times.
these folks met each other in
why is that a positive? AA is a religious cult.
Any reason why they're Arch Angels and not Gaurdian Angels
I might have missed it, but are the Arch Angels, with their similar mission and near identical uniforms associated with the long established and presumably better funded and trained Guardian Angels? I see the Guardian Angels are still going strong elsewhere. Was this group denied a Guardian Angels chapter or just copying?
I'm also curious on how Commissioner Evans and Chief Best feel about this group. IIRC, when the Guardian Angels made occasional appearances in the city in the past, there was some hostility. However well intentioned, I give this group a few months before they get bored and fade away.
Who's Chief Best?
Which one of the hundred police forces in the city is he in charge of?
On a serious note what is the mission of the Arch Angels
1) Help the homeless and provide them with blankets
2) Administer first aid and provide narcan to those in need
3) Report and deter crime by riding the subway lines
I agree that the Guardian angels uniforms are a little over the top but so are transit cops armed with rifles and jumpsuits not to mention motorcycles and bicycles.
Captain at Amtrak Police, former Deputy Supt. of T Police
My guess is he would have some say at North and South Stations. I'm also curious what Chief Green, current Chief of MA Transit Police would say about the Arch Angels.
Some criminals rely on the
Some criminals rely on the code silence or people being to scared to intervene (for good reason). I feel its a deterrent for some possible bad intentions if they knew someone is around that can call the police or be a good witness. Me personally, starting out as teen age girl on the train, to now, I have no problem with that. Clearly still I can recall 2 instances where they may have came in handy. If the T has a problem with this, maybe they need to increase their own presence inside the stations. And I concur with the poster above about the Red Line. Starting at Downtown Crossing though.
I wish these folks well
In other endeavors besides this Arch Angel nonsense.