Journalism is Dead Here

Here we go again. We're still getting beat up while operating, and not a peep from our local media. We're only featured in the "news" when accused of doing something wrong. Meanwhile, criminals are punching their way through our ranks as if they're not satisfied until they get us all.

It's frustrating when there's even arguments within our own ranks as to how many assaults there have been. We argue over what constitutes an assault, and I've heard some of us argue for management's lame case that "overall, crime on the system is down." Oh, come on. We're nearing the end of 2018's second month, and I've heard of 20 incidents of threats, endangerment and assaults upon us. At just under 10 per month, we could reach 120 by the end of this year. Just two years ago, we had 55.

In fairness, management has taken some positive steps. A committee (one of its favorite things) of operators and managerial personnel was appointed to study the problem. I applaud my brothers and sisters who volunteered to serve, because they give us all a voice which is hopefully heard and honored. Although controversial, a decision to install protective barriers was made in an attempt to protect us. Unfortunately, it also cuts us off from the majority of passengers who are decent and law-abiding customers. I guess it's a wash, though. Something is better than nothing. However, management would rather sacrifice the truth for watered-down statistics to back up their "crime is down" propaganda.

Transit worker assault isn't just a local problem. I just watched a news clip about increasing Bay Area operator assaults. It's a nationwide epidemic, and it's not just in the USA. Our Canadian brother Irvine Fraser from Winnipeg was murdered last year when he woke a sleeping passenger at the end of the line. A New Jersey operator, Ryon Jackson, was shot on the job, allegedly by his ex-girlfriend, last summer. There are more incidents, but details are not the point here.

Once again, our management fails to protect us. How? They allow the media to portray us in a negative light by A) not reporting full and complete statistics; B) by releasing statements that further cast us in shadow, such as "we do not condone..." when it hasn't been proven that an operator in question actually committed an alleged offense; C) by not standing up and boldly proclaiming that it will pursue each aggressor to the full extent of the law; and D) by not insisting the state legislature protect us with strict sentencing guidelines for assailants, or permanently excluding anyone who has been proven to assault one of us.

It's maddening to see our own management making us look bad by not adhering to the American judiciary's code that we are innocent until proven guilty. Allowing us to be skewered by the bloodthirsty media without management's full confidence and support is an insult to those who make their jobs possible. It's also a collective character assassination upon those who face imminent danger every day while ferrying fellow Portlanders to their destinations.

When any yahooligan makes an accusation against one of us, the media jumps on it. They also fail to report when an operator is cleared of any wrongdoing. One would think it reasonable that assaults on transit workers qualifies as a newsworthy item. Its silence is deafening.

Investigative journalism is dead here, as it is nationwide. News is now opinion-based, and facts are debated. It should be the other way around. I guess I was taught the craft when journalism was actually an honorable profession. Boy, how times have changed.