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ITP - The Rapid

torgo

By torgo
in Grand Rapids

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torgo Town

torgo

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Does this tyke mean like a job? Or maybe homework? A 12th grader is a slight step below being an adult, It is not the world's responsibility to entertain you like a 10 year old.

But if they honestly want something to do, maybe the adults in their neighborhoods should get them together and have them spend time picking up litter where they live or helping out older people with household chores. There are plenty of empty lots that need cleaning now that the snow is gone and much more spring cleaning to come. They can keep busy and keep their neighborhoods clean.

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suydam Hamlet

suydam

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Its a good idea, but it seems to me like the kids who are going to volunteer to pick up trash and help old people aren't the ones getting in fights. If they are in 12th grade, then I agree they should have an after-school job or something. That's what I did.
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chgrnative Unincorporated Area

chgrnative

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Its a good idea, but it seems to me like the kids who are going to volunteer to pick up trash and help old people aren't the ones getting in fights. If they are in 12th grade, then I agree they should have an after-school job or something. That's what I did.
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Explorer55 Whistle-Stop

Explorer55

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Any chance a Boys/Girls Club or some sort of youth center could be built or located near the transfer station? How about sending recruiters there for youth clubs/groups? Legitimate ones, of course! Or maybe fast food restaurants (or other employers) could look for new hires there, set up a table every so often to recruit and take applications. Obviously these kids know how to ride a bus, so they may have a way to get to and from work if the work is located on or near a major transit line.

Just brain-storming....

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dragt Whistle-Stop

dragt

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I really don't think this is as big a crisis as it is made out to be in the press. I ride the bus everyday on often find myself making a connection during time right after school. I actually like it because it feels (for once) like we have a vibrant transportation hub. It is not a "scary" time, and not every kid in a puffy coat and baggy pants is looking to fight someone. In fact, I've even gone down to the station during these peak times with my 4 year old to pass out water on really hot days with folks from my faith community. And you know what, most of the kids that look so hard from the outside are completly melted by a smiling curly haired four year old offering them a free bottle of water.

Could some things be done to prevent some incidents that have occured? Yup, and their working it out. Kids fighting is not new folks. It's not something that this generation invented. A certain minority of teenagers will find reasons to fight each other no matter where they are. It happened at your school, it happened in my school, it happened in the vacant lot on the way to school.

I'm not saying ignore it, but it's not as big a crises to fear as our media would like us to believe. That's all I'm sayin... ;)

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Avocado Whistle-Stop

Avocado

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Kids fighting is not new. Unfortunately, fights that involved fists a generation ago are more likely to be resolved with guns today. This weeks drive by murder of a seventeen year-old is a reminder of this. Thankfully, nothing this serious has occured at the station yet.

I ride the bus regularly and have never felt that my safety was threatened, but I think this violence is a growing problem.

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dragt Whistle-Stop

dragt

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Kids fighting is not new. Unfortunately, fights that involved fists a generation ago are more likely to be resolved with guns today. This weeks drive by murder of a seventeen year-old is a reminder of this. Thankfully, nothing this serious has occured at the station yet.

I ride the bus regularly and have never felt that my safety was threatened, but I think this violence is a growing problem.

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torgo Town

torgo

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Hey, if solving differences with guns is ok for the president of the united states, why not for our kids... I'm just sayin... don't be so quick to point the finger at the emerging generations for "this voilence"
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dragt Whistle-Stop

dragt

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Good grief, what is with the tendency lately to drag politics into everything? Not every conversation has to turn into a political debate, no matter how you feel about Bush or anyone else. There are other, more appropriate places on UP to do that. <_<

Why don't we stick to talking about ITP?

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dragt Whistle-Stop

dragt

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Well, that's a whole can of worms I think we agree on (GObama!).

I'm suggesting that the prevalence of guns makes this a larger issue than the schoolyard scrums of the past. Last summer saw an alarming number of incidences of gun violence in my south east side neighborhood, and I hope these are not the opening salvos of another season of such events. I did not mean to implicate this generation as the source of our social ills, I just don't want to dub this "not a big deal" and expect it (or the Rapid) to take care of itself.

I should mention I have not seen the television coverage of these events, but have little doubt that they have overblown it (once they tried to convince me orange juice would kill me). I just think that as a community we need to address these issues before they rise to more serious levels.

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torgo Town

torgo

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Well, we kinda are. The topic has turned to a discussion of violence that may or may not be an issue at Rapid Central Station. I was not aware that drawing attention to big picture cultural issues in order to inform some of the smaller local cutural issues was a sacred cow.

But if you'd like how bout we talk about a REALLY big problem with ITP... why can't the dang number 4 run on time! SEESH can't ever count on that route... Come on WOODTV let's have a story about how the number 4 is always missing the connection with the other routes at RCS... :angry:

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chgrnative Unincorporated Area

chgrnative

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barack obama.....my right pinky has more experience than he does....doesn't make me feel very safe. Besides anyone that hollywierd supports is not my cup of tea. Anyways the new concession/retail space in the rapid station is shaping up nice. Too bad they might not get much business if the place has to be closed for the afternoon.

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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barack obama.....my right pinky has more experience than he does....doesn't make me feel very safe. Besides anyone that hollywierd supports is not my cup of tea. Anyways the new concession/retail space in the rapid station is shaping up nice. Too bad they might not get much business if the place has to be closed for the afternoon.
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WOT Whistle-Stop

WOT

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Hmmm, can't decide if I should weigh in on this or put up the :offtopic:

I don't know that this was blown out of proportion. I think it shows the good kids, which there are many, that people in the community care about the issue and their safety, and didn't just sweep it under the rug. The RAPID has had a difficult year with all the bad publicity (Rivertown Crossings, the veiled woman denied boarding, and now the fights). It's too bad that Peter Varga has to deal with this stuff and can't work on expanding mass transit in the area like he's supposed to be.

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