Awful

By now you may have read about the horrific incident on a Greyhound bus in Canada. I feel really bad for the 19-year-old that was just sleeping there and randomly lost his life to a psycho.

I don't want to stereotype, but some weird stuff happens on those buses. I should say I've also had some very uneventful Greyhound rides, and I do like riding on their buses. But there aren't metal detectors or anything to prevent weapons (I'm sure that will change now). I guess it's been good that lines to get on the bus move fast, but I think those days are over.

Airplanes require a lot more mental competence. You have to somehow get to the airport, which is usually located in a far-out place, then get there early, then check your bags, show ID, and go through the metal detectors.

Anyone can get on a bus, and oh, they do. The buses have been stopped in the middle of trips because someone smokes in the bathroom, and they wait for a state trooper to show up and remove the person. Or some worse nonsense happens.

I would guess that on most of the rides, nothing happens. In fact, I traveled to Maine and back on Greyhound twice in 1999, 12 hours each way, and it was fine. I also went to Boston several times on their buses for only $40 round trip, and had no problem. I'm glad the buses exist as a way to travel cheaply.

But there are probably going to be greater security checks now.

And everyone will want to sit near the front, so maybe it'll be less likely that someone will attack them. Although of course it won't always help.

Do you want to bet that Google will put Greyhound ads above today's entry? Well, I don't have any beef with the company, I'm just saying that riding the bus will probably take more time now, but hopefully be safer. Maybe it will keep people from transporting guns, knives, etc.

Update: A close member of my family reports that they actually do metal detector tests of people going on long-distance trips, with the wand...but they don't do everyone. And sometimes they stop when the bus arrives. Also, this happened in Canada, so not really sure if the procedure is the same there.

Update II: From a news report:

Greyhound bus passengers in the United States are subject to random security checks, but there's no such system in Canada, the company said yesterday.
"Due to the rural nature of our network, airport-type security is not practical," said Greyhound spokesman Abby Wambaugh.
But passengers horrified by the brutal stabbing and beheading aboard a bus travelling from Edmonton to Winnipeg say the company has to do something to prevent attacks.

Anyway...

The victim has been identified as Tim McLean, 22. Now he doesn't get to live the rest of his life. It's sad when anyone young dies. He really didn't deserve that.