Dear kids...

[freedude2012]

I'm writing this cause I've become fucking disgusted with the state of the traveler scene and feel some things need to be said about traveling in general, so here goes.

NO ONE OWES YOU ANYTHING!!!! "Fuck you pay me" is supposed to be a joke, not an actual lifestyle choice. I don't care how fucked your parents where, or how many people have a status advantage over you. You are only worth what you've earned. Whenever someone hands you money for sitting on your ass or holding a piece of cardboard, count it as a blessing. Flying signs is not ""work," busking is not "work," work is busting your ass. That $ you make panhandling doesn't belong to anyone, especially not you, you're just blessed to be in possession of it for a short period of time. In some parts of mexico, skilled carpenters make under $1 /hr. The fact that you can get drunk all day sitting on a street corner drinking $5-7 sidewalk slams is a testament to how great this country really is.

YOU HAVE NO GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO BE A BUM!! In many many countries on this planet the transient life is near impossible. Refusing to work can get you imprisoned or killed all over the world. No matter how low you are in American society, you still have it better than literally millions and millions of people.

TRAINS ARE NOT FOR TRENDY PUNK KIDS! Train hopping is for people who straight up can not live in normal society. Trains kill, trains are dirty, trains drop you out at sidings in the middle of nowhere, trains take you places you wish you've never been. Just because you've read all the threads on stp doesn't mean you know shit. Its not an easy road, and the last thing the traveler community needs is a bucha kids from the burbs trying to prove how "punk rawk" they are.

TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT HOW LONG YOU'VE BEEN ON THE ROAD!!! I have 1000x more respect for the kid who'll tell me that they took off from there mom's house a month ago and rode the greyhound then the fake ass punk kid lying about how long they've been traveling and where they've been. Whether you realize it nor not, real travelers see through your bullshit in a second.

GETTING DRUNK IN THE SAME CITY EVERYDAY DOES NOT MAKE YOU A TRAVELER!!! I don't care if you don't have a shopping cart, if you just spange the same places and get drunk in the same city /town /county, you're a fucking homebum. Deal with it.

SHARE BITCH!! Like I said earlier, that money doesn't belong to you. If you got something for nothing, fucking share it with other people who have nothing. Some of the most generous people I've met where also straight up junkies. Few things piss me off more than someone banking with a sign who then hoard it for themselves as if they earned it legitly. Don't worry, what comes around goes around, I'm living proof.

CLEAN UP YOUR SHIT!! One of the main reasons towns get harsh on travelers is because of the fucking messes you kids leave. Leaving trash at the spot you where just flying is a HUGE insult to the people who just helped you out.

I could go on and on, but these are main things I've been seeing a lot of lately that I feel need to be addressed. Oh, and all you tweakers can't drop dead soon enough as far as I'm concerned. Just please don't do it on a train.

im new to the seane and i agree 110% and ive done my research on my own for the most part b4 headin out on my first trip so i kinda have somesort of idea of what to expect and shit but what i dont get is how some of us can get to a point in their life that they jus say "fuck it and fuck you, you owe me" life aint that way its give and recive and the accassional take but only when nessary. were all out there tryin to make it and im not sayin things blindly i have a past and it anit a pretty past by no meens (ive been to hell, lived on the streets THE WRONG WAY, in the ditch bleedin, ect.and worse and im lucky to be alive) so i feel the best way to live is free and to help out the others in need aswell EVEN IF YOU DONT HAVE MUCH TO SHARE i guess what im tryin to say is we our one gaint fam so we should act like one and not like a bunch of loners that really dont give a shit.

 

[RubyOutlaw]

Yay! I am glad someone put this out there. As a reformed asshole loser I see the shit I used to do in kids now and it makes me sick...some things come with age or experience. And it is always nice to see that there are other travelers out there who work to support their traveling as well. This has been my method for some time now and I prefer it to constantly having to stand on the corner with a fucking sign.

 

[Kim Chee]

i remain respectful though. and i actually REFUSE to get drunk while flying a sign or spanging.

^people have been screwing up the whole panhandling deal by being visibly drunk during their "work hours".

I know a popular offramp where homebums fly a sign. The offramp is circular and leads to a busy street with a traffic light. Well this circular offramp encircles a tree where homebums who are waiting their turn to fly cardboard wait (and drink their beers). These drinking homebums are also in plain view of those who are in a position to offer them a "kick". Might as well fly a sign telling people about what kind of beverage you are short on rather than tell people that you are a homeless, helpless, pos who needs to eat and then drink in front of them. Fucking OOOOOOOGS!

 

[daveycrockett]

this is why i travel and remain by my self.

 

[A2low240]

this is why i travel and remain by my self.

Exactly.

 

[bytheway]

As somebody who has put up travelers near a jump point for over seven years, I have had it with getting taken advantage of, being manipulated, having shit stolen, broken, left a mess and dirty needles left lying around. For years we met great people, shared our stuff with them (and we don't have a lot) and had positive experiences, but the last few batches of folks that have come through have treated us like shit and our kindness like we owed it to them. We know there are good folks out there who want to live this life of adventure and we want them to come through and share their stories and their lives with us, but the shit-heads need to stop being the norm for us to want to do this anymore.

 

[Matt Derrick]

As somebody who has put up travelers near a jump point for over seven years, I have had it with getting taken advantage of, being manipulated, having shit stolen, broken, left a mess and dirty needles left lying around. For years we met great people, shared our stuff with them (and we don't have a lot) and had positive experiences, but the last few batches of folks that have come through have treated us like shit and our kindness like we owed it to them. We know there are good folks out there who want to live this life of adventure and we want them to come through and share their stories and their lives with us, but the shit-heads need to stop being the norm for us to want to do this anymore.

agreed. overall as a community we need to start making it clear that being a wasteoid/drunk/junkie isn't cool and we won't tolerate them. maybe we can make this movement of shitty kids die out. i certainly hope so.

 

[wizehop]

This is all great,

The shity thing is that most riders don't come online to read stuff like this. Of all the good folks I know and have ridden with over the years I am the only one who comes on forums ext.(okay actually a couple do, but even then rarely).
Although I think this is where mentor-ship and actively playing a part in who comes up in the ranks is key.

Its almost like you need to be posting this shit on grainer porches or something.To be honest though the only real runts Ive ever had to deal with have been online. But I try to avoid large groups these days, just want my peace and quiet.

 

[Beegod Santana]

Fuck it, I retire.

 

[Earth]

This is by far the best thread I have read yet, which the initial post really nailed solid.
Some real good points made, especially the one where many riders are not on line, because they are not on line.
The folks I know out here living in the wild have no internet, because that would go against their living in the wild.

I mentioned from time to time since I've been on this forum how initially we (when I was still with my woman) were in a situation which could have - actually should have - allowed us to provide lodging for travelers (in her case), and a place for touring bands to get some live 16 track time (in my case) since we had two houses side by side for about a year.
But this never came to be, partially because I was not digging the idea of having her (*for a month, it was our) place get destroyed (since I hooked her up with the homestead to begin with) and the notion of (again) recording acts that can't get it together turned me off to that idea as well...

Unfortunately, the whole thing's become super trendy, which ruins it for everyone.
Anyone here remember the tail end of the first wave hardcore scene cira 1982, 1983??
Once it blew up and the people we hated suddenly turned skinhead, we all got the fuck out.
Same thing's happening within the traveling community....

Count me out.

 

[ipoPua]

i haven't been on the road myself quite yet(19 days!!) but of the few travellers ive met it was pretty much half and half re: douchebags/good kids ratio. i'm no doosh personally and i wouldnt wanna hang out with anyone who is. i just wanna see beautiful things and relax, i don't wanna riot or get trashed(usually). i dunno i guess this response is pointless but i'm just trying to say dont give up faith in the youth, there's pricks in every generation.

 

[Keno Star]

Those who do not weep, do not see.

 

[gigglzzzz]

i completly aggree with that. its so true, and i fucking hate all the kids that sit on there ass drinking all day, and being a bitch to everyone. not only does it give the ones who actually care and who arent just fuck faces a bad name, but it is fucking anoying. i travled with a few of them, and they got no where, and there life was pathetic. i ditched them, cause too much bad carma was around them, and i wasnt about to get mixed in with it

 

[gigglzzzz]

i haven't been on the road myself quite yet(19 days!!) but of the few travellers ive met it was pretty much half and half re: douchebags/good kids ratio. i'm no doosh personally and i wouldnt wanna hang out with anyone who is. i just wanna see beautiful things and relax, i don't wanna riot or get trashed(usually). i dunno i guess this response is pointless but i'm just trying to say dont give up faith in the youth, there's pricks in every generation.

aggreed. i got extremly depressed when i first hit the road, seeing all the kids who dont give a shit and are just pricks, cause it made it seem that there really isnt any potential in the nomads life other than what you can do by yourself at a house.

 

[Matt Derrick]

[medio]656[/medio]

pretty much says it all, since the "crusty traveler kid" scene has largely become a joke. have faith though, there are still plenty of good travelers around!

 

[NMNM]

[medio]656[/medio]

pretty much says it all, since the "crusty traveler kid" scene has largely become a joke. have faith though, there are still plenty of good travelers around!

HA!

 

[ChrisKCMD]

I'm trying to get back into the traveling life. As a former drunken junkie idiot I have a big desire to do it all over again and enjoy the life while respecting myself an others. I really need to establish some new contacts on here so I don't find myself back in the rut of riding from city to city and getting stuck due to being fcked up and acting like a fool. Thanks for this post

 

[Diablero]

Something has largely gone horribly wrong in the last few years...

The crusty kid scene has likely gone the way of the original skateboarding scene ie pre-commercial vs post-commercial and mainstream...

In the last year to two years every crusty kid I've come across has been a total disrespectful little fuck, trashing shit, fucking up the local scene for all travelers, etc a long list of shit. Because of asinine crusty kids, most dumpsters now are locked, have bleach poured on the items inside and most places have installed cameras [some have 3 cameras trained on the dumpsters] and this is in addition to the locked fences [some are even barbed wire where law permits]. Prior to crusty kids coming in and fucking shit up, none of this was like this. You could go and dive and no one really care and now if you're anywhere near a dumpster for any reason the cops get called because too many people have dumpster dived and trashed the lots and even the building with garbage.

The fences went up and the locks on the fences and they hopped the fences in broad daylight, cut locks at night and continued to make messes and trash lots and buildings while being loud obnoxious dicks.

They locked the dumpster [which meant many places had to buy newer dumpsters] and the same shit continued so now cameras and bleached items are the norm.

In addition to this, the bridges have very tall and barbed wire fences all around because of too much trashing [it was getting pretty brutal] and too much vandalism of the bridges, so those spots are gone, which unfortunately went along with many of the public fishing areas for the same reasons.

Sleeping in parks used to be ignored as long as you kept it at night and out of sight. If a cop found you, they ask a question or two and leave you alone for the night. Now because many homebums were rolled for their stuff or stupid reasons along with some people getting harassed and mugged, now you get arrested for vagrancy,disorderly and other various laws and ordinances if you get caught sleeping or even walking in the parks after hours. Now it just got worse recently cuz some crust kid stabbed an elderly man when he was tweaking out bad.

I used to be able to walk the tracks to take shortcuts to and from various areas while avoiding massive foot traffic as well as many spots to wait for trains. Now since crust kids have fucked shit up in various ways, you get arrested for trespassing [since legally the tracks are considered railroad property] if a cop sees you. They've also cleared all the brush and trees from the sides of the tracks and near yards leaving little cover.

I can thoroughly say ignorant crust kids have fucked up a good thing even just locally.

Trying to jump on a train moving quite quickly and then getting thrown under the train and getting maimed or killed is also what spurred a lot of the RR changes that have been made.

In just under 2 years time, the whole scene around here has been severely compromised.

What also pisses me off is the attitude problem a lot of the ones I've come across have.

You try to chat them up and see what's going on, if they need anything or need info or etc before kicking anything down and they mouth off and act obnoxious. So it's like whatever, fuck you too. I try to kick down what I can if people are being decent. I share what I can when I can but only if people aren't being dicks.

They sit downtown and just heckle the fuck out of passerbys left and right because they didn't make shit the first 20 minutes. Half the time this happens they're not even flying signs they're just shouting at people for money while insulting every person they feel needs to be insulted. Half of the time they're wasted while doing this.

I've also often seen them fly signs, get what the signs ask for then throw shit back at people and tell them to fuck off and demand money or something else the sign didn't specify or they didn't originally ask for.

It's just gotten ridiculous, period.

 

[ChrisKCMD]

Glad I found STP so when I get fully immersed again, I can hopefully cross paths with you decent folks on here. Thanks!

 

[fenriswolf]

NUFF SAID!!