Train Rider Steriotypes

living in Alaska and going to job corps really taught me a lot of what some are like, but really in Alaska, the bums there are just BAD, in fact someone even was killing them off through tainted beer lol
 
The stereotypical train hopper. Violent, Drunk, and Dumb. Yes I've met a few of these. One time in Roseville. I was drinking with some friends waiting for a northbound and there we're a couple other kids. The one's girl was passed out drunk and he says something along the lines "Yeah, go ahead a fuck her. She won't care. If you won't I will"... Agreeing with Sprout most people I do meet while traveling I'd rather avoid then actually hang out with.

I hate to say this, but lately it has become more of a trend then anything and I'm seeing college kids that picked up a copy of Evasion from Barns and Nobles hopping trains while on summer vacation. No saying these kids are bad, but really who takes their fixed gear bike on a train with them?

living in Alaska and going to job corps really taught me a lot of what some are like, but really in Alaska, the bums there are just BAD, in fact someone even was killing them off through tainted beer lol

Yes a lot of the homeless in Alaska are REALLY bad. I don't want to sound racist or stereotypical, but a lot of the homeless are Alaskan Natives, and when are drunk are extremely angry and can be unpredictable. Once smoking a bowl with one trying to be nice, next thing I knew I was get a knife pulled on me and jacked for the rest of my stash and a total of something like four dollars.

wait, what? killing puppies?!

I do that like every third Sunday, as for the smacking some hoe isn't that ok according to the bible?

That shit was just funny.
 
The stereotypical train hopper. Violent, Drunk, and Dumb. Yes I've met a few of these. One time in Roseville. I was drinking with some friends waiting for a northbound and there we're a couple other kids. The one's girl was passed out drunk and he says something along the lines "Yeah, go ahead a fuck her. She won't care. If you won't I will"... Agreeing with Sprout most people I do meet while traveling I'd rather avoid then actually hang out with.

I hate to say this, but lately it has become more of a trend then anything and I'm seeing college kids that picked up a copy of Evasion from Barns and Nobles hopping trains while on summer vacation. No saying these kids are bad, but really who takes their fixed gear bike on a train with them?

I dunno man, who just sits by and does nothing when somebody tells you they're gonna rape someone who's passed out?
Even if you're not talking about me, fuck you and that assumption. For the record I have never even seen a copy of evasion, and I started school (which I pay for) 4 years after I started traveling.
 
I dunno man, who just sits by and does nothing when somebody tells you they're gonna rape someone who's passed out?
Even if you're not talking about me, fuck you and that assumption. For the record I have never even seen a copy of evasion, and I started school (which I pay for) 4 years after I started traveling.

first off the guy was talking to me and my friends asking us if we wanted to sleep with this passed out drunk girl... we declined, and shortly after he passed out as well. if something actually did happened we would of dealt with it, nothing did. but shit like that does happen. it's fucked up i know...

secondly why are you getting so offended? all i was stating is there are a lot of these "hipster" kids traveling now. i didn't bash on it by any means. just pointing it out. i support those kids actually trying to change their outlook on life, a lot more then i do the scumfuck douche-bag trying to rape girls (which i dont).

so don't get all butt hurt about dumb shit.
 
first off the guy was talking to me and my friends asking us if we wanted to sleep with this passed out drunk girl... we declined, and shortly after he passed out as well. if something actually did happened we would of dealt with it, nothing did. but shit like that does happen. it's fucked up i know...

secondly why are you getting so offended? all i was stating is there are a lot of these "hipster" kids traveling now. i didn't bash on it by any means. just pointing it out. i support those kids actually trying to change their outlook on life, a lot more then i do the scumfuck douche-bag trying to rape girls (which i dont).

so don't get all butt hurt about dumb shit.

Bahhhh. Whatever fuck it it just really felt like you were directing that at me (I don't know anyone else who regularly rides trains with a bike, particularly a fixed gear, and definately not on this website).
 
I don't even know who you are and never seen you with a fixed gear bike hoping trains... or I might of... I've actually seen a few kids do it. Just kind of crazy to me.
 
The stereotypical train hopper. Violent, Drunk, and Dumb.

if this is your attitude, lets just go ahead and promise to never ride trains together.
stereotypes are fun to joke around with, especially with people of our ilk, but when you adapt it to that sort of mentality, then i want nothing to do with you.
 
Widerstand said:
Hmmm this is news to me, Hipsters riding trains? The only hipsters I ever see are going to cooll bar, wearing stupid clothing, and talk about bands no one has ever heard of.

I have never ever my whole life seen a hipster as I define it waiting for a train or riding a train, maybe how we define hipster is different? How do you do fine it?

Maybe not "hipster" the NYC Pabst drinking American Spirit smoking "hipster", but just college kids in general. I met a lot lately while traveling. I'd ask someone how long they've been traveling, and they'd be like oh... I'm just doing this for the summer. blah blah blah, Oh I go to..." and name off some liberal arts college. But I have seen 4 or 5 different kids with fix gears that claimed they where traveling by train.

if this is your attitude, lets just go ahead and promise to never ride trains together.
stereotypes are fun to joke around with, especially with people of our ilk, but when you adapt it to that sort of mentality, then i want nothing to do with you.

I honestly don't think that. It's just a stereotype, and I was stating that I have ran into. What the "general public" think are all train riders. The kids I do actually travel with, I have had a blast with. We do get drunk and dumb. Sometimes even get into the occasional boxing match, but we aren't robbing people at knife point and macing hookers for beer money. If though the mace idea has crossed my mind before.
 
As far as more realistic train rider stereotypes go- which does NOT mean everyone!!!- I've found the riders I've met are extremely pretentious and standoffish at first, but if you hang out with them for a bit they warm up.

Last night me and 2 friends decided to go to this hill behind our highschool and go taboozing, not expecting to really see anyone. Randomly, at 1 in the morning, 7 train riders no one knew showed up (this NEVER happens in my town). We tried to socialize for a while, but they were extremely standoffish. It took an old mattress and 2 dumpster lids to really bring us together. We rigged it all up, and 10 of us all went down couple of times, we really hit it off and started talking about the 2010 olympics, and the commonwealth and all that jazz.

It was really fun, but I would say that had people not been drinking and loosening up a bit these people would not have talked to us.
 
"So you boys hitch-hiking or what?"
"Sometimes. It's a toss-up between that or trains."
"Oh, like Amtrak?"
"Nah, more like the freight."
"Oh, gee golly! I didn't know people still did that!" [insert long rambling story about hitch-hiking or riding freight from the '60s ending with the phrase "...but it was a lot different back then."]
"Yes sir. Still keeping it alive."
[chuckle and shake of head]
"Well here's five bucks. You boys be safe now!"


Not really a stereotype, per se. But common nevertheless.
 
"So you boys hitch-hiking or what?"
"Sometimes. It's a toss-up between that or trains."
"Oh, like Amtrak?"
"Nah, more like the freight."
"Oh, gee golly! I didn't know people still did that!" [insert long rambling story about hitch-hiking or riding freight from the '60s ending with the phrase "...but it was a lot different back then."]
"Yes sir. Still keeping it alive."
[chuckle and shake of head]
"Well here's five bucks. You boys be safe now!"


Not really a stereotype, per se. But common nevertheless.

hell ya very common
 
In my experiance(as limited as it may be) its just like with any "scene". There are great people and there are not so rad people. I met a lot of nice folks on the road like Satan and Mr Mom(sweetest couple i ever met in my life), Piss, Tapes(my favourite lady in the world). And then I met some nut cases and shit desturbers whos names I will not mention cause then im just shit talking. (although i wouldnt mind a powow of shit talking these folks.....Eeeeep)

You take the good, ya take the bad, you take them both and there you have the facts of life......the facts of life.
 
Maybe not "hipster" the NYC Pabst drinking American Spirit smoking "hipster", but just college kids in general. I met a lot lately while traveling. I'd ask someone how long they've been traveling, and they'd be like oh... I'm just doing this for the summer. blah blah blah, Oh I go to..." and name off some liberal arts college. But I have seen 4 or 5 different kids with fix gears that claimed they where traveling by train.

Well, being that this is sort of my plan for the future, with the exception of your generalizations about drinking and smoking, my plan is to go to college after high school (yeah... probably a liberal arts school or a small community college) and travel whenever I can; I'm not quite sure why this is looked down upon so much. I don't think it makes me a hipster (i certainly don't dress like one), but whatever you would classify someone like me as, I can't be held accountable for my interests verses my social background in wanting to jump trains or live a certain lifestyle, any more than someone who was raised below the lower middle class can be held accountable for their social background in wanting to work a high-end paying job which would place them upwardly mobile in the modern class system capitalism has created.
 
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