Someone give this guy a job in the MTA.

Okay, stealing trains is bad. Impersonating transit workers, also against the law. But this guy knows everything about trains. I read that he stole an E train and took it to the World Trade Center and all I could think was, "He knew that the E goes to the World Trade Center!"

I think this man needs to be watched so he doesn't steal trains anymore, but if he knows everything about the NYC subway system, AND he knows how to safely drive these trains, why can't they give him a job in the MTA? He has skills - why not utilize them instead of arresting him? If people don't feel comfortable having him as a conductor, then he can at least be a greeter, standing at stations, giving people directions, particularly on the days when there are track changes (so basically every other day).

Sigh. It makes me sad to read these stories. There have to be ways to employ people's skills when they don't fit into normal society, you know?

On a lighter note, sharing this article got my dad to tell me about his favorite subway person from back when he lived in Manhattan. He was a black guy who played the saxophone terribly and wore plastic antennae on his head. He'd say, "I play the saxophone! I am from outer space! If you give me money I will stop playing the saxophone, go back to my planet and I will take Reagan with me! But you have to give me money or I won't stop!" And then he'd play so badly that people would pay him to stop.

The debate going on in the autism lj community really makes me angry. Maybe I'm missing the entire point of this person's post, but I thought she was seeking support because she was scared of having a child with autism; she has two autistic siblings and sometimes it runs in the family. Instead of trying to assuage her worry, people jumped all over because how DARE she not want an autistic child, is there something wrong with her, how dare she want to change people with autism blah blah blah.

I really, really don't understand this kind of attitude. I can love my brother and be proud of him, but that doesn't mean I want any of my children to have autism. If I do have an autistic child someday, I'll love him or her as much as I would love a normal child, but I'm not praying, "Dear Lord, please let one of my children be autistic so he can be a slave to his obsessive-compulsive behavior, have periods of aggression and hysteria, hit people because he can't communicate with words why he's angry, and be unable to have healthy social interactions so he won't have any close friends." I wouldn't change Daniel for the world, but I don't think this poor woman should be condemned for wanting a life for her child that was inaccessible to her siblings.

There's a debate about autism in _paixamour_'s journal . Some people really need to do their research before they start talking about developmental disabilities. Not _paixamour_, but the person attempting to argue with her/insult her. At first this whole thing got me really angry, but now I'm just amused. People make such idiots of themselves when they don't know what they're talking about.