Cruising Capp Street with the Essefficist
Oh Cwap! It's raining like a mofo out there! Maybe you can't stay dry, but at least you've got the Essefficist to keep you warm.
We've got two questions today. The first one's right out of Dear Abby:
Dear Essefficist-
My eleven-year-old daughter dresses like a whore. What can I do about it?
-Christie
Oh, Christie, you know we all have these kinds of problems sometimes. All we can really tell you is that girls will be girls and teenagers will be teenagers. She'll get over it. Console yourself with the thought that at least you don't have to change her diapers anymore. (And by the way, here's something fun, relevant, and, hopefully for Christie, comforting, that you find if you Google "eleven year old.")
Moving on to a slightly more serious realm, here's a question from someone you know and love:
So at eleven o'clock last night I was walking home with my friend Bayete after picking up some Thai food. I'm as white as they come and still wearing my work clothes -- black sweater, slacks, shoes. Bayete, who's black, is wearing a down jacket, jeans, and a bandana. So it's cold, late, I'm tired and a little tipsy, and decide to hail a cab. A taxi comes down 24th heading east from Mission, I flag it, he slows down, as I begin to walk up, Bayete follows, and suddenly the cab darts away. Needless to say, I'm not pleased. Some things were shouted after him to the effect of "You racist motherf**ker."
So my question is, what's the best way to lay the smackdown on cab driving bigots? Can I call some city commission, report the incident, time, location and car number and walk away knowing that this guy's going to at least get fined or maybe lose his badge? Or do I need to have video taped evidence, fill out lots of paperwork and attend hearings?
Anotsfistjacksonymous
Ouch. Not being Travis Bickle ourselves, we turned to our good friend Jerkowitz, a longtime San Francisco cabdriver, who gave us the skinny.
Here's what he wrote:
I will say, as a cabbie, I think that most drivers who refuse to pick up black folks are immigrants and are unable to tell the difference between middle-class or bourgeois black folk and ghetto-ass niggers who are going to be a potential threat to your peace-of-mind, your livelihood, and potentially your life. In defense of all cab drivers out there, it is a dangerous job because you carry around a small load of cash money and invite total strangers into your car for 10 or 11 hours at a time.
Once you have taken all this into consideration, SFPD has a special detail to handle the world of the taxista. You can call in a complaint 24 hours a day at (415) 553-1447. Or you can visit the SF Taxi Commission's website.
You file a formal complaint, and, for the cab driver, it becomes a real pain in the ass: a telephone conversation with a police officer about how you f-d up, a day-long lecture at 850 Bryant with a whole room full of screw-up cab-drivers, and potentially the loss of your job.
Sounds alright, even if Jerkowitz's analysis of race relations and immigrant assimilation here the United States of America might leave a little bit to be desired. But it seems like if you really want to get that guy down to 850 Bryant for a day, though, you're probably going to have to do a little bit more than just call the Taxi Detail. Oh, the beauty of paperwork. But at least that phonecall should get the ball rolling.
In a half-hearted attempt to be thorough, we called a few cab companies to get their take on this. From what they say, one gets the impression that if you want to get a driver in trouble for doing dumb stuff like that, it would probably be a good idea to call the his company too. And oh, they also gave us a different number for the SFPD Taxi Detail: 553-1536. The other number goes straight to a general computer voicemail system at the Taxi Detail. This one goes right to someone's personal voicemail there.
Had enough? Good. But just in case you reconsider and you wanna come back later to get some more info on the everyday things going on around you all the time, e-mail your questions about San Francisco or your own exciting life to the Essefficist (or just post 'em in the comments). And remember, rain for a week straight equals bored and broke housepainters. And remember this too: the Grabbo Arm demands respect.