So, as promised, some further thoughts on the June 6th rally and the hearing that followed.

First of all, I have to say, the more I think about it, the more disappointed I am that no representatives from the GLBT community saw fit to put in an appearance. After a mention in this blog, Traniwreck founder Aliza Shapiro contacted me, saying, in part, “[I] would be happy to talk to [you] about collaborations. Drop me an email.” I did, although “collaboration” is an awfully big, flashy word for what I had in mind.

Not a peep from Miss Aliza Shapiro after that. Not one little dickey bird.

A shame, really, because I would love to have seen a fabulous queen in full drag give testimony at the hearing. But that’s just my own little fantasy, and I probably should not be airing it here. These hearings don’t have enough glamour, though, that’s for sure.

The closest we came to fabulocity this time around was that chick with the ‘fro straight out of a blaxploitation flick who went on in an eerily calm, slightly froggy voice for fifteen minutes about a cast of characters including an Omar Jones, a Marvin Jones, and a Willie May, who sexually harassed her on a bus and then “created The Lie” to cover it up. To her credit, when the T representative in charge interrupted her to tell her he was unable to address the issue here, she replied, unperturbed, in that same calm cadence, “I know you can’t, but people need to know.” And then, to boisterous applause: “It’s related to what you said about your ‘friendly service.’” Ouch. That shut him up, and emboldened her to go one for another ten minutes or so.

Ah, life’s rich pageant! Usually these public meetings have at minimum a 3:1 ratio of crazies to concerned citizens, so this was an exceptional hearing in that respect. Their participation makes for a worthy spectacle of sorts, but unfortunately it has the cumulative effect of justifying the cynicism that is so often a part of such proceedings.

What do I mean by crazies? I’m being somewhat liberal with the label here. But there were a couple of people at the hearing on Tuesday who I think were bona fide nutcases, regardless of how real their grievances were. And they obviously had grievances against the T that were likely legitimate, that they have been nursing–for years, it seems. And they show up at public hearings periodically to get publicity for their “cause.”

When they step up to the mic and get going, you soon realize they inhabit one of those worlds within worlds–so individual and labyrinthine—there is no way to get there from here, and no way for them to get here from there. They bang on relentlessly, telling their mostly unintelligible stories, and all we can glean from them is that they have been terribly wronged and that there is no recourse for them and no justice because no one understands them and no one cares.

It is a poignant part of almost every public meeting like this. Inevitable to the point of ritual.

The hearing was held in the mezzanine meeting room in the Johnson Building of the Boston Public Library, a room that can hold only 100 people, whereas there is an auditorium in the building (the Rabb lecture hall) which can accommodate almost four times that. While there were not four hundred people, there were more than a hundred, and many were locked out of the hearing, forced to wait in the corridor until those who had signed up to speak had said their piece and left. As one speaker left, one person waiting to enter was allowed in. But not given the opportunity to speak.

Many did not hesitate to question the MBTA’s motives in booking such a small room, and holding the hearing so early in the day, making it as difficult as possible for people to attend. State Senator Jarrett Barrios called the proceedings “cynical,” a point I echoed in my own comments for the record, and in retrospect, one I would apply as much to Deval Patrick’s cursory appearance there as to the MBTA’s.

Patrick showed no real interest in the details of the proposal, and his contention that with higher gas prices the T should be recruiting drivers to mass transit conveniently ignores the T’s own dependence on petrol. It just doesn’t address a very central part of the problem. His speech was pure populist pap. Which isn’t to say I won’t vote for him in the fall. He’s still the cutest candidate on the ballot.

Senator Barrios, on the other hand, has done his research. But while I guess he’s cute enough, unfortunately the consensus seems to be that he’s not quite as cute as Deval Patrick. It’s funny. Once the testimy got under way, the MBTA called on any public officials present to comment first. And up strides Deval, who, despite a high public profile, is not a public official as of yet. So Barrios had to wait until Deval had done his bit before he could get the floor.

Barrios, a member of the Joint Committee on Transportation, seemed truly passionate in his opposition to the proposed fare hikes. He pointed out that the room was too small and drew out of that a nice metaphor for locking the public out of the process.

He brought up specific points that he said have led him to become somewhat skeptical of the MBTA’s motives. He pointed out that the exact same “service enhancements” being used to justify this increase were used to justify the last increase. He questioned whether the T’s financial situation was quite as bleak as they’ve painted it, or whether they are, in fact, exaggerating it to, again, justify increases that might not be absolutely necessary at this point.

He contradicted the T’s assertion that their security spending has increased since 9/11, implying that they had no scruples in using that catastrophe, as well, to justify fare hikes. “You’ve actually downsized your police force,” he said. “So I’m not sure which increases you’re talking about.”

He reiterated a point I’ve heard him make several times before: that the T should come to the legislature for help. He asked the MBTA, “should T riders be expected to be the sole source of your new revenue? Should T riders bear the whole cost when T riders aren’t even the primary beneficiaries of this…mass transit system?… all of us in the Commonwealth are beneficiaries.”

He then advised, “here’s what I think is appropriate for the T: before you ask the T riders to bear the full cost of your losses, to come back to the legislature and propose to us that all residents of the Commonwealth, all who benefit from mass transit, because of better air, because of parking, because of less traffic, and have the legislature go back and have the Commonwealth … at the State level, help you out of your debt, before you increase fares on the T.”

Well done, Senator.

Barrios was followed by State Senator Pat Jehlen, who was clearly gellin’, and voiced her opposition to the fare increase, though not as wonkishly as Barrios. On the issue of lobbying the legislature, she said: “I understand that you yourself cannot come and ask us, but I am saying that as a legislator I will work with you… to make sure that we can relieve your debt burden.”

Finally, Green Rainbow Party candidate for Governor Grace Ross, who is also, with all due respect, not as cute as Deval Patrick, and who was running late and missed the rally, took the mic, expressing her “solidarity with the people who have not been allowed into the room.” Hmm. She said raising fares was essentially a tax on people who were already strapped for money, and suggested that big companies that have garnered sweetheart tax reductions for building downtown should kick in, since they benefit from the T as much as anyone. Here, here, Grace! You go, girl.

For the record, although, of course, Kerry Healey didn’t deign to come down to the hearing, or even to issue a direct comment, her stance, according to a spokesman (according the the Glob): “Ultimately it’s up to the T to set their fares to the appropriate costs. We certainly hope [the final fare increase] is lower than what’s being proposed. We also don’t think the solution is to go back to the taxpayers and ask for additional subsidies for the T.” Very creative, Kerry. Good use of the word “subsidies”!

Tune in tomorrow for more scenes from the hearing.

In the meantime, check out my semi-regular bullshit round-up, HERE.