That is just awful. Put a cop/some form of private security on the train. Arm them/don't arm them, just a presence would be a deterrent. Instead, we'll get some platitudes about "random" violence and the need for compassion and treatment for the mentally ill.

More racial profiling is needed to stop these dirtbags!

I have a friend who got his ass completely kicked, or, I should say, his face repeatedly kicked by about three guys on a bus when we were kids while the driver did jack. I don't know if trains are worse because they are a bit more isolated but I don't feel completely safe at bus stops or on the bus if there are not many people around.

Well the attack is just disgusting, but how in the heck does someone get hit by a train? Doesn't anybody pay attention nowadays? Or are our minds all dulled from constant media/Internet/entertainment bombardment?

So much for those 6 new fare inspectors making a difference huh?the security is terrible and all Max has done is bring crime and problems.

Riding Max out of down town anytime after 7 pm is anxiety. This past week there was also the young guy who came out of 24 hour fitness downtown and got beaten up senseless by a roving band of hoodies. The last time I rode Max was after a city of Portland meeting down town, and thank god there were security guards on the train; because one of the deviants on the train was yelling at the top of his lungs about getting back at someone. Many of the other folks on the train were gang banger types.

The only reason I ride the Max down town is to take advantage of the fareless square extending to Lloyd Center. I am thinking even this advantage of Max is probably not worth the anxiety of the ride.

I would gladly see the national debt ceiling raised $2 to $3 trillion if only the federal government would stop spending money on such highly uneconomical light rail and street car systems. Until the federal government stops this foolish spending habit, I can't take seriously any talk out of D.C about bringing the national fiscal house in order.

Go to the multnomah sheriff's office and take the concealed handgun license course for 20 bucks get your certificate and mail it in with the 65 dollar fee a few weeks later you will be called in for fingerprinting. They do a background check and a few weeks after that you get your concealed handgun license in the mail. That's what I did. I commute on Max every day. I look like your ordinary commuter. I do have a ruger lcp in my pocket though I got the crimson trace laser with it for added effect. 7 gold tipped hollow points at the ready should I be in danger of physical harm.

Why can't Sam's legion of bloggers ride the rails while doing so?

They could not only contact the authorities when violence happens, but might actually start to understand the real Portland.

"Sam's Legion of Bloggers" would be a great name for a band

You rock, John! Too bad you'd probably get arrested if you used it to protect 84-year old ladies who are getting beaten up.

I would gladly see the national debt ceiling raised $2 to $3 trillion if only the federal government would stop spending money on such highly uneconomical light rail and street car systems

The problem is that the Dems are flat out refusing to concede that its various "high speed" rail and transit projects are pork and demand that they not be cut. The Republicans of course want that all slashed.

So if we raise the debt ceiling you can be all but ascertained that we'll have more - not fewer - projects. A government shutdown might be just what we need to issue stop work orders for Milwaukie MAX, and to put the Lake Oswego Trolley to the barn, and to long forget Barbur MAX. TriMet won't have the money and there's no way the State of Oregon could even think of affording such a project without the federal match.

That's a great idea, Ralph, only I'd go further and put all the city council offices on the rails "to understand the real Portland." If nothing else, it would be interesting to see how long it took for that space-cadet Sam to get run over by a train on his way to and from the office.

I have to give KATU props for actually identifying the perp. I could tell his race just from his name. Most news I read where Blacks are the perps don't identify the race because they fear some sort of non-existent backlash from 10% of the total US population. Specifically, the Black flash mobs in Chicago, Wisconsin, Philadelphia and other cities where the point of the flash mob is to rob stores or commit acts of racial violence against Whites.

I know KATU is going against the grain by posting a photo of a Black perp, but hey at least we can say they have balls, while the rest of the country does not.

I grew up in Gresham and the Gresham of the 60s and before (Red Raspberry Festival, Multnomah County Fair, Carnegie Library) is not the Gresham we have today. Today's Gresham is a huge, sprawling, ticky-tacky strip mall/big box spotch of anonymity that could exist anywhere.

The last time I rode the MAX out there I couldn't tell one stop from another and many, although not all, of the riders were intimidating. The sense of community that used to exist seems pretty nonexistant. The anonymity vibe exacerbates attacks and violent behavior because it's easier to get lost in a crowd. Tri-Met abets this by running a mass transit train through town that doesn't protect its passengers and rarely screens them for tickets.

I don't know the answer but it's sad. Very sad.