Who would’ve thought it would have come so soon? We’ve passed the point where decapitation jokes are now acceptable in public places — including Greyhound.
If you not familiar with what I’m talking about, you haven’t heard the tale of Vince Weiguang Li. On July 31, 2008, riders of this bus company woke up to the sounds of Tim McLean being stabbed in the neck by Li. What followed is still unbelievable a year and a half later.
This is a horrific incident that doesn’t bode well for Greyhound. This incident left all Canadians speechless. This incident spawned rumours which included cannibalism. And now, this incident is the butt end of many bus jokes.
“I hope I still have my head when I reach my destination.”
This is just one I heard a few days ago when I hopped aboard a bus in Vancouver, Canada. Funny, eh? Not for me. Jokes like that shouldn’t be said on the bus.
What made this stabbing so terrifying was how unexpected it was. It surprised us all. When you have to find a seat, you have to choose between dozens of strangers who are packed into this sardine can with you. And sometimes you’re stuck sitting next to the creepiest looking guy imaginable.
The young man who sat beside me said he decided to share the seat because “I didn’t look sketchy.” He followed it up by saying, “Take it as a compliment.”
What is “sketchy” on Greyhound? In my opinion, the creepy men are usually middle-aged, blue collared smokers. I know they’re smokers because the aroma of tar and nicotine follows them in once they board. And on every trip, you’re guaranteed to find at least four scattered throughout this small, confined space.
What I’m getting at is any one of us could have been Tim McLean. It was just sheer luck he sat beside Li.
Even though things have slightly changed at the main terminals with a small security check, Greyhound remains the same. So, when a middle-aged smoker cracks a decapitation joke for the whole bus to hear, it’s not funny. Some of us were startled, mainly because we had to spend the next twelve hours with the guy. But, on the other hand, some found him hilarious and wanted to hear more headless jokes while we travelled across British Columbia.
Why did they want to hear more? Because they knew they were safe — they went through that security check. But what’s really funny is on every other single stop, the dozens throughout the province, not one has a security check. Anyone could bring on a knife. Anyone could bring on a gun. Any of the hundreds that ride the bus in one night, all over Canada, could be a killer.
So, do we want to continue to crack more jokes even though there is no guarantee of safety on Greyhound? Apparently, we do. Why? Because people have poor taste in what they find funny.
