Photo credit: Kristen Thompson, Metro Vancouver News
If you read this article you might actually think nihilistic rebel without a cause Jean Wharf was refused entry to the SkyTrain solely because of a button reading “F**ck Yoga” (without the asterisks).
But the truth is that the whiner was first caught trying to use the transit system without paying and issued a fine. Then when she returned with a paid ticket, she was informed she would have to remove the pin.
Well, there are two things that come to mind when I think about the pin incident, but it’s pretty clear to me that Wharf wouldn’t have been told to remove it if she hadn’t brought attention to herself by sneaking onto the train.
The first impulse might be to defend the free expression of thought as protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but even within that document itself is the flexible language that stipulates there are “reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.”
And given that TransLink is private property, it’s certainly within their right to prohibit vulgar or offensive people that trespass their own rules. It’s the second rule, actually, in their list of 10 posted on their website.
Further to the point, even if I happen to agree with Wharf’s message pertaining to yoga, the use of vulgar language in public should be weighed in conjunction with the social responsibility not to pollute the minds of younger people — and I’m thinking of my 9-year-old son, who is an excellent reader, here — with hateful language.
But aside from all the debate about whether a person should be harassed for wearing a “F**k Yoga” pin or not, the bigger issue here is the fact that Wharf isn’t just telling yoga to fornicate with itself, she’s telling every taxpayer the same thing by jumping the fare. In fact, thanks to nihilists like her and others in no short supply in this city, TransLink is spending $170 million on smart card fare readers and toll gates.
Wharf is the kind of person who “rides for free” through life, assuming someone else will pay her way every time. And it’s probably not entirely her fault. After all, we live in the kind of society that tells irresponsible alcoholics and drug addicts that they’re victims of a disease instead of parasites on the working class.
It’s probably reasonable for Wharf to conclude that paying fares for public transit is something only the sheeple do on their way to their soul-crushing jobs. It’s also probably reasonable to speculate that Wharf doesn’t have a job, or if she does, it doesn’t involve dressing in a manner that requires social observances of things like respect, decorum and decency for others.
If you do want to dress like you hate the world and wear pins expressing your contempt for it, you should probably consider paying your fair way, lest the world turn around and say, no, “f**k you.”
Author’s Note — this post has been modified to remove a pejorative.
Oh, a scumbag am I?
Well well..
The issue wasnt the pin or the fare.
Hell, I was the first to admit jumping the train was wrong.
I appologised for that.
But the officer GRABBED ME.
I wasnt intoxicated, threatening him, nor did I have a weapon.
Where do you get off calling some 21 year old girl a nihlistic scumbag??
DO YOU EVEN KNOW ME?
You write one hell of an article. It’s your opinion, as I have mine, but dont drag your Nine year old into this.
I’ll be he’s heard YOU spout FUCK a few times. Not to mention the fact he’s probably seen worse crap on TV.
Oh, and by the way, I now have Two “Soul Crushing” jobs.
You pretty much wrote this entire article based on what I look like. I wanna be the first to write FUCK YOU.
We know what you think of the world Jean. That much is apparent. You have two jobs? Great. You’ll need it as compensation for a poor attitude in life.
I’m more intrigued by the legal question of whether Translink would count as a public body (and therefore subject to Charter protection). Which might, you know, be kind of fucking important if Translink is losing its shit over buttons. The distinction is pretty fine – universities *aren’t*, but colleges *are*, for instance, unless that bit of the law has changed dramatically in the last couple of years.
Adrian, I’m sure you’ve taken public transit in Vancouver. Seriously, man? A button? Leave it alone. There are plenty of winners on most of the lines who would cause a lot more worry than some silly button. (My favourite was the guy with gold teeth and a lisp who went around challenging people to fights … apparently he was a regular…)
Jean Wharf, I don’t know you, I absolutely support your rights to your fuck button, but god help you, I hope Vancouver someday subjects you to the same soul-crushing agony of a bureaucratic lecture that fare-jumpers got in France when I lived there…
I didn’t really address the button so much as I did the parasitic nature of not paying her fair share, thus necessitating $170 million to be spent installing fare gates and smart cards that we don’t need.
Blah blah, somebody invaded my personal space and I want that all over the news because I’m that damn important. Blah blah, how dare you label me as a nihilist after I found this by ego surfing my own name. Blah blah, you probably have the same low level of intellect that requires use of “shocking” words to impose my beliefs on the world. Blah blah, tv is bad, so that gets me off the hook.
Truly, Jean. Get over yourself. If and when you accomplish that, also look into acquiring some self-respect. Perhaps when you respect yourself, you’ll find that people who have different opinions and interests (like, I don’t know, maybe yoga?) are just people with different opinions and interests, and you need not feel threatened by them to the degree that you must denigrate their opinions and interests.
Good job on this article, fine sir. It coincides with my thoughts for the most part.
“And given that TransLink is private property, it’s certainly within their right to prohibit vulgar or offensive people that trespass their own rules. It’s the second rule, actually, in their list of 10 posted on their website.” – Bang on!
Ms. Wharf, I want to start by saying that being offensive is a good way to get your fifteen minutes of fame, but it’s also a good way to throw away some of life’s wonderful opportunities.
I can’t imagine that anyone around you went to the media to tell your story, so clearly you wanted some sort of message brought fourth. Once your name and story are out there, you give the public the full right to make informed opinions based on what is being presented to them.
To add to that, by negatively receiving this blog (which you clearly sought out by probably googling yourself because your black smudged eyes and leather jacket are all over the papers and internet) you are doing the exact thing you’re trying to put a stop to.
If you want freedom of speech and expression, fine. But it’s completely hypocritical to knock someone else for exercising the same right that you are so obviously trying to back up and make a statement with.
For someone who claims to be so “punk”, it’s funny that your response posted above is so ignorant and nihilistic. It certainly doesn’t coincide with the morals I associate with punk rock or the punk subculture in general.
Finally, you’re 21 years old. At 21, don’t you think you’re a little too old and (perhaps)mature to be calling the press because you clearly broke the rules (more than one) and got in trouble for it? You made your bed by dressing offensively and not paying your SkyTrain fair. But, I guess maybe that would go with your whole — “I’m a punk” thing, right? Sticking it to the man?
Well lady, let me tell you something. One of these days you’re going to wake up and realize that it’s time to grow up, get a job and sadly enough, start conforming to the social norms expected of you, unless you can sing or something.
Perhaps if you weren’t working so hard to put a big middle finger up to yoga and capitalism, you’d have the money to buy a bus pass, fair cards or even go to post-secondary and get a U-Pass.
To sum it up: Stop complaining. You made your bed, now lay in it. Don’t dish it out if you can’t take it. Don’t defend your right to free speech than turn around and hypocritically flip out when someone else chooses to defend their same right. Your fifteen minutes are going to be up soon, so enjoy them fast.
PS. What the FUCK did yoga ever do to you?
Finally
I would wonder if we could save on the fare gates by 86ing the rent-a-cops that try and ticket jumpers. That alone might make up the difference. And smart cards aren`t THAT expensive. Besides, fare cards are pretty much standard in any city which isn’t some backwater.
I have NO data to back it up, but I’m guessing fare gates aren’t going to be nearly as expensive as the rent-a-cops to keep it going. Those are unionized employees on shifts, getting pensions…
Personally I don’t think it’s worth installing $170 million in fare gates to save $5 million a year for people like Jean. Do the math and by the time you pay it off, the bloody system is out of date. Who SPENDS $170 million to save $5 million? GOVERNMENT, that’s who.
It’s quite surprising how half these responses are mostly based on the assumptions and prejudices associated with her appearance. If anything, you people are the ones who are ignorant. Sure, she didn’t pay her fare, that was irresponsible with her. It’s still not fair how she was singled out for wearing her pin and then grabbed for refusing to remove it. I’m sure there’s more than plenty of people who wear much worse or who have said much worse on the transit.
Lastly, she did end up paying the fine that she received. She was mature and responsible for accepting the consequences of her actions. I’m sure if the fare-evading was left out of the story, your perceptions of this entire situation would be at least a little different.
You have it backwards, Victoria. She wasn’t singled out for her pin. We’ve established that. She was singled out for being a parasite on society.
If she hadn’t evaded the fare I might even sympathize a little bit.
I have mixed feelings about it that the initial response was partly due to her appearance but her rebuttal was ruined by losing her cool and adding in angry expletives: When one has good arguments it’s better to use those arguments without getting angry as one has a better chance of being taken seriously that way and changing other people’s minds.
There are legitimate questions about rules and bylaws that the lower levels of Government like to impose on us that may not respect our basic rights.
You sympathize with her because you share a name
Victoria, you are either myopic or disingenuous in suggesting that people ought not be judged by their appearances. Am I to presume that you simply buy whatever clothing is the cheapest without regard to whether things go together, accentuate your finer features, or at least make you look presentable to your chosen group of peers? Do you regularly shower, since it is important from a health standpoint, but put no effort into styling your hair and applying attractive makeup?
The fact is, appearance is THE very first opportunity to evaluate anothers’ personality, lifestyle, opinions, politics, and worldview. Do you honestly think that Jean, here, just goes for the whole goth thing by accident? It is to fit in with her chosen set of peers who, based upon the tawdry and death-emulating makeup, the communist star on her tee, and her F**K YOGA pin, are likely anti-establishment narcissists.
People choose their appearance to transmit a message. It may be, “I’m successful.” It may be, “I’m beautiful.” It may be, “I’m a hippie.” Or, as in this case, it could be, “I eschew all of you f**kers and your values.” As this is clearly her message, am I not simply honouring her by hearing the message? What is it about me actually observing and interpreting the message she is sending that has you offended? I would think that this would actually be the most respectful thing I could do.
I grant, it could be that she has a different interpretation of her appearance, thinking that she is transmitting the message, “I am a contributing member of society, I am congruent with the social contract that comes with the benefit of living in a first world liberal democracy, I am grateful for all of the opportunities that this confers upon me, and I shall one day make a superlative wife and mother.” But I don’t think she’s that stupid. I’ll thank you for giving her that same level of respect absent the proof otherwise.
Good one ! And I like to dress in black.
I don’t sympathize about the cue jumping.
Okay, guys, what about MY rights to ride transit without being constantly assulted with the ‘F’ word? Don’t I have rights also?
8 years since I was last in the lower Mainland. The ‘honour’ system prevailed at Skytrain Stations. This impressive facilitation of movement and enhanced flow of public transit riders was incredible, great – the best system extant. I say this in light of having travelled on public transit systems in major cities around the globe.
I suspect that “fare scammers” like the self-centered, a$$-hatted dolt featured in this article, are contributing factors to the growing congestion and uneasiness facing commuters everywhere.
Piss-off Jean. In fact, Jean Wharf : eff-off — at the high port!
Walk. Ride a bike. get roller blades, a skateboard, even.
And do try to remember to be nice to park resident Bears, especially the short, portly ones called “Yoga!” /. )
Jean Wharf says:
April 7, 2011 at 9:10 pm
“Oh, a scumbag am I?….”
Yep, pretty much. Next!
Two jobs and still trying to steal and cheat the system! Why?
What would happen Ms Wharf if you weren’t paid for your work? I am sure you wouldn’t like it. If you feel the transit is a rip off then don’t take it. Your costume says “I am an individual”. But you’re upset when people notice you and expect you to follow the norms of society. You can’t have it both ways.
Yes, maybe Ms Wharf, the author’s child has heard similar vulgarity in the house said in anger or frustration, but the author does not want it to become the norm or standard of civil society. Essentially, the system said to you “F@%K people who don’t conform” like you were doing with people who pursue their own interests, yet you felt that it was wrong to be done to you. Do you see the hypocrisy in your statements and actions?
I wouldn’t knock her for googling herself. Who knows who’s doing what with your name or in your name. What if that isn’t really her? Shouldn’t she be googling to find out if someone is making her look exactly like the parasite Adrian describes?
Dear Jean,
I am going to go out on a limb and say that these people have no idea of what they are talking about, but you’re stronger than there statements, don’t let them get to you. Did you not pay a fare, yes but you corrected that transgression, that’s more than most of politicians in this world. On top of that I feel that they are judging you solely upon your appearance and your button. Which is wrong of them they should judge you by the content of your character, you fessed up your mistake and you refuse to allow authority to physically harass you that is an extensive amount of character. You are in no way a nihilist. People do not have the right to not be offended, So your offended, deal with it like an adult, people who think that they have a right not to be exposed to speech which might upset them are contemptible moral cowards who, in my honest opinion undermine free society, they tend to be people who get together and kill aid workers, vandalize mosques or fly planes into buildings. I sat on the sky train and I saw a man covered in Neo-Nazi iconography and tattoos, he was never asked to leave the train, maybe its because he paid, I don’t know, but would I consider him a parasite like the others have? Of course not, despite my disgust of his views. In fact to use the word parasite is not only incorrect but in also Immoral, that seems to harken images of gassing Kurds in Iraq, expelling Roma in france and setting up Bantustans in South Africa. You have admitted to your mistake and admitted it was a mistake. One I suspect you made because you might have been trying to save money for food or rent, and if you had more leeway in your budget you wouldn’t have made the choice to fare jump. So despite the illegality of your actions, you’re forgivable and I hope you won’t make the same mistake again. I don’t like to view people as parasites I know we all bleed red if cut. And for people to assume that one instance of fare jumping makes you an irredeemable parasite are the same lunatic branch that equate illegal downloading with grand theft auto and other vices “You wouldn’t steal a handbag”. There are things that are black and white in life but a majority of human behavior is in the shades of grey in betwixt, so to equate fare jumping to using welfare money to support ones addiction is impertinent and wrong, something I would ask the others on this comment stream to refrain from.
And finally returning to language, you do not have a right to be safe from curse words, it’s a slippery slope of censorship. Yes children ride the skytrain but if you have faith in your parenting then you know little Johnny or Suzie won’t be repeating everything he or she hears. Parenting is tough, but do not expect society to behave a certain way or speak a certain way because your child may on the off chance repeat the word and ask what it means. Also the people who say swearing is the sign of a poor vocabulary or lesser intellect tend to have pretty poor vocabulary themselves, as people who are willing to swear are more confident in speaking because they know they have a menagerie of words both clean and vulgar to select. I find a sign near my house at a local church that states that the bible is the corner stone of human rights; I find this offense because from my readings it condones genocide and rape, but am I going to call them or anyone up and talk about how it offends me? Not really I have stuff to do. People who believe this is a problem to our children or society need to realize that we have energy problems, budget problems, wars and conflict, mass murder, diseases, starvation, piracy, environmental problems and an array of more pressing issues to attend to then lament about what new words have entered the vernacular.
Sincerely,
A supporter.
P.S.
I mean of course not to demonize the opinions of the author of this article or the people who agree with him, I don’t doubt you are all good people, fairly decent parents. But most importantly if you made a mistake you fessed up and did your best to correct it, which this young lady has done. I would love to stay and read any response but I have many more pressing things to attend to then to get bogged down in an internet debate. Please feel free to state your opinion but I ask that you take a deep breath and think for a moment before you write down. You truly feel the same way then there is nothing wrong with having that opinion but, for the sake of the civil society we have been talking about and for the sake of open discourse in a liberal society, let’s try not to paint with broad brushes, judge appearances or classify people as nihilists or parasites without a firsthand opinion. By all means you may be polemic of course.
Personally I see no reason why this issue has esculated the the point that it has. Furthermore I find Adrian, the author of this article, to be a representation of a huge problem in this society. Adrian spreads ill attained information which sure may not be their fault, but nontheless has raised a growing problem of misinformed citizens. Noone checks their facts it seems before deciding that they are now able to inform the general public, which is being done in this case on a publicly accessable website, and thusly creating a life version of the telephone game we all played as children.
If you are going to play journalist do as journalists do and check their facts directly. To read a newspaper or hear something off the internet you are getting it second hand at best. Jean’s story is not one of a soul sucking, economy draining kid gone wrong in a priviliged society but someone whome I HAVE spoken to first hand on the issue and thus feel that I must educate those who reach this page.
“Wharf” was indeed trying to ride the train without a ticket and was caught doing so. She was riding to her home which she lives in while working two jobs and trying to figure out the complications within life and making youtube videos with her Hello Kitty stuffed animal named LambCat.
Upon conversations with the officer she agreed she was in the wrong and further believed paying the fine would be a reasonable action. Having being issued the fine the officer issued “Wharf” a pass which she could use for the rest of the way home however the small issue of the button was raised once she received the pass. As a canadian citizen many believe that we live in a democratic nation where there is room for everyone of all beliefs, sure there are exceptions to weed out the homicidal maniacs but hey eventually we will find a way to love them too. With this knowledge Jean believes that she is in the right to wear clothes not picked out by the government. What we do in our private lives is after all up to us entirely as long as we agree to whatever price this will cost us.
To say that something as small as a button is a worthy enough cause for an individual to give up her personal safety is something which I do not agree with at all. I am sure that many people from all over the world would agree with me on this as well. The public servent in question as I understand does not have the right to touch someone who is not causing trouble and calling out swears for all to hear whether they like it or not, she was not shoving the button under everyones nose and forcing them to read it.
I am a person who does not like the colour pink yet I still see people wearing this garish colour everywhere I go! Will I expect a transit officer to push a person off the train when they catch them wearing the colour? No! The only reason for this is that the vast majority realize that they are not going to die for looking at what they dont like. To say that we are disagreeing with certain words simply because we have decided they are not as good as the others is a small minded thing to do and at least to me it prooves that your life is so small that you have nothing better to do than complain about the color or word that you do not like.
Jean does not believe that jumping the train or taking advantage of the system is the right thing to do. Sure she is not a role model as few humans are. Nische’s superman theory sadly does not hold water and thusly there are no true people to govern our actions which I feel many people are expecting the average citizen to strive for. Humans are lazy, complacent and often caught up in their own world and sure iit’s not a good thing but hey, it makes like a little more interesting. After all, even the prime minister of canada can get a vote of non-confidence just as many out there are giving the girl they dont know a vote of non confidence.
First of all, there is a lot of people here in Vancouver that don’t pay for transit. So i wouldn’t find that surprising. Also you guys are just judging her for what you know , which is barely anything. If her opinion is f*ck yoga then she has her rights to express her opinion on that. And no she isn’t a scumbag. just because she dresses like that or has that opinion doesn’t mean she is one. If a regular person did that , what would you think? would your opinion change? I’m surprised some people can be so obnoxious and judgmental.
> it’s pretty clear to me that Wharf wouldn’t have been told to remove it if she hadn’t brought attention to herself by sneaking onto the train.
You reminded me of Chris Rock’s “How to not get your ass kicked by the police”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj0mtxXEGE8
Some common courtesy would probably get that lady farther in life. (It’s also nicer for the people around her). Adults really should stop behaving like poorly brought up children. I’d like to see serious consideration of making public transit entirely free, but until it is, people should pay the fare.
On the yoga issue, have you tried hot yoga Adrian? It’s pretty good, but that might be my Okanagan self trying to get warm in the winter, because I really don’t have any desire to do regular yoga. (Unfortunately, hot yoga isn’t exactly inexpensive).
I removed scumbag from the post.
But yes, the fact there are a lot of people in Vancouver who don’t believe they have to pay their fair share in life, we’re spending $170 million on fare gates. That’s kind of the point of this article, eh?
The only thing hot about yoga is Lululemon pants.
Ms Wharf strkes me as the typical child from the “me” generation. No dicipline growing up and no respect for anything. Whatever the problem is, it’s someone elses fault. She will learn what karma is all about when she has children of her own.