Where I come from, teenage lesbians kissing on the city bus would not only not raise eyebrows, it would pretty much be expected, or, at the very least, encouraged. Just one of the many perks of living in the Bay Area, the way I see it.
And I've always assumed that our neighbors to the north, in Portland, Oregon, were the same way: liberal, peaceful, live-and-let live types. Which is why I was shocked when I read that a city bus driver had kicked two smoochy teenage girls off his bus, miles from their destination, after another rider complained, calling them "sickos." Maika Rich and Jocelyn O'Neal, both 14 (pictured), were en route to the Sexual Minority Youth Recreation Center, and felt "defensless" against the two adults, though they are used to discrimination from their peers.
The Portland transit authority, TriMet, says that the TriMet policy is "to never kick an underage or vulnerable person off the bus," and that the unknown driver will face "disciplinary action," although they would not say what that action will be. I hope, at the very least, it involves some sensitivity training, a long, unpaid suspension, and a little public humiliation thrown in for good measure.
