Tom Slick Bus Fight, what do you think?

I think we're lucky neither man had a gun or some other weapon. The bystanders could have been seriously injured. I also think that the video is a little sad; we can hear the girl recording the scene repeatedly shout racist comments (Pinky = white person), and only a few people try to calm the situation down.

First of all Tom is no Hero -what I found most disturbing is the lack of commitment put forth by his opponent (what a pussy) you never give someone you want to physically put down a love tap and realistically expect to inflict any real physical damage - he deserved what he got - In addition Tom isn't a Closer - he pulled off the throttle before the job was done - both parties are a waste of internet time and space - both girls are nothing more that a couple of cartoon characters that will be canceled at the end of the season - look where they both are currently at in their lives and where they are headed - just a couple of ZERO'S

It's all utter nonsense, but the younger one had this coming. After the older gentleman moved, he should have left good enough alone, but they both were egging each other on.

Ok, a couple things. Firstly, it wasn't on MUNI, it was on AC Transit, in Oakland. But that's nit-picking. Secondly, Tom's thinking often becomes disconnected from reality in the second video, such as when he was asked if he felt that he was a hero and he reacted by choking up and saying "I ain't no hero I'm a Vietnam veteran, my mama died, my mama died...my mamma died two days later." Here he seems to be dissociating, or having what you might call a flashback. He is suddenly embedded in the experience of returning from a most gruesome war in which he knows that he was anything but heroic, and of his mother dying two days later.

It is fairly apparent to me that Tom experienced significant psychological trauma in Vietnam, as well as returning home to his mother's nearly immediate death. His comments about the man he hit being a "murderer" and that he will go to prison for ten years for assault and battery and armed robbery are pretty clearly delusional. Then he suddenly says "they stole my money, they stole my bag," which seems to be referring to something entirely unrelated. (Perhaps he is referring to the police?) He then explains that he had been talking to his friend Bob about going to his mother's funeral on Wednesday and needing to borrow Bob's Stacey Adams shoes. (This conflicts directly with his later comment about his mama dying "two days later," as well as his comment in the original video on the bus when he says to the man that he is "going to my mother's funeral on Friday.")

Apparently, Tom has a history of violent behavior and psychiatric hospitalization. In my opinion, what we saw on the AC Transit bus was an interaction mediated by a delusional, possibly psychotic, 67 year-old war veteran who, when physically attacked by the other man, entered a dissociative state in which his brain reacted in primitive ways to protect him from the perceived threat, but that this reaction was out of proportion with the threat being presented. Tom beat the crap out of the guy. I don't think that Tom's thinking was grounded in reality at the time of the attack, and possibly as far back as the beginning of the first video. Even in the interview video, his description of the altercation is inconsistent with what is shown happening on the bus.

As for those in the community who look up to Tom as a hero, I would ask you: What is heroic about a mentally ill war veteran picking a fight with a stranger on a public bus? If anything it saddens me deeply, not only that the african american man was severely beaten, but that Tom's experience of the world is so dangerous, so utterly frightening, that his mind fabricates these situations in which he is forced to fight to survive. Is it heroic because it was a "white man" hitting a "black man"? Is it heroic because Tom was struck first and stood up to protect himself against a person of color? All that I saw was a scared and disturbed man picking a fight, instigating a perfect stranger, and beating the crap out of the guy. Granted, the victim of Tom's rage could have, and perhaps should have, backed off, ignoring Tom's remarks, but Tom seemed to know how to get to the guy, and the argument turned into a power struggle that was clearly escalating to the point of a physical altercation.

Is Tom a hero? No. Tom is a tormented man plagued with a mental illness. If anything, he deserves our compassion, not elevation to "hero" status. He was egging the young man on, poking at his pride, usurping his power as an individual until the young man could see no choice but to attempt to display some degree of dominance. Clearly, Tom won. But by no means does that make him a hero.

Ok well analysed. Only you are wrong. They have created a character for him as a senile war veteren. He talks about seeing the guy with a big knife. Its all very dark humour. The truth is - he is hilarious and its a brilliant idea to create a series. If he wasnt senile, there would be no other interesting videos of him. He talks about his mom dying and that guy called him a Mother f'''''er. So he hit had to hit him 26 times in 12 seconds. All when he is crying. Cant believe people dont get the joke lol