Editors’ note: This week, Southern Voice concludes a two-part series using Atlanta’s public transit system to explore the visibility and experiences of lesbian and gay people throughout the city. Part I is available online by clicking here.
As
a
young
gay
person
who
is
integrating
herself
into
Atlanta
partly
via
public
transportation,
Marguerite
van
Mansfeld
is
inspired
when
she
notices
she’s
not
alone.
“I
see
other
people
with
their
little
flags,
or
their
bandannas,
or
their
belts
or
key
chains,
and
it’s
really
nice
just
to
see
other
people
on
MARTA
—
other
people
in
the
queer
community
in
public,
out
in
public,”
said
van
Mansfeld,
17.
“I
see
more
lesbian
families,
like
family
units
with
the
happy
couple
and
their
child,
on
MARTA
than
I
have
seen
gay
male
couples,”
she
added.
Each
school
day,
van
Mansfeld
walks
about
15-20
minutes
from
her
home
on
Atlanta’s
west
side
to
the
nearest
train
station,
then
boards
two
trains
and
a
bus
to
get
to
her
school
near
Emory.
She
also
catches
the
train
to
YouthPride
about
three
days
a
week,
and
considers
it
fortunate
that
the
organization
is
located
about
50
feet
from
the
Inman
Park/Reynoldstown
train
station.
“It’s
easier
to
get
to
because
not
all
of
the
youth
drive,
and
so
it’s
very
important
the
youth
can
get
here
by
MARTA,”
she
said.
YouthPride’s
leadership
also
recognizes
the
crucial
role
of
MARTA
for
its
participants,
and
recently
discovered
that
42
percent
of
its
current
members
lived
outside
of
MARTA
rail
coverage.
To
compensate,
the
organization
is
exploring
having
monthly
meetings
in
outlying
counties
for
youth
who
cannot
catch
MARTA
to
Inman
Park,
said
John-Paul
Griffin,
director
of
programs
at
YouthPride.
“I
think
if
we
weren’t
as
close
to
a
MARTA
station
as
we
are,
a
lot
of
kids
wouldn’t
be
able
to
come
to
the
center,”
said
Joseph
Merritt,
a
center
attendant
at
YouthPride
and
a
daily
MARTA
rider.
Riding
MARTA
to
school
and
YouthPride
instills
many
youth
with
a
sense
of
independence
and
familiarity
with
Atlanta.
“It
makes
them
more
involved
not
just
in
the
center,
but
in
the
city,”
said
Merritt,
22.
In
the
three
years
that
she’s
been
riding
public
transportation,
van
Mansfeld
has
developed
the
same
peeves
that
many
MARTA
riders
share:
consistently
late
buses,
poor
customer
service,
and
the
unique,
stale
smell
in
some
trains
and
stations.
She’s
also
become
accustomed
to
spotting
other
gay
riders,
and
noticing
the
reaction
they
generate.
“It’s
either
queer
folks
noticing
other
queer
folks,
or
some
random
straight
person
starting
mess,”
she
said.
“It’s
rare
that
someone
is
just
asking
questions
that’s
not
trying
to
be
an
ass.”
Merritt
also
knows
that
MARTA
is
not
always
a
safe
place
for
gay
passengers,
especially
expressive
youth.
He
and
some
friends
were
recently
riding
to
Midtown
station
—
“the
gayest
train
station
in
the
city”
—
when
another
passenger
began
to
mock
them.
“There
were
like
these
straight
guys
or
whatever
on
the
train,
and
one
was
like,
‘All
these
faggots
on
the
train.
Man,
these
faggots,’”
Merritt
recalled.
One
of
his
friends
responded
to
the
homophobic
heckler,
but
Merritt
tried
to
laugh
it
off.
“It
takes
a
lot
more
to
offend
me
now,
so
something
like
faggots,
I
laugh
at
it,
I
think
it’s
humorous,”
he
said,
before
adding
that
the
threat
of
anti-gay
taunting
is
frustrating.
“It’s
almost
kind
of
like,
at
certain
train
stations,
you
have
to
conform
and
you
have
to
all
of
a
sudden
be
straight
just
to
keep
from
being
harassed,
or
keep
from
having
someone
bother
you
and
taunt
you,”
Merritt
said.
‘NOT
A GOOD IMAGE’
Gay
and
lesbian
MARTA
riders
catch
the
train
and
bus
to
gay
organizations
like
YouthPride
and
AID
Atlanta,
and
to
more
informal
institutions
like
Bulldogs
and
the
Heretic.
Terry
Hall
recently
began
driving
after
a
yearlong
stint
of
riding
MARTA,
but
he
still
uses
it
when
he
goes
clubbing
at
spots
like
the
Trademark
and
Blake’s
on
the
Park.
“It’s
not
even
about
the
gas
prices,
it’s
more
about
the
responsibility
factor
and
being
intoxicated,”
Hall
said.
“The
only
thing
I
don’t
like
is
how
[MARTA]
ends
at
1
[a.m.]
and
the
bars
close
at
3,
that
doesn’t
make
sense.”
MARTA
begins
service
each
day
at
5
a.m.,
and
a
handful
of
clubs
like
Traxx
and
Club
708
don’t
close
until
after
the
morning
trains
and
buses
resume
service.
“But
some
clubs
close
at
3,
and
we
be
stuck,”
said
Marquez
Montgomery,
22,
who
rides
to
clubs
with
his
friends.
“What
we
have
to
do
is
just
wait
until
it
starts
running
again.”
Emmious
Marshall
fondly
remembers
being
19
and
20
years
old,
catching
the
train
with
friends
from
College
Park
and
Buckhead
to
go
to
Club
708
in
Midtown,
and
partying
until
the
next
morning
when
the
trains
started
running.
Marshall
still
rides
MARTA
daily
to
...
The
following comments were posted by our readers and were
not edited by SOVO. We ask that you
treat others with respect; any post deemed offensive will
be removed.
M.B. on 8/31/086:19 PM:
MARTA sucks, compared to the public transportation in
cities like New York, Washington, D.C., and Seattle. But
if it hadn't been for a long MARTA rail ride at the end of
October 2005, I never would have met my lovely "wife",
Jennifer. I had tried to meet cool and single women for
years in all the usual places, but to no avail. And I hate
partying, drinking, and dancing! A MARTA bus also
came in handy when I found an abandoned kitten in
downtown Atlanta and smuggled him onto a bus,
hidden in a plastic bag! So I forgive all the many times
MARTA has made me late for work.
TanyRe on 9/11/082:11 PM:
I really don't have a problem with MARTA except for the ocassional train malfunctions. It's pretty cool to me. I do have a vehicle but it's so much easier to take MARTA to work and events that way I don't have to worry about parking or gas.
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