AC Transit Bus fight
Encyclopedia
The AC Transit Bus fight was an altercation between two men aboard a transit bus
in Oakland, California
, in the United States
, which took place on February 15, 2010, at approximately 3:00 p.m EST
. The fight, featuring 67 years old Thomas A. Bruso, who became known as "Epic Beard Man" and a black man named Michael was video taped and later uploaded to the video hosting website
YouTube
, where it became a viral video
. As of September 12, 2010, the video has received over 4.7 million views on various blogs and websites. It ranked among the top five most viewed videos on YouTube in its first week, but was not included in the official list. Numerous racially charged comments were left on the YouTube page. The event raised concerns following a number of previous incidents involving violence on the public transport system in Oakland.
The incident took place in downtown Oakland on an Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) Line NL bus bound for San Francisco, and involved a black
man, identified only as Michael, and an older white
bearded man identified as Thomas Alexander Bruso, who later came to be referred to as "Epic Beard Man". The events in the bus were recorded by Iyanna Washington.
In the video, Bruso is seen wearing a light blue T-shirt that reads "I AM a Motherfucker
" on the back. Bruso is seated across from Michael near the rear of the bus. The cause of the altercation is unclear, but the conversation quickly becomes heated, with Michael angrily asking Bruso, "Why's a brother got to spit shine your shoes?" Thomas has stated in later interviews that Michael tried to make his statement racial. Thomas then tells how he was referring to a person that "was gonna shine his shoes" and that a brother "could be anyone." After additional charged exchange, Bruso says, "you ain't scaring this white boy," and moves to the front of the bus. Both men continue trading verbal barbs and Michael stands up after several seconds and walks towards Bruso's seat at the front of the bus.
Much of their conversation is inaudible, and some riders discourage Michael from approaching Bruso, while others encourage him to attack and use anti-white slurs. Michael suddenly punches Bruso during the verbal exchange. Very angry, Bruso stands and delivers several punches, knocking Michael to the floor. View of the men is lost briefly while Washington moves closer to the commotion; when view resumes, Bruso is shown with Michael, who is now bleeding from facial injuries, in his grasp. Bruso releases Michael, exclaiming "I told you not to fuck with me!", and then exits the bus, and is still yelling when the bus makes its next stop. After another exchange, Michael returns to his seat in the rear of the bus. Washington then takes a bag Bruso left behind and carries it to the back of the bus. Washington offers Michael the use of her recording if he wishes to press charges, but Michael never acknowledges the offer, instead requesting an ambulance.
In a second video, Bruso, now on the street, continues to yell about the fight. He loudly mentions Vietnam
and kicks a newspaper dispenser before walking away. Both men were treated at a local hospital for their injuries. Bruso underwent psychiatric evaluation at John George Psychiatric Pavilion
in San Leandro. Neither man was arrested.
Responding to allegations that Michael was her "companion," Washington makes clear, "I've never seen these two gentlemen ever before in my life", and claims she did not intend to steal Bruso's bag. In a subsequent interview, when asked if he got his "stuff back," Bruso said Sheriff's deputies ultimately did return his belongings, except an identification card and some money, "about three (3) hours later." See @ (3:55—4:05). Washington also appeared in a local CBS news video interview giving her version of events.
. In addition to the "AC Transit Fight", another video involving Thomas Bruso was uploaded to YouTube. He was stunned with a taser
twice at the Oakland Coliseum by police on August 3, 2009, for failing to comply with police officers. He was charged with resisting arrest
and taken to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation. http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-05-12/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-an-internet-sensation/2/
er from Portland
, Oregon
, produced a documentary short entitled I Am a Motherfucker, in which Bruso is interviewed about his personal background, day-to-day activity, and thoughts on his contemporary celebrity status. The documentary was uploaded to YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhh_HQwaNw8http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-05-12/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-an-internet-sensation/5/
ed murderer on parole
; that Michael brandished a knife at Bruso).
He also said the famous quote, "Bring the ambalamps/amberlamps."
. The Huffington Post
called the AC Transit Bus Fight "the fastest growing public fight meme
ever". Original songs, remixes, animation
s, "tributes", and other derivative and reflective videos, slide shows, and photo galleries dedicated to the event and its participants were also hosted at newly opened Internet
domains with names that derived from aspects of the event.
Typical of the adaptations of the original video that focused on the fight as a form of video game was a Mortal Kombat parody called "Epic Beard Man – Mortal Kombat Style".
Transit bus
A transit bus , also known as a commuter bus, city bus, or public bus, is a bus used for short-distance public transport purposes...
in Oakland, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, which took place on February 15, 2010, at approximately 3:00 p.m EST
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
. The fight, featuring 67 years old Thomas A. Bruso, who became known as "Epic Beard Man" and a black man named Michael was video taped and later uploaded to the video hosting website
Video hosting service
A video hosting service allows individuals to upload video clips to an Internet website. The video host will then store the video on its server, and show the individual different types of code to allow others to view this video...
YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, where it became a viral video
Viral video
A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
. As of September 12, 2010, the video has received over 4.7 million views on various blogs and websites. It ranked among the top five most viewed videos on YouTube in its first week, but was not included in the official list. Numerous racially charged comments were left on the YouTube page. The event raised concerns following a number of previous incidents involving violence on the public transport system in Oakland.
Incident
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
man, identified only as Michael, and an older white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
bearded man identified as Thomas Alexander Bruso, who later came to be referred to as "Epic Beard Man". The events in the bus were recorded by Iyanna Washington.
In the video, Bruso is seen wearing a light blue T-shirt that reads "I AM a Motherfucker
Motherfucker
Motherfucker is a vulgarism which, in its most literal sense, refers to one who participates in sexual intercourse with a mother, either someone else's mother, or his own.- Variants :...
" on the back. Bruso is seated across from Michael near the rear of the bus. The cause of the altercation is unclear, but the conversation quickly becomes heated, with Michael angrily asking Bruso, "Why's a brother got to spit shine your shoes?" Thomas has stated in later interviews that Michael tried to make his statement racial. Thomas then tells how he was referring to a person that "was gonna shine his shoes" and that a brother "could be anyone." After additional charged exchange, Bruso says, "you ain't scaring this white boy," and moves to the front of the bus. Both men continue trading verbal barbs and Michael stands up after several seconds and walks towards Bruso's seat at the front of the bus.
Much of their conversation is inaudible, and some riders discourage Michael from approaching Bruso, while others encourage him to attack and use anti-white slurs. Michael suddenly punches Bruso during the verbal exchange. Very angry, Bruso stands and delivers several punches, knocking Michael to the floor. View of the men is lost briefly while Washington moves closer to the commotion; when view resumes, Bruso is shown with Michael, who is now bleeding from facial injuries, in his grasp. Bruso releases Michael, exclaiming "I told you not to fuck with me!", and then exits the bus, and is still yelling when the bus makes its next stop. After another exchange, Michael returns to his seat in the rear of the bus. Washington then takes a bag Bruso left behind and carries it to the back of the bus. Washington offers Michael the use of her recording if he wishes to press charges, but Michael never acknowledges the offer, instead requesting an ambulance.
In a second video, Bruso, now on the street, continues to yell about the fight. He loudly mentions Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and kicks a newspaper dispenser before walking away. Both men were treated at a local hospital for their injuries. Bruso underwent psychiatric evaluation at John George Psychiatric Pavilion
John George Psychiatric Pavilion
John George Psychiatric Pavilion, also known as John George Hospital or John George, is a psychiatric hospital located in San Leandro, in Alameda County, California. It is operated by the Alameda County Medical Center, and is located near Fairmont Hospital and the county Juvenile Justice Center...
in San Leandro. Neither man was arrested.
Videographer's response
On February 17, 2010, Washington posted her own perspective of the events on YouTube. In this video, Washington says she hopes to "clear some things up." See @ (0:45). She goes on later to say, "I would like to apologize to anyone who took offense to any part of this video." Id. @ (3:15—3:21).Responding to allegations that Michael was her "companion," Washington makes clear, "I've never seen these two gentlemen ever before in my life", and claims she did not intend to steal Bruso's bag. In a subsequent interview, when asked if he got his "stuff back," Bruso said Sheriff's deputies ultimately did return his belongings, except an identification card and some money, "about three (3) hours later." See @ (3:55—4:05). Washington also appeared in a local CBS news video interview giving her version of events.
Thomas Bruso
Bruso was born in MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. In addition to the "AC Transit Fight", another video involving Thomas Bruso was uploaded to YouTube. He was stunned with a taser
Taser
A Taser is an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles. Its manufacturer, Taser International, calls the effects "neuromuscular incapacitation" and the devices' mechanism "Electro-Muscular Disruption technology"...
twice at the Oakland Coliseum by police on August 3, 2009, for failing to comply with police officers. He was charged with resisting arrest
Resisting arrest
Resisting arrest is a term used to describe a criminal charge against an individual who has committed, depending on the jurisdiction, at least one of the following acts:* threatening a police officer with physical violence while being arrested...
and taken to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation. http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-05-12/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-an-internet-sensation/2/
Interviews of Bruso
Bruso was the subject of several interviews, among those one shot in San Francisco by KRON on February 19, 2010. Nathan Maas, a graphic designGraphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
er from Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, produced a documentary short entitled I Am a Motherfucker, in which Bruso is interviewed about his personal background, day-to-day activity, and thoughts on his contemporary celebrity status. The documentary was uploaded to YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhh_HQwaNw8http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-05-12/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-an-internet-sensation/5/
Michael
The black male, identified only as Michael, was interviewed on the set of San Francisco Bay Area radio talk show Dog House FM on February 22, 2010, where he issued an apology to AC Transit, the people who were present on the bus at the time of the incident, and to Bruso for his role in the fight. In the interview, he claimed that during the AC Transit event, he was intoxicated, but insisted that he was trying to calm down Bruso on the bus. Michael also said Bruso's accusations in one interview are not true (that Michael was a convictConvict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
ed murderer on parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
; that Michael brandished a knife at Bruso).
He also said the famous quote, "Bring the ambalamps/amberlamps."
Spread of the meme
Within a short time of the original video "going viral", musical and animated parodies about the fight began to appear on YouTube in a manner similar to the way parodies spread after the "Don't tase me, bro!" University of Florida Taser incidentUniversity of Florida Taser incident
On September 17, 2007, U.S. Senator John Kerry addressed a Constitution Day forum at the University of Florida in Gainesville, which was organized by the ACCENT Speakers Bureau, an agency of the university's student government...
. The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
called the AC Transit Bus Fight "the fastest growing public fight meme
Meme
A meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena...
ever". Original songs, remixes, animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
s, "tributes", and other derivative and reflective videos, slide shows, and photo galleries dedicated to the event and its participants were also hosted at newly opened Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
domains with names that derived from aspects of the event.
Typical of the adaptations of the original video that focused on the fight as a form of video game was a Mortal Kombat parody called "Epic Beard Man – Mortal Kombat Style".
See also
- The Bus UncleThe Bus UncleThe Bus Uncle is a Cantonese YouTube viral video clip of a quarrel between two men aboard a bus in Hong Kong on 27 April 2006. While the older man, who came to be nicknamed the Bus Uncle, scolded the man seated behind him, a nearby passenger used his camera phone to record the entire incident...
, a similar (albeit non-violent) confrontation on a bus in Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...