By David G. Firestone
So I’m back from my annual summer sabbatical. We will get to racing news next week, as I’m waiting for something to play out. Anyway, I like to do my traditional how I spent my summer break for my first August post, but I will also cover something that took place while I was away.
The bulk of what I did could be summed up in two words: YouTube Research. As happens sometimes, I will look in the basement for something, not find what I was looking for, but find something I either didn’t know I had, or didn’t know I still had. In this case, in 2020, as everything was beginning to open back up, I bought some stuff from an arcade that was going out of business. I put it to the side thinking I would get to it, but I never actually did, so much of my time was spent researching these items.
I worked the first and last week of July, but took the middle two weeks off. I did have to work on the Fourth of July, but working in the grocery industry on the Fourth, especially nights, is the second easiest shift, since nobody is there. In case you are wondering, the easiest is the day after Thanksgiving.
This summer, I did also enjoy a few barbecues. The first was our annual neighborhood rib cook-off, which raises money for Breakthrough T1D, which is formerly known as Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Here is a small sample of the tasty offerings:
I also had a birthday cookout with my friends and family. My birthday is in January, and it’s not so feasible to do a cookout in Chicago in January.
I watched a lot of racing, and a lot of wrestling. All in all, it was a fun month.
Now, let’s discuss something that happened while I was on vacation, because it ties into something I’ve said on the podcast. I’m not a railfan, but I do, on occasion, film train stuff for YouTube, if I happen to be somewhere where trains are. From what I’ve seen, the railfan community is a very tight-knit community, that respect the railroad industry and focuses on safety. More importantly, unlike a lot of fan communities, they know when to eat their own.
One such example is a young man by the name of Sebastian DeYoung. Sebastian DeYoung is an autistic man from South Dakota who claims to be a railfan. However, his old YouTube channel featured him doing some dangerous and illegal things. I will let this video explain his actions:
Sebastian DeYoung acted recklessly and dangerously. However, given his mental issues, I genuinely don’t think that there was any ill intention there. He is an enthusiastic railfan, who went too far thinking he was helping the community. He really meant well, he just acted out of line.
The same cannot be said for a 17 year old railfan in Nebraska. This is a story from The Lincoln Journal-Star:
“Teen accused of train derailment
Investigators now believe a train derailment on the edge of Bennet in April was caused intentionally by a teenager who then recorded it and posted it online.
BNSF Railway Police have referred the 17-year-old boy to the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office for prosecution for felony criminal mischief, saying the derailment caused an estimated $350,000 in damage.
In a search warrant filed this week, a BNSF police investigator said that shortly after 6 p.m. April 21 a fully loaded eastbound coal train derailed at a railroad crossing at Monroe Street and Nebraska Highway 43.”
Ryan’s Colorado Rail Productions, one of my favorite railroad YouTube channels, gave his thoughts on the situation:
The Winnipeg Railfan did a great video on the subject as well.
I will not be linking the original video, nobody should watch it, this channel should get not get any views or subscribers. This kid is going to jail. BNSF isn’t going to take this lightly. These locomotives cost $3 million, and boxcars are $60,000 each. As Ryan said, he is probably getting tried as an adult, and will be sent to jail, as well as paying for the damage done.
The railfan community has banded together to exile this kid. As well as they should have. Again with Sebastian DeYoung, he acted irresponsibly, but, in his mind, he was trying to show the railfan community how various things worked. He wasn’t actively trying to cause damage. That’s out the window with this kid. He intentionally threw a switch, and that caused a collision and derailment for YouTube clout.
Communities are getting more proactive with exiling troublesome members. Railfans are exiling these troublesome guys. EAS Scenario producers exiled ClayRanger143, after his inappropriate interaction with underage fans. Even creeps in wrestling and racing are now being exiled. This should be a clear message to all fandoms and communities. Get rid of the problems, and you will be a lot better. These fandoms have proven that! Learn when to eat your own.
With that, I’m done with this week’s edition, next week, racing news!
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