[Prole]

WTH is a “transient?”. Is that media-speak for ILLEGAL ALIEN?

[AnotherUnixGeek]

WTH is a “transient?”. Is that media-speak for ILLEGAL ALIEN?

A transient is what used to be known as a homeless person (and before that, as a bum). Back when I went to college in San Diego and had to go downtown, the city transients were usually white, occasionally black, usually drunk or high, and wandering around screaming incoherently at random people, dogs, buses, etc. Every once in a while one would attack another. I though the Gaslamp District and other downtown development was supposed to bring this kind of thing to an end, but I guess not.