I had this bizarre experience on the metro last night, and I wanted to write about it because I need your opinion (you being anyone who reads this, of course).
The Scene: I was on the Metro (which is D.C.’s subway system) last night during rush hour. I ride Metro practically every weekday during rush hour, so I know how it can be. I’m lucky in the sense that my normal commute is pretty easy, because I think I’m on the least crowded subway line. Last night, because of a class I’m taking, I was on a different line, and it was packed. When I say packed, I don’t mean like sardines in a can, because I’m assuming the sardines leave room for some sort of water/oil and air. There just wasn’t any room at all. It was painful, and I feel bad for the people who have to ride it everyday.
I’m standing in the metro car, holding on to the pole that is in front of me. Past the pole are two gentleman (I use this term loosely now) standing back to back. One is probably in his mid-to-late 40s. He’s white and very sharply dressed. The other is probably in his early-to-mid 50s, also white, and nicely dressed as well, although honestly he looked a little less pretentious (he was wearing like a bizarre floppy safari hat). So let’s call the 40 year old guy “Pretentious Guy” and let’s call the 50-year-old guy “Safari Guy.”
Safari Guy is obviously used to the Metro. He’s holding on the the bar running across the ceiling, and he’s swaying along with the train, as most passengers do. I notice Pretentious Guy doing something very strange. He has his right arm down at his side, his fist balled. Once in awhile, he will sway his hips backward, and hit Safari Guy with his butt and his fist. The first time it happened, I thought it was a mistake (maybe he was swaying with the train too), until he kept PUNCHING the guy. Safari Guy turned once, but probably thought it was a mistake too, and went on with his life… for about a minute.
We get to the next stop, and Pretentious Guy turns around so he is facing Safari Guy’s back. Again, I can’t stress enough how packed this train was. At this point he was touching Safari Guy’s back. There’s no way around it. And then I hear this:
Pretentious Guy (PG): Do you want to sit in my lap? (sarcastically)
Safari Guy (SG), turning his head: What?
PG: Want to sit in my lap?
SG: Who?
PG: You!
SG: Were you punching me in the back?
PG: Yes–
SG: You bastard.
PG: Don’t call me a bastard…
SG, interrupting: I just did
PG, interrupting: You asshole
SG: Takes one to know one, asshole
PG: You fat f*ck (Note: SG was not, in fact, fat by any means)
SG: What is your problem?
PG: You in my lap
SG: It’s crowded! Where do you want me to go? Haven’t you been on metro before?
PG, sneering: This is my second time, and I’m glad I’m well off enough not to ride it everyday.
At this point, they were nose to nose and bright red. I was staring, frankly a little scared. PG saw me watching and lowered his voice, so I didn’t get to hear the rest of the conversation, but it was obviously heated. The end result was that at the next stop, SG moved to another car. PG got off about two stops later.
So now my question: What, if anything, should I have done? For what it’s worth, I’m a white female in my mid-20s, and I could’ve taken both of them in hand-to-hand combat (I’m joking; it wouldn’t have come to that). My initial reaction, other than gaping, was to say, “Break it up guys” in a joking way… but honestly, I was too shocked to say anything. And I was scared too. I’ve seen fights like this in metro before, always (the only ones I’ve seen) middle-aged white men peacocking around. They don’t amount to anything, but I always wonder if there’s the possibility of physical violence or worse. People are crazy sometimes.
Did I do the right thing by doing nothing? Should I have said something? Should I have reported it? What would you have done? I want to know for next time. I’m going to be riding this line regularly now for class, and I have the feeling it will always be packed, and tensions will be high. I want to arm myself mentally at least.
I guess I have two major problems here: (1) the guys made an already annoying and painful ride worse and (2) I let it make me afraid. I’m not saying it’s bad to get afraid; fear is a mechanism that tells us something is wrong. But it paralyzed me. I wanted to say something and didn’t… or maybe it was better I didn’t. I don’t know, I feel like I should’ve done something.
lakenshift said,
January 15, 2009 @ 1:08 pm
I think what makes some of those situations difficult is because you never really know what will happen. I am a 20 something male and have tried it both ways. I have stepped up and said something and have sat and watched. I have gotten mixed results. Some people want a confrontation and they are going to have one no matter what. Some people are embarressed when they realize that other people are watching (as if we could ignore the heated verbal battle less then 5 ft away) and pull back. You are playing the dice game and at the end of the day you have got to play it by ear. Don’t feel bad about what you don’t say and be smart about what you do.
Not sure if that helps and it is just my opinion.
fallenposters said,
January 15, 2009 @ 5:41 pm
Wow, sounds like PG was just an ass and bitter that he had to take the metro. I’m guessing you were on the Blue or Orange line instead of your usual Yellow line? Those lines get crazy busy and packed during rush hour (I used to take them when I worked in Arlington and was taking classes at GWU). Most people were used to it and new what to expect though.
I probably would have just froze up because who knows what PG would have done. Perhaps I would have tried to eye the person closest to the emergency/intercom button though.