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August 22, 2006
There's something in the air
I have found that most people who ride the elevated train are fairly civil to each other, even when the train is stuffed and there is no room to breath, let alone move. On those sorts of days, it's an advantage to not be too protective of your personal space. So today I was a bit confused to see a fight nearly break out on the Red Line as I rode to school.
I boarded the train at my usual station, and there was a balding white man two seats in front of me. Next, a larger - but by no means overly large - black woman sat in the seat next to him. Thirty seconds later, the man stood up and walked to the door of the train and stood there. A few seconds after that, two other black fellows approached the man and started yelling at him, finally cornering him and being somewhat physical with him. One kept saying to him, "mind your own business!" Then they quit, and left the train at the next station.
I have to wonder if the whole thing was racially motivated, because the man got up right after the woman sat next to him. I don't know why else he would have stood up, because he didn't leave the train at the next station, and in fact sat back down after the woman and the two men left. (They didn't know each other, as far as I could tell.) Whatever reason the man stood up, I don't think it's right to go beating up somebody for it. It was all pretty surreal, and nobody else knew what to do. I figured that if the thing escalated, I could always hit the red button they have in every car to talk to the driver.
After escaping that mess, I was leaving the train station when I saw a homeless man running through the station and leaping over the turnstiles. Another man was chasing him, and he also lept over the turnstile before pinning him against a wall. All I can figure is the man had stolen something from that guy, and his feeble attempt at escape would end in failure.
Posted by oz115 at August 22, 2006 01:19 PM