When I got on the train this morning, I walked past the jerk standing in the doorway and moved to the center of the car like good girls do. I immediately regretted it, because immediately behind me was a woman about my age with an obnoxiously puffy coat and a cellphone loudly playing music. It’s a favorite pastime of New Yorkers to select their new ringtone while on the very public train, so I figured at first that she was scanning through all of her possibilities, but I quickly realized she was just plain listening to a song. One of those annoying hip-hop ballads, at that. And not on a cellphone with good speakers.
At first, I thought, “Who does that?! Signs all around the subway cars clearly state there’s to be no smoking, no littering, and no radio-playing! If we give this one inconsiderate person a pass, anarchy will erupt!”
Then I thought, “Actually, a little music in the subway in the mornings would be nice.”
Then I thought, “No! 90% of this train probably hates this song, too, and if this woman wants to listen to it, she can put on headphones just like everyone else.”
Just then, another woman sitting near her must have asked/told her to turn it off, because she spat back, “I can do what I want.” I’m not sure if the woman broached the topic in a polite or a demanding way, but I’m not sure if it would have mattered. The sitting woman reminded her of the no-radios-on-the-train rule, and the music-playing woman said, “It’s not a radio.” The sitting woman quietly said something else, and the music-playing woman said, “You better shut up.”
It was truly one of those times I wished I was aIone in my car, and I had no idea what to do. I wanted to support the woman who spoke up. I wanted to help bring about justice for the good. But I knew I was powerless. In those situations, I usually tell myself that I have a great life and that anyone who acts that way or says those things must have a terrible life, but that’s still no excuse.
So what do you do?
Comments
Hmm .. good question. I think I'm usually on the "non-confrontational" side, but would like to think I'd back up the lady sitting down. Although that would probably get us nowhere and I would eventually give up and accept that some people are just too stubborn to listen to common sense.
You should have stuck up for the sitting woman! At least give her a look that says you support her. And, you can always loudly groan or sign to let the rude person know you don't approve.
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