"A New York Treasure" --Village Voice

How Problems Arise

Monday morning commute. IRT. Let me speak in stereotypes.

Skinny white girl about twelve comes on the train. She’s wearing a colorful outfit–purple pants, turquoise cowboy boots. Bends down to put her metro card in her bag. Middle-aged black woman behind her turns around and tells the girl that she has bumped into her three times. The woman’s voice is sharp. The girl, shy, apologizes. Then, the girl’s father, milktoast white guy, steps in and tells the woman that she’s being a little harsh. They exchange words. 

A gay Latin guy, wearing headphones, comes to the black woman’s defense. Calls the little girl a racist. Starts going on about how she shouldn’t be treated any differently because she’s a white girl.  Which reminded me of an old family saying. 

Think Yiddish accent:  It’s not you, mind your own, sit down, shut up.

Then, burly white guy in a business suit tells the gay guy that if he’s such a gentleman, he should stand and give up his seat to one of the women. Next, an older Latin woman starts arguing with the Latin guy in Spanish.

And that’s what you call a New York brush fire. The black woman and the Latin guy got up and exited at the same station, leaving a few parting words on their way out. The white girl, dazed, and her father, relieved, exhale.  A think Dominican mother sitting next to me smiles at the girl and the girl thanks her. I talk to the Dominican mother about the nature of angry people and racism.

Happy Monday, folks.

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15 comments

1 Rich   ~  Oct 5, 2009 9:18 am

Your post reminds me of part of what made The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (both versions) so compelling. People are forced to transcend the petty conflicts that the daily grind and population density often impose in order to confront a truly existential threat, as context redefines their reality.

2 Sliced Bread   ~  Oct 5, 2009 9:26 am

if I had the audacity to wear purple pants, and turqouise cowboy boots I'd expect everybody to chill in my presence

3 RagingTartabull   ~  Oct 5, 2009 9:44 am

has the MTA ever brought out anything but the absolute worst in people?

4 ms october   ~  Oct 5, 2009 10:04 am

and scene

[3] nope - just the worst - fortunately most people on the 6 train are able to direct anger at the mta or there would be more of this bullshit to deal with - last friday evening there were two good screaming matches on the train right after i left work - over the summer an actual fistfight well a slapfight between a black lady and a southeast asian man broke out

5 Yankee Mama   ~  Oct 5, 2009 10:30 am

We're going to hell in a hand basket. What is the origin of that expression?

6 Alex Belth   ~  Oct 5, 2009 11:03 am

From a site called "World Wide Words:

Q] From Brian Walker: Can you please tell me anything about the origin of the phrase going to hell in a handbasket?

[A] This is a weird one. It’s a fairly common American expression, known for much of the twentieth century. But it’s one about which almost no information exists, at least in the two dozen or so reference books I’ve consulted. William and Mary Morris, in their Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins, confess to the same difficulty. A handbasket is just a basket to be carried in the hand (my thanks to the Oxford English Dictionary for that gem of definition). The Dictionary of American Regional English records to go to heaven in a handbasket rather earlier than the alternative, which doesn’t appear in print until the 1940s (Walt Quader tells me that Burton Stevenson included a citation in his Home Book of Proverbs, Maxims and Familiar Phrases from Bayard Kendrick’s The Odor of Violets, published in 1941). But DARE quotes a related expression from 1714: “A committee brought in something about Piscataqua. Govr said he would give his head in a Handbasket as soon as he would pass it”, which suggests that it, or at least phrases like it, have been around in the spoken language for a long time. For example, there’s an even older expression, to go to heaven in a wheelbarrow, recorded as early as 1629, which also meant “to go to hell”. I can only assume that the alliteration of the hs has had a lot to do with the success of the various phrases, and that perhaps handbasket suggests something easily and speedily done.

7 The Hawk   ~  Oct 5, 2009 11:07 am

I don't get why you say "Let me speak in stereotypes.".

8 Diane Firstman   ~  Oct 5, 2009 11:22 am

[1]

Was the remake of "Pelham" any good. I despise Travolta, and in my mind the original "Pelham" was just about pitch-perfect for its time, so even though I'm a train buff, I hesitate renting the remake.

Also, any major event in the city *usually* brings out the kinder, gentler, helping side of NYers (blizzard, 9/11, blackout (not '77 version)).

9 ms october   ~  Oct 5, 2009 11:44 am

[8] i liked it diane - but i am a big denzel fan, and while i am not a travolta fan, i don't despise him - i also love luis guzman and 5 minutes of him is good enough for me

if you are going to hold it to the original you may not like it - if you view it as a similar movie taking place in today's world you will probably enjoy it more

10 Raf   ~  Oct 5, 2009 12:14 pm

[7] To avoid being lumped together with John Rocker? That brouhaha would've gone a lot smoother if he said that :D

11 Alex Belth   ~  Oct 5, 2009 12:26 pm

10, LOL

12 Rich   ~  Oct 5, 2009 3:35 pm

[8] I thought it was better than the original.

13 The Hawk   ~  Oct 5, 2009 3:47 pm

[7] Exactly. John Rocker was speaking in stereotypes, whereas Mr Belth - I'll defend you against yourself - was describing actual individuals. So that's not speaking in stereotypes, hence my not "getting" that statement/request(?).

14 Alex Belth   ~  Oct 5, 2009 4:21 pm

Hawk...Good pernt. Sometimes I qualify too much for fear of offending. By product of these sensitive times, as well as the e-mails I get when I do offend. On the other hand, I think some people just look for things to be offended by, don't you?

15 Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO   ~  Oct 5, 2009 6:46 pm

AB, I love your stories from the subway, and from your excursions to different neighborhoods around NYC. This one though..not sure if it makes me miss the city or feel glad I don't take the subway anymore..needless to say, this scene would never happen here. Not only because of the lack of diversity, but because the trains are so packed that everyone is making body contact with everyone else at all times. And strangers rarely, if ever talk to one another...

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