Going down the escalator at L'Enfant Plaza, you could hear the shouting way before you saw what was going on.
On the lower platform, two guys--both black, but one younger and dressed in a coat and tie, and one older and dressed in a ratty tank top--were verbally going at it. It was mostly the guy in the ratty tank top (who seemed to be both crazy and homeless) who was making threats and issuing insults. The guy in the tie wasn't rising to his level, but he was responding with just enough vigor to make it clear that he wasn't going to let himself be pushed around by this loser.
So they jawed back and forth for a few minutes. Lots of "Fuck you"s, threats of violence (from the homeless guy), and abundant use of the n-word (again, from the homeless guy), etc. Eventually, when he realized the other guy wasn't going to take the bait and slug him, which I suspect is what he was after, the homeless guy gave up and walked away, muttering things like "I'm going to kill that motherfucker," "They don't know I got a gun," and weirdest of all, "White people are all fucking faggots."
(As a straight, white guy, this was obviously news to me. I mean, sure, the Old Spice guy makes me have...you know. Strange...uncomfortable feelings. But he does that to every straight guy, and anyone who says otherwise is lying.)
I should mention that as he walked away, several people on the platform were laughing at him. So that probably didn't do much for his mood.
The train eventually came, both men prepared to board it, and based on the looks the homeless guy was giving the other man, it seemed likely that the feud was going to continue on the train. I was waiting for the train going in the opposite direction, so I mentally said goodbye to my new friend.
Then, just as he was about to step on board the train, a woman on the platform walked past him. I'm not sure if she made a comment, simply made eye contact with him, or if he just exploded all on his own, but he shouted something at her, she responded, and then he hit her in the face. It wasn't a punch, exactly, but it wasn't a harmless slap, either.
This turned out to be a really big mistake.
If you've seen enough episodes of Cops, you know there are two kinds of women in the world: The kind who take it when hit, and the kind who hit back. This woman fell into the latter category. Once she got over the initial shock, she started fucking wailing on the guy. He was down on the ground in seconds. He'd been holding a small bag that seemed to contain several porcelain statues, and that also hit the ground, breaking the statues into a thousand pieces all over the platform.
She had two male friends with her, one of whom was using a cane. They also got into the action. So did the cane. It's fair to say the guy got the living shit beaten out of him. And justifiably so.
The brawl only went on for about thirty seconds before the woman and her friends cooled off. Well, her friends cooled off, anyway. One of them had to stop her from taking the cane and continuing to beat him with it.
Incidentally, you'd think that between the loud argument and now this, Metro personnel would be all over the place. But no. When a fifteen year-old kid tries to sneak in through the gate instead of the turnstile, two or three transit cops are all over it. But if a fight breaks out? We're on our own.
Anyway, the woman and her friends quickly boarded the next train. The homeless guy--his tank top now even rattier for having one strap torn apart--was still stalking around, muttering, and picking up pieces of porcelain off the platform. Several minutes later, the transit cops arrived and took him away.
I guess there are all kinds of lessons to be learned from this incident. Don't be an asshole, don't hit women, especially don't hit women who have friends with her, etc. But the one I choose to take away from it is that what Metro really needs is a citizen vigilante force. Even if they weren't allowed to carry guns or tasers, wooden sticks are evidently all they'd really need.
On the lower platform, two guys--both black, but one younger and dressed in a coat and tie, and one older and dressed in a ratty tank top--were verbally going at it. It was mostly the guy in the ratty tank top (who seemed to be both crazy and homeless) who was making threats and issuing insults. The guy in the tie wasn't rising to his level, but he was responding with just enough vigor to make it clear that he wasn't going to let himself be pushed around by this loser.
So they jawed back and forth for a few minutes. Lots of "Fuck you"s, threats of violence (from the homeless guy), and abundant use of the n-word (again, from the homeless guy), etc. Eventually, when he realized the other guy wasn't going to take the bait and slug him, which I suspect is what he was after, the homeless guy gave up and walked away, muttering things like "I'm going to kill that motherfucker," "They don't know I got a gun," and weirdest of all, "White people are all fucking faggots."
(As a straight, white guy, this was obviously news to me. I mean, sure, the Old Spice guy makes me have...you know. Strange...uncomfortable feelings. But he does that to every straight guy, and anyone who says otherwise is lying.)
I should mention that as he walked away, several people on the platform were laughing at him. So that probably didn't do much for his mood.
The train eventually came, both men prepared to board it, and based on the looks the homeless guy was giving the other man, it seemed likely that the feud was going to continue on the train. I was waiting for the train going in the opposite direction, so I mentally said goodbye to my new friend.
Then, just as he was about to step on board the train, a woman on the platform walked past him. I'm not sure if she made a comment, simply made eye contact with him, or if he just exploded all on his own, but he shouted something at her, she responded, and then he hit her in the face. It wasn't a punch, exactly, but it wasn't a harmless slap, either.
This turned out to be a really big mistake.
If you've seen enough episodes of Cops, you know there are two kinds of women in the world: The kind who take it when hit, and the kind who hit back. This woman fell into the latter category. Once she got over the initial shock, she started fucking wailing on the guy. He was down on the ground in seconds. He'd been holding a small bag that seemed to contain several porcelain statues, and that also hit the ground, breaking the statues into a thousand pieces all over the platform.
She had two male friends with her, one of whom was using a cane. They also got into the action. So did the cane. It's fair to say the guy got the living shit beaten out of him. And justifiably so.
The brawl only went on for about thirty seconds before the woman and her friends cooled off. Well, her friends cooled off, anyway. One of them had to stop her from taking the cane and continuing to beat him with it.
Incidentally, you'd think that between the loud argument and now this, Metro personnel would be all over the place. But no. When a fifteen year-old kid tries to sneak in through the gate instead of the turnstile, two or three transit cops are all over it. But if a fight breaks out? We're on our own.
Anyway, the woman and her friends quickly boarded the next train. The homeless guy--his tank top now even rattier for having one strap torn apart--was still stalking around, muttering, and picking up pieces of porcelain off the platform. Several minutes later, the transit cops arrived and took him away.
I guess there are all kinds of lessons to be learned from this incident. Don't be an asshole, don't hit women, especially don't hit women who have friends with her, etc. But the one I choose to take away from it is that what Metro really needs is a citizen vigilante force. Even if they weren't allowed to carry guns or tasers, wooden sticks are evidently all they'd really need.
6 comments:
Looks like it's already in effect based on the outcome.
Kung Fu Sister...
The law doesn't distinguish between "a harmless slap" and a punch...
It was a description, not an attempt at a legal definition.
Yeah, don't hit women! Have you seen the video of UFC fighter Roger Huerta kickin' the crap out of some guy who sucker punched a woman in austin last week? Dude got the ole' curb stomp. Lesson learned!
Well, you are all still a bunch of faggots to me.
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