Is the Subway Scary?
A couple of weeks ago, two women got into a physical fight on the D train because of one of them refused to cover their mouth when they coughed. Last Thursday, someone jumped in front of the F train at the 7th Avenue stop in Brooklyn, killing themselves and traumatizing the driver. Over the weekend, Gerardo Sanchez, 37, of the Bronx, repeatedly stabbed and killed another passenger on the D train because the victim refused to move a bag on a seat.
Not all subway attacks are physical; those tend to be the more frequent ones that go unreported. Is it just an inevitable truth that the subway is a breeding ground of aggression and crazy people?
At a dinner party the other night, friends exchanged subway war stories – one telling of the time her leg accidentally brushed against the passenger and, although she apologized, her leg brushing victim screamed at her to the point that other passengers offered to switch seats with her.
I’ve lived in New York my entire life and while the 80s weren’t exactly the most rosy of times to ride the subway, I was never nervous about it – perhaps because I was too young to know I should be. It seems though, that more and more, people use the subway as a place to vent their frustration.
Every once in a while I catch myself mid eye-roll… I guess I too am guilty of my own little showings of rush hour frustration, but that doesn’t mean I’m proud of it. I’ve had a few crazy people in my lifetime of subway riding, but mostly people have been good and normal and did their best to avoid eye contact while nestled under their armpits on the crowded R train.
We’ve all been there… what are your scariest subway moments? Feel free to use the comments to share your own war stories.
By Kimberly Miller for 92.3 NOW
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