I was still working downtown at Wall Street. What this means is that I would ride the E train all the way to the last stop before transferring to the 2/3 train to get me to Wall. That’s how I found myself saving a girl on the subway.
The situation occurred inside a nearly empty train, there were only 3 of us in there. Me, this young lady, and the male in question. We were nearing the end of the line, probably 5 or so stops before the end. I saw this man go over to the woman and ask if he could talk to her. She was fearful, and nodded her head no. The male become pushier, can I at least have your number, maybe we can talk another time when we aren’t riding the train. Again, she said no, so now the guy starts with the “You don’t like me? You too good for me? Just give me your number.”
I understand that we can’t really tell people not to talk to others, so I didn’t immediately pounce on this situation. However, once I saw that she said no, and the guy wasn’t taking it as an answer, I decided that I had to intervene. I could see that she was very scared, and I had seen just about as much as I was going to allow of this jerk harassing this young lady. Mind you, this happened very quickly, matter of seconds from the start to the point where I decided to jump in.
So I got up, I went over to where they were, and I said, “Hey, I didn’t see you, we’ve been on the same train this whole time. How’s your mom doing?” The guy looked at me and I said, “What’s up man, how’s it going? You guys friends?” He stared at me and said, “We are having a conversation here, keep it pushing.” I smiled, I looked at the girl, “Are you having a conversation?” She said no, “Doesn’t appear to me that she’s interested in continuing this conversation. So I suggest you take your leave.” He started hot stepping, talking under his breath, and trying to find a way to save face, so I decided to give him a way out by speaking as though I was in law enforcement.
“Look young man, I’m off duty right now, and I really don’t feel like filling out a ton of paperwork. Whatever you are thinking of doing right now, stop. I’m giving you the opportunity to walk away right now with no further consequence. If you proceed down this dangerous path, I cannot guarantee that you will be home for dinner tonight or even tomorrow.” I looked at the girl, and I said, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to frighten you, please don’t tell your mother.”
At this point the guy did the smart thing, he shook his head and he walked away. The young lady looked up at me and thanked me. I told her not to worry about it. I then asked her if she would like me to walk her somewhere? She said no, that she’d stay seated, and jump off at the next stop before the doors close. So I sat next to her quietly, and she jumped off at her stop.
And that’s the story of me saving a girl on the subway. Would you do the same, or would you allow this harassment to go on?
Just a life long New Yorker sharing the journey through my lens. Please take note of a post’s date. The views I express here are subject to change and evolving as I grow and learn.
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