Subway report

Subway travel is now more perilous than ever before, for these reasons.

(1) one has to be careful not to draw the attention of the hundreds of mentally ill and violent people who prowl about the subway system. One night after returning from work I made the mistake of ignoring my own advice in this regard. A slightly disheveled man walked past me on a platform at 135th street and Lennox avenue. He was in a rather heated argument with himself. As he walked past me I watched him carefully so as to maintain a safe distance. After proceeding ten feet past me he doubled back. “ what the f—-k you looking at, n—-r!” I was not afraid of this thug, but did want to get into a silly fistfight with him. I looked the other way and pretended that I did not hear who he said. After a pause that lasted several seconds, he walked away and resumed his profane soliloquy. In years past an encounter like this was a rarity; these days it is a daily occurrence. Years ago they assaulted their fellow passengers with foul odors; these days they assault them with knives axes, guns, and excrement.Years ago there was also there was a certain amount of shame felt by the homeless, even by those who were insane and drug addled. Many had shared their stories with news reporters and would tearfully admit that their sad predicament was caused by poor choices they had made. Nowadays the blame is shifted to society, greedy landlords, racism, sexism, the evils of capitalism, a system that has failed them. Their cluelessness combined with their pathological rage make the homeless a clear and present danger to the public.

(2) marijuana smokers are everywhere. They light up on the platforms, inside of subway cars, in between subway cars-all with impunity. One is often relegated to moving from subway car to subway to avoid the noxious fumes. That junk is legal in New York City, thanks to corrupt politicians. One can imbibe it in practically any open public space. But these particular potheads choose to bypass countless places in the city, where it is legal to smoke their weed, and light up in a locked subway car. These are wretched people!

(3) aggressive panhandlers and hustlers. Some of these characters are, one has to admit, quite colorful. There is the middle-aged white man with a cane who promises to rescue anyone being robbed or assaulted if you contribute to his cause. There is the Nigerian fellow who bangs a drum, sings in Yoruba, but never says what he is singing about. The general run of panhandlers, however, are menacing street types who not so much ask for money as demand it.

(4) perhaps of slightly lesser danger is the dysfunctional subway system infrastructure. Exit doors that are stuck, subway stops where the gaps between the platform and the subway car door are unusually large, and that just scratches the surface.

The New York City transit authority officials make no bones about the fact that the subway system is dangerous and full of nasty surprises. Their official position is that you should use it at your own risk. Kudos to them for their honesty.