Metro Orange Line Madness
Usually Friday orange line trips are uneventful, as there are less people on the trains in general (flex time workers, gov agency schedules, etc.). But today was a gem of a ride. I got on at VA Square and there were delays beginning at Vienna due to track work or something. Trains were only coming every 7 minutes or so. I waited 5 minutes and then a train came - of course it was completely packed. I squeezed my way on and noticed that people standing in the middle of the car had lots of personal space. I however was being squished into some guys armpit. Not one person, either standing or sitting up, took the initiative to say, " Hey, everyone in the middle of the cars squeeze together and make more room for everyone." Everyone just stood around looking pissed.
So I took the initiative and yelled, "Everyone in the middle move closer together so there is less crowding around the doors. Someone could get hurt being squished up against the doors." Most people obliged and created space, but some gave me dirty looks. The nerve of people!!! It wasn't like I was asking them to shoot their dog. It was a genuine safety issue that needed to be addressed. It's just interesting how people are too worried about what others might think to stand up and be assertive. I shudder to think what would happen in a real emergency, like a terrorist attack or electric shortage. I guess people would just stand around, look pissed, and not take action.
***The only redeeming factor of the ride was when I switched to the Red Line there was a guy who I swear was Matt Leinart's twin. I soo wanted to jump his bones right there on the metro.
So I took the initiative and yelled, "Everyone in the middle move closer together so there is less crowding around the doors. Someone could get hurt being squished up against the doors." Most people obliged and created space, but some gave me dirty looks. The nerve of people!!! It wasn't like I was asking them to shoot their dog. It was a genuine safety issue that needed to be addressed. It's just interesting how people are too worried about what others might think to stand up and be assertive. I shudder to think what would happen in a real emergency, like a terrorist attack or electric shortage. I guess people would just stand around, look pissed, and not take action.
***The only redeeming factor of the ride was when I switched to the Red Line there was a guy who I swear was Matt Leinart's twin. I soo wanted to jump his bones right there on the metro.
posted by VP of Dior at 8:38 AM
Yeah, it's never a good sign when you get to the platform at Ballston, there's already a hundred or so people waiting, and the board says that, while there is a train coming in 2 mins, the next one after that isn't for 12. Bad omens all around.
Sucked. At least the person I was pressed up against in the metro-as-crowded-club this morning was a girl, for a change. The least they could do is blast some techno or something so all that contact would have some context.
Didn't Niki Taylor date Matt Leinert? Or am I thinking of something else.
Anyway, this post goes to prove my longstanding theory that most people are assholes.
Uh, can I swear here? I forgot to check.
Everyone in DC that takes up space on the trains should go to Boston for a few days of rush hour travel. The Green Line in Boston, when trains pull up, there literally is not a single inch left for people to move. The doors open, people actually fall out and then scramble back in. The "crowded" DC trains are nothing compared to Boston in the morning and afternoon. Guess thats what they get for having the first subway in the country, the glorious T.
Your story features in today's The Express :)