International Beauty Supply

SITTING

Sometimes it’s kind of a miracle when you get to witness some wonderful display of human selfishness. It’s almost something to compare your worst behavior to so that once you’ve seen it; you realize you’re not such a shitty person after all.

I have to admit that though NYC can be extremely self-interested, there is a kind of understanding between most of the denizens that if this freak show is to continue, it’ll require some degree of cooperation. But last night I saw one of those people who exists in one of those “unacceptance bubbles,” the kind where they want to pretend they can have all the room they want to.

It’s the A train heading uptown, 9pm, kinda empty. I’m in the outside seat on a short, three-seat bench near the door. At the 14th St. station this guy gets on and sits next to me with his duffle bag in his lap and takes out a book. I’m not paying that much attention as I’m reading myself. As the train makes more stops the car gets crowded and eventually one of the only seats left is the one next to the guy next to me. A woman wants to sit there and asks the guy if he’d make some room since his bag the bag in his lap is sticking out on her end and taking up the empty seat. He doesn’t bother answering, just keeps reading his book. She asks him again, rather politely but urgently and again he says nothing and finally she leaves to find another place to sit.

A young man sitting on one of the double seats that extend perpendicular to the bench I’m then says, “You’re not going to move over for the lady? That’s messed up.”

Still no reply from the guy and the kid continues to repeat variations on this statement at least five times still with no response, though from my scant notice, no one else in the crowded car even bothers. Eventually though some other young guy who’s been overhearing all this comes over and stands right in front of Rude Dude without looking at him and asks the other young guy “He won’t make room for the lady?”

“He won’t make room, it’s damn rude” says the first guy.

Then the second young guy says something to the effect that maybe that’s ok not to make room, which I didn’t quite understand, and when the first young guy asks the second young guy if he wants to sit there, the second guy declines. All the while the Rude Dude continues to read or at least simulates the reading of his book. There’s no violence, no threats, just a kind of low grade belittling. I can’t imagine the amount of energy Rude Dude had to exert to sit through all this when it would have been easy just to have let her sit. But maybe he’s just one of those silent but deadly types, just waiting to come unhinged and ready to destroy the world. I’m sure there must be at least a couple of these sorts of people in this city.

Eventually the both the young guys get off, and I expected the first one to say something but he doesn’t. All the Rude Dude does is move over to an empty bench across from me when he gets the chance, giving me a kind of blank look. He’s wearing everything Carhart: coat, shirt, hat and pants.