Trilby - I appreciate your comments which are always thoughtful, but do you realize what you are saying? Wouldn't much better advice be to tell people to not ride the subway and leave a city that tolerates this mayhem?
I'm always cautious (head on a swivel) but I made the decision long ago to ensure my family lives, goes to school, works, goes to church, has fun, etc. in places that are safe. I owe them (and frankly myself) this. Adopting behavior reminiscent of US Soldiers watching out for the Viet Cong just to live one's life is not normal and soul crushing.
People don't have to live like this, but it's become gradually normalized and they have become conditioned to accept it.
Well, exactly. This is how I rode the subway back in my Boston days, twenty some years ago. Anyone remember the Combat Zone? Yeah, that was where my husband was going to grad school because that's where Tufts had put their med school. It'd gotten much better by the time we were there, but only by a couple of years. There were LOTS of crazy people around, but we stayed out of their way because we paid attention!!!
Situational awareness is really in short supply.
Most people have their heads down immersed in their phones.
It's really bad while on the road...so many drivers are preoccupied with their stupid smartphones.
Or people walking/jogging with headphones on. Gets me every time.
Especially women...they can't hear someone coming up behind them.
So dangerous.
Seems as though the female punched in the face victims are usually texting/ fiddling with their phones.
Trilby - I appreciate your comments which are always thoughtful, but do you realize what you are saying? Wouldn't much better advice be to tell people to not ride the subway and leave a city that tolerates this mayhem?
I'm always cautious (head on a swivel) but I made the decision long ago to ensure my family lives, goes to school, works, goes to church, has fun, etc. in places that are safe. I owe them (and frankly myself) this. Adopting behavior reminiscent of US Soldiers watching out for the Viet Cong just to live one's life is not normal and soul crushing.
People don't have to live like this, but it's become gradually normalized and they have become conditioned to accept it.
Well, exactly. This is how I rode the subway back in my Boston days, twenty some years ago. Anyone remember the Combat Zone? Yeah, that was where my husband was going to grad school because that's where Tufts had put their med school. It'd gotten much better by the time we were there, but only by a couple of years. There were LOTS of crazy people around, but we stayed out of their way because we paid attention!!!