Mask Survey Leads to Possible Violence Project Situation

James, 

Wednesday, March 15, 2023, Q Train Manhattan, noon.

Entered train at [redacted]. 

25 souls on board; 5 masked: a middle aged East Asian couple (man and woman (how pathetic that the last part is noteworthy?)), an elderly East Asian woman, a younger 20’s frankly doughy looking East Asian male, and a lanky tall African american of the sort where he could be 30 or 60, hatted, headed to the job or just off the job but not in typical construction or trades attire (plus the time was wrong for that) but just a good vibe of ok he’s a worker. 

So 5/25, straight 20% masking. 

A couple of stops later and there’s a few more people on and off and I do another scan —I’m standing, back against doors so not that conspicuous. Now we’re 6/~26. 

***

#6 is the problem. 20’s black male. Middleweight? Doing the self-talking thing. Rapping to himself? Practicing his lyrics? Composing. He comes on the train with the mask on but takes it off to eat something he brought on board. He notes me scanning. 

I note him noting me scanning. 

You know, eye contact. Trouble. 

So I don’t stress the exact count. Trail that off. Not abruptly but just abort the project. Go into focusing eyes straight ahead, slow head swivel. It’s peripheral now. Thinking, is he psyching himself up, baiting me? Are these lyrics or something else or both? Or is he full on mentally unstable? 

He’s sitting diagonal to me. Again, I’m against a door, so there’s the opening door ahead of me —cause I know the route and I know which side of the train opens at each stop. No biggie. 

Ok, my stop is coming. Stay in stealth mode. Not gonna signal my intentions. Don’t want this guy following me off. Want him in front if anything. 

He’s up. Committing to the stop. Great, I’ll just stay on. Same difference in terms of walking to where I want to go anyway. Problem solved. 

So he’s up. Walks from my left zone area to my right to get ready to get off the train. Looks at me. Unavoidable eye contact. I re-focus on a spot on the opposite door, but really taking him all in; he’s just off the center of my eyeline, right.

Now, dialing back. You’ve met me. I’m not a body builder. I’m not jacked. If anything I’m a fat fuck. But I do pushups —and what I call the Lafond curl routine —thanks for that from a few years ago —and the figure 8’s to loosen up the shoulders. And I do farmer’s carries with light kettle bells. Whatever. I’m not jacked. But I am wearing a fleece [redacted] jacket. With a turtle neck sweater underneath. So I’m puffy. I’m a puffy fat fuck. 

That must be it, the fleece, because fella starts doing this flaring out the elbows in mock imitation of a body builder thing and saying something like ‘look at him he’s all trying to look tough’ or something like that. 

Ok, I think, this is pure bait. And talk, and only talk, so I don’t respond. 

Fella gets off the train.

Train doesn’t move for longer than usual. Are they gonna make the announcement that it’s delayed? Or just let us stew?

After a minute or whatever, I think, fuck it (mistake), by now he’s 20-30 yards ahead on the platform, I’ll get off. I’M NOT GONNA LET THIS GUY BULLY ME OUT OF MY ROUTINE/PLANS is my thinking. Pride. Again, mistake. Instant regret and as the doors close behind me I’m walking on the platform like a total coward putting the maximum amount of pillars and signs between him and me so if he turns back maybe he won’t see me. 

Anyway, here come the stairs from the platform to the mid-level platform. He’s walking slow. Still doing self-talk. Commitable lunatic or just still looking for trouble? He’s basically on the other side of the platform —wide, two train platform. 

I commit to passing him on his right —as wide as possible given the constraints of the platform, and making the stairs before him. And I’m thinking that because, ok, while generally I don’t want this type of guy behind me, stairs are a different story. I want the high ground.

Just then, he says something directly to a 30-ish skinny fat white male —guess he caught whitey’s eye as the white guy was walking towards him and crossed in front of him headed to a subway door. And the fella one hand shoves the euro guy! Back and away towards the other train’s entrance. Like a Parthian shove if you know what I mean. And of course the euro guy just takes it, cowers into the train. I think.

Because I don’t see it all. Because I’m passing that scene. I’m hitting the stairs, doing the look down to look back thing, and I don’t see the fella or the euro guy. Stairwell. Pillars. Peripheral.  

Then I’m on the mid-level platform with the toll booths and card selling machines and I’m over the shoulder checking and heading to my exit stairs to the street —which I take and 2-steps up do a full-on look back —but of course my look back is cut off a little because i’m a little in the stairwell. 

That’s when I hear a black sounding woman’s voice yelling, “Don’t do that!” Tone of concern. And some other voices raised. 

So I’m thinking he found another victim. But the acoustics of the stairwell to the street... I don’t know what if anything happened back there. I’m visually and audibly in another world in just a few steps up.

Beautiful day on the street. 

How did I do? 

[You did not have to interact with the cops or the media and did not get chimped on, so that is good resolution. Technically, paying attention and doing a survey will get you in occasional trouble with the Chimp Gawds. I should give you combat pay. Using the look down to look back out of the peripheral is excellent for not getting snuck and not being confrontational. Since you are of evil pigmentation, there is no possible “win” in a contact situation and many pitfalls. Cowardice is a must for us pale dogs among packs of dark hyenadons and prides of blue lions.]

***

Return trip like an hour later mask check:

~45 passengers. ~9 masked. Again, East Asians and some blacks, a white effeminate looking guy (leg cross-over), couple of white women. 

So this is close to a 20-25% mask wearing range, mid-march, 2023, 3 years into the schlamdaemic in the most powerful greatest city in the world of the most powerful bestest greatest nice most considerate nation state the world has ever seen almost 50 degree weather. 

Should add that it seems a subway phenomena and not a street thing; almost zero with a much higher sample size on the streets. 

—Crux Cross