There was a scene on the Metro that I need to relate to y’all, mainly because there are certain situations that pop up and you wonder what to do.
Okay its around about 3 or 4 something on a weekday on the Green line to Greenbelt and the train is packed. There is a hodge podge of DC humanity in the car of black, Latino, Asian and others as office drones heading back home, students heading somewhere, the odd touristy looking folk, all squished, not Orange line squished but it is crowded, on the train. Hanging near the doors are three or four black teenagers, doing what teenagers seem to do on trains between 2-6pm, talk loudly and cut up. The train pulls up to either U Street or Columbia Heights and the doors open. People push out, past the teens, and then a few people push in. The teens, being obnoxious say “no more people on the train” and then block a short Latino mother who has a baby strapped to her chest and a toddler in tow. She pushed herself and child onto the train. Once on, one of the boys looks the woman in the eye and just insults her. Something about 20 babies and starting to have kids when she was real young. I throw the boys the skunk eye. But then they go into some stupid rant about the “Color Purple” and “Massa” and still sent more derogatory comments towards the Latino mother.
Then something happened, possibly the right thing. A young man, one of the well dressed office drones, got up and asked the mother if she would take his seat. Then another person got up and offered their seat so the toddler could sit by his mother and there was this outpouring of kindness going out in the direction of the mother from the other commuters. The attention went away from the hateful teens and loving charity went towards the little family.
Confronting the teens was not really an option. They seemed to want conflict. And I wouldn’t call them ignorant, as ignorance is defined as being uninformed. I’m sure they got the diversity message that’s out there and I believe they knew that they were wrong, it’s just that they didn’t care.
So the lesson learned? Confronting the wrong doer doesn’t get me very far, healing the wronged does. So hopefully, next time there is a train with obnoxious teens who lash out on some poor soul, I can think of a way to show kindness to that soul.