I had only been on the subway for a handful of stops when some sketchy kid jumped on, stood behind me, and then started egging on the kid beside me to fight him.
The kid was clearly drunk -- a white kid with some kind of metal stud embedded into his cheek bone, a LCBO bag in hand, and attitude written all over his face. As for the other kid, he stood listening to his music and bopping away to what apparently was some good beats. I too had on my earphones and I too was bopping to some good beats but I am white and he was black, and hence why he clearly had been made the focal point of this drunk kid.
I have a zero tolerance for not just racism but discrimination. Having lived in Korea where I've often been mistaken for a Russian prostitute, it annoys me when people assume, judge, and act accordingly. People are people and they deserve to be treated as such.
The drunk kid had a huge problem with the other guy and was quite rude about it. I took my earphones off to listen in because it looked as if things were going to escalate quickly. The guy listening to his music was very polite. He told the kid he had no problem with him and then continued listening to his music. It was when he started to sing and ignore the drunk kid that the drunk kid then got really agitated. He pulled up his pants a bit and lifted up part of his shirt to adjust his pants. It was then that I saw a knife tucked into the waist band of his jeans. Instantly my heart started racing. Perhaps I should have minded my own business but I was already involved. Me standing pretty much in between the two guys made me involved. I then took out my cellphone and opened my memo app. I texted the following and then showed the other guy.
"He's drunk and has a knife in his pants".
I flashed my screen at the guy listening to music as if I was showing him a funny picture and he responded by turning off his music, taking off his earphones, and standing on guard. Two stops later the drunk kid got off the subway. He stepped off, turned to face us at the doorway and just as the doors went to close I lifted my hands as if to push him if he were to step back on and someone beside me yelled out "keep on walking!".
Checked my heart rate on my Fitbit, 101!!!
Other subway riders around me then started asking questions about what had happened and the one guy thanked me for giving him a heads up. The guy standing behind me ended up being a guy from System though I've never seen him before but he recognized me. He asked me if I was okay, I wasn't really, and then we walked to the gym together. I was pretty shaken up to tell you the truth. I seriously thought this guy beside me was going to get stabbed and that I'd have to wrestle this drunk kid to the ground. Only I had seen the knife in his pants and it had spooked me but I was ready to fight.
Later in the night I saw that knife again but in my nightmare. This is going to stick.
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