Riding public transportation
can be uncomfortable. Sometimes it's crowded, and you have to stand pressed against complete strangers. Sometimes panhandlers walk through, begging you for money. Sometimes teenagers blast their music so loud in their headphones you can hear every word. But the worst situation is when obnoxious people try to start fights.
That's what happened Monday night, on a train in San Francisco. You'd think you'd be safe riding the train in San Francisco. It's one of the most liberal, progressive and tolerant cities in America. What's going to happen on the train - a spontaneous Gay Pride Rally? A vegan food fest? A Bernie rally? But even in this famously inclusive city, there are
crazy jerks that yell racial slurs and try to start fights.
Passenger Wiseley Wu recorded the incident:
[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imx0z8v_7uQ]]
In the video, an old white man approaches a young Asian man named Charles Wu. Wu says the older man was ranting about Golden State Warriors basketball player Stephen Curry:
"This started because the old man was yelling the N word repeatedly and no one was doing or saying a damn thing about it.
I told him to stop talking repeatedly and that's what caused him to start yelling at me."
The older man did not appreciate the criticism.
He turned his attention on Wu, going off on a furious tirade:
"You f-ck!, I'll punch your d-ck!
Yeah, I'll punch your d-ck. Oh, I know I will.
Oh, I'll beat you down, you Chinese f-ck.
I'll punch you down.
Yeah, Chinese n-gger.
I hate you f-cker. Chinese f-cks."
During this eloquent monologue, the guy sitting next to Wu gets up from his seat and leaves. Then the older man turns violent, and smacks Wu. After smacking him a second time, Wu gets up, and says "You put your hands on me one more time, motherf-cker!"
Then the attacker quickly runs away, and a female passenger stops Wu from going after him. Wu says he's "extremely grateful."
"I am both proud and embarrassed that I didn't hit him. I am extremely grateful to the woman for stopping me, I was five seconds from doing something stupid."
In the comments to the YouTube video, The Gentleman Racer had an interesting observation:
"That guy that gets up and walks away and all the other "men" who stand by and do nothing, why is it a woman has to get up and get between the two guys to de-escalate the situation?"
Because
the future is female, Gentleman Racer!
By the time BART police boarded the train, the attacker had fled. Wu declined to press charges. However, police issued photographs of the suspect to officers, so they can keep an eye out for him in the future.
In a statement, the police praised the civilians for how they reacted:
"The video captures an unfortunate, ugly scene. However, several things went right despite the belligerent and bigoted actions of one individual.
Number one, passengers on board the train suggested contacting BART police. Contacting police is always the best course of action.
Number two, the subject of the attack was deliberate in his response and reasonable in his actions.
Number three, fellow passengers voiced their support for the victim without actually physically intervening.
Number four, one of the passengers moved away from the attacker. This is always a good option – physically remove yourself from the threat until police arrive."
I think I'll just avoid public transportation, and stick to driving my car.
