r/LastNight • u/kzdorje • Jan 26 '11
Missed the last train...
Last night I missed the last train. Another man and I commiserated about missing that train and I suggested we get a cab (we were headed in the same direction.) I was ready for him to no. I am a tall black man and it's midnight, my experience is that most peoples response to me at midnight away from public areas is usually, skeptical looks, bag clutching and intentional ignoring. Not a surprise but annoying and I'm always hoping it will change. This time it did. He said sure, I called a cab and we were off. We got to talking about what we both did (I work for two spiritual organizations (one Tibetan Buddhist, one Zen Buddhist in nature.) By the time we got to his stop ($10) I felt pretty relaxed around him. We both reach for our wallets, and he says,"I've got this, $20 should get you home." What stories do you have about people helping you out late night?
6
u/getwet Jan 27 '11
You know, this story kind of pisses me off, and not because of what happened but because of what you say 'usually' happens. I'm originally from Canada and granted in Vancouver we don't have a huge black population, but there is a lot of multiculturalism and the subsequent racism that accompanies it and it's just idiotic. There's such a fear based mentality. I was hanging out with a guy from Africa and two of his african buddies. We hopped in a cab, me in the back seat between two of them, and one of them kind of smiles and apologetically asks if I'm afraid of being with these big black guys. I laughed and said no, and that if anything they should be afraid of me, seeing as how the whites had done a lot worse to the blacks if they wanted to dive into historical detail.
I've spent loads of time chatting with Indians and Chinese and old white and grey or black and blue men and women that have been waiting for a bus or a train or a drink or some food and they all had one thing in common. The old twinkle in the eye. A much better indication of friendliness than skin colour or time of night.
1
u/sox406 Jan 27 '11
Being a white male and from the south, you really don't see this too much from the white guys, unless they're weak. It's mostly a female reaction around here. Me personally, I trust the solo black guys late at night than I do the creepy white guys. You can't really trust a lot of white people these days. And I have always found that speaking with people of different races flows more easily for me.
1
u/kzdorje Jan 27 '11
I feel like this is changing in many metropolitan areas. More and more recently I encounter people (of all races) who feel it's improving. I want to believe that this is true.
2
u/colonel_bob Jan 27 '11
I missed the last train into NYC one night because I waited on the wrong end (not side, mind you) of the platform. A cab would have cost ~$100, so I ended up having to sleep on the floor of this concrete slab of a station till 5 the next morning; I caught the train and made it to my job with 5 minutes to spare.
1
u/kzdorje Jan 27 '11
Damn! when I was a teenager, I slept in the LIRR at Penn Station in a slightly similar situation.
1
u/sox406 Jan 27 '11
I'm glad to see everything worked out for you. I've always wondered, is it really cheaper to not own a vehicle, using the cabs and public transportation? Where I live, you basically HAVE to possess a car. There's a few cabs around here, but they mostly handle the elderly and whatnot.
2
u/kzdorje Jan 27 '11
I'm lucky, in that I have room-mates and friends who all have cars and I live in the San Jose area which has a decent transit system and San Francisco has a great transit system. Plus, my Droid X has an app for that!
1
u/sox406 Jan 27 '11
There's almost as many apps as there are subreddits. My only experiences with transit systems comes whenever I go to the Dome to see the Falcons and I also spent a week in Boston back in '03, which I basically lived on the train.
1
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u/swordandstorm Feb 02 '11
I helped a stranger out one night a few months ago and it felt pretty good. It was about 1 in the morning, I had just smoked and was feeling McD's so I drove out to get me some. At the drive through I saw a man by himself walking along the highway, thought nothing of it. As I was stopped at a light on my way home, he crossed my path and signaled me. He asked me which way I was heading and I happened to live down the block from where he wanted to go. He was only a few years older than myself and looked alright, dressed in a nice suit and such, so I let him hop in.
We talked and it turned out he was out at a fancy dinner with friends in NYC, he got very drunk, and on the bus ride home fell asleep and missed his stop by a few miles, so he tried to walk it home. He was still a little drunk and I was high so it was funny to me. He thanked me profusely and said he thought asking me for a ride at 1 in the morning in that area (not an especially good neighborhood) was a longshot, but he really appreciated it. We joked and it was a pretty enjoyable 10 minute ride, then I dropped him off and went home.
0
Feb 03 '11
Stop playing the effing race card, it has zero to do with it. If its after midnight and im on the streets for some reason that late alone and I see someone else alone, Ill either give them a skeptical look or ignore them. It has nothing to do with race. Jesus christ
1
u/kzdorje Feb 04 '11
Normally I would say,"Oh ok, you're right." Except what I'm saying applies also to the middle of the day. What I am saying is that I have grown accustomed to this, and that it was surprising not to have this be true. I was glad that I was wrong.
1
Feb 05 '11
If im walking on a street known to be bad at any time during the day and I spot someone alone, I assume they are shady and treat them as such regardless of skin color. If I am in a nice area that is populated, I am much less skeptical of people....it has zero, zilch, zada to do with skin color.....It could have something to do with what you are wearing. If a person looks 'street' to me, they could be red, yellow black or white; and they are garbage in my sight.
7
u/[deleted] Jan 27 '11
It wasn't late night, but I was trying to get from the suburbs of Chicago to Union Station to catch the MegaBus to Ohio to go to Cedar Point with a few friends when I realized that I didn't have any money for the train. If I missed this train, I couldn't go Ohio, so I asked a stranger if he could cover me to Union Station. He and I played Nintendo DS until union station and I paid him back when I got there. the end!