Angry Man

Yesterday the subway here in Toronto had some issues.  Someone decided to run on the tracks for awhile, and the transit employees had to chase them down and drag them out.  This happens from time to time, and it makes a real mess when it does.

I got caught halfway through my trip by the shutdown.  They got everyone off the train, and the announcer told us what was going on in a *extremely* annoyed tone.  We sat on the platform as train after train showed up at the station and disgorged its passengers so they could all wait for the idiot to get taken off the tracks.

Everyone was annoyed, but one man in particular was furious.  He was screaming at the announcements, ranting at the trains, and even kicked the train a couple of times.  The people all gave him a wide berth.  I wasn't sure if I should interfere - he wasn't hurting anyone, but sure was making people nervous.

I am torn on what to do in these situations.  Stepping in might help calm it down, but it might also cause an explosion.  It is a lot safer for me to try that than it is for most people - even if somebody is upset, they are unlikely to take a swing at me.  A combination of calm words, authoritative presence, and just being a large man see to that.  Privilege at work.

Finally I realized why the man was so enraged - he thought the trains were going north, without passengers, for no reason.  If they had been doing this I could understand his rage, but it makes no sense.  Why would the transit system kick everyone off and then run the trains anyhow?

I walked up to him and explained what was going on.  The trains were going out of the station north, using the crossover 100 meters away to switch tracks, then turning south again.  When he realized that the transit system wasn't actually just trolling him he calmed down a lot, and asked me how I knew this, and wondered if I worked for transit.

I knew it because it is bloody obvious if you think for five seconds.

However, I calmly lied to him and told him I had seen this exact thing before, and the transit operators told me how it works.  It turns out my years of sales experience have left me with the ability to lie effectively and easily.  I don't do so, except when some jackass forces my hand, but I am still good at it.

Finally the angry man wound down and wandered away.  Shortly afterwards the trains started up again and off we went.

I wish I knew when to step in when situations like this arise.  When it is just somebody drunk or high who is yelling foolishness I ignore it, but when actual violence erupts, even if it is just man on train violence that deals no real damage, I feel compelled to act.  I always end up sitting there, carefully not looking at the person being obnoxious, trying to figure out when it is time to carefully move between the angry person and other people, and when it is time to tell them to calm down, just hoping it won't come to me having to use force of any kind.

So tricky to know if I get that balance right, and especially so when Pinkie Pie is around because I want to set just the right example for her, but I also really do not want her to get involved.