Instant Conflict- Just Add People

There seemed to be an inordinate number of people on the trains and in the streets the whole way home from a recent nighttime excursion. I found that there were a number of reasons behind it, large concerts and civil disturbances being among them. It being the case that a lot of people were on the subway, it's perhaps no surprise that there would be some amount of trouble. I would have found it to be a very pleasant surprise if there hadn't been.

It happens so fast. This man entered the doorway of my subway car, and solicited from everyone near advise on whether the train would bring him to a transfer with a different subway line with which this one shared some stations. Now, the very station he was at just then is served by the other subway line, so I saw no sense in him getting on, but I considered there to be no profit in getting involved. This proved to be wise on my part.

My attention was elsewhere for a moment, and the next thing I heard was an increasingly heated exchange between him and a pair of apparent men in drag. I won't speculate on their sexual orientation, but this man did. I must admire the economy of his angry insults and retorts, which he repeated often and which involved a limited variety of expletives. In such cases of subway hostility, I just sigh in exasperation, wondering why it had to be here and now, wondering whether it would imperil speedy passage to my destination.

In this case it did not. Even so, I can't help but think about the thing now. I may see no sense in the conflict or how it happened, but there's reason in it. I just can't access it, nor can anyone but the belligerents. I am wired in such a way that I could never end up in a ranting, raving fight with strangers, whatever grievance I might feel I had against them. I probably would let things slide or would find some kind of peaceful, constructive way to address it. This guy is different, and I guess the cross dressers, who returned fire with relish, also are. Such is life.