Occupying The Subway

So I apologize for not having many posts this week, as the T has been kind of dead. But right when I thought nothing was about to go down this week, something most DEFINITELY did. These events never usually take place on the T too often, as the person initiating this is typically someone with alot of guts.

So I ride the red line with this guy almost every day, and never once have I heard him speak until today.

This gentlemen is standing in front of an African American woman innocently minding her own business. Mind you this dude got on at Harvard and left this woman alone for a solid 4 stops.

Right when the train departs from Charles MGH, I hear this man ask the woman sitting in front of him a question. "Why do you have that pin on?".The woman is sporting a pin the says "I support Occupy Boston". It is hard to hear what the woman replies with but you can hear her say something along the lines of "I support the movement and what they are going through".

The man then proceeds to politically attack this innocent woman by interrogating her about college loans and how she shouldn't be relying on the wealthy to pay them for her and that she shouldnt have borrowed them if she cant afford to pay them back. The man continues to publically express his frustration with people taking out loans to go to private schools expecting "big money makers" to pay them back for them.

Kindly entering the debate to defend the innocent woman, another gentlemen proceeds to make his point saying that surviving an America is all about investing in the future. He argues that taking out loans for a better education to get you a good job so you can return on your investment is the way America has become, and if that were all halted, our whole economy would simply stop. Businesses wouldn't grow, people would lose jobs, the whole system would crash etc. The man then starts to complain how he has to walk past the protest everyday and how he gets interrogated by the protesters every time. The man fighting back replies by explaining that so does he and almost everyone else getting off at South Station and to just deal with it. I will not quote the entire debate but the man in the trench coat proceeds to direct his anger and frustration to this other gentleman sitting down. 

Clearly losing the debate he started, the man in the trench coat says "if you want me to treat you like an ass whole I will, because thats what you're being".

The man sitting down (clearly the opposite of an asshole) replies with "well, what are you going to do about it, hurt me"? And the man in the trench coat replies "yea i should knock your brains out so I dont have to fucking listen to you anymore".

Things are clearly getting heated on the train and you can tell EVERYONE is watching. You hear some people yelling "stop" "its not worth it". I even heard a "HAPPY THURSDAY!" The man then says "Well I'm occupying the subway right now".

Both men are eventually standing up and face off, literally in eachother's faces. The man defending the woman says "well this is real American here, why dont you just hit me, then you'll end up in jail". I seriously thought fists would be thrown at this point. The suspense was at a maximum.

The man in the trenchcoat replies with "you're nothing but a little bitch". I was dying inside lol. This dude was clearly upset that he lost the debate the he started and now he looks like an idiot.

We're about to pull into south station when a random asian dude runs over and yells "hey man you have crossed the line, you cant threaten people like that". The man in the trenchcoat replies "well what are you going to do about it?" The Asian man then says "Im calling the police, and if you claim to be such a real man, you wont run when the train stops".

The train pulls into south station I can see the asian on his phone calling the police, looking for an MBTA security guard at the same time. Surprisingly the man in the trenchcoat didnt run either, he stood out side of the train and waited.

It is very rare to experiencing a confrontation of this magnitude on the T, so I knew I had to capture it for everyone. Little did this guy know that he was starting a fight next to the one and only SilentRider.

And btw this post does not reflect the political thoughts and beliefs of TheSilentRider.

Please leave comments and thoughts, I will try my best to reply to everyone.

This dude has been officially deemed #MBTAPoliticalBastard.

Until next time.

~TheSilentRider

The Perfect Approach

So I know its Sunday and I normally don't post on the weekends but I had to share this. This didn't happen to me either, it actually happened to one of my good friends who was riding the T this afternoon.
So first of all this looks pretty close to a normal American Dollar Bill of some sort. And yes you are seeing correctly, this is a One Million Dollar Bill. To give you an idea about what kind of story this is I will quote the beginning of what is written on the back of the bill.
"The million dollar question: Will you go to heaven when you die?" No need for me to quote the whole thing as you probably know what this is...And I must say this was a brilliant approach.
So if you ride the T on the regular you may or may not have been approached by a Jehovah's Wittness or a Church outreach team of some sort. And if you haven't engaged in conversation with any of these people you may have seen or overheard others who have. Typically what these people are out to do is, spread the word of God to the public. And typically they will simply start by asking you a question about your faith or your religion; and sometimes they start out slick by just making small talk. Anyways, you can usually spot these people to avoid them or at least know by their first few sentences what they are trying to do.
So the way my friend describes his encounter is as follows: This man approaches him on the T asking him if he has change for a million dollar bill, and hands him this exact bill. My friend replies by saying "I wish I could say yes". The man then proceeds to ask "the million dollar question" and traps my friend into a long boring conversation about his faith. Concluding the conversation, he let my friend keep the bill and even gave him another to give to a friend. Little did he know that this friend ended up being The (one and only) SilentRider.
Out of all the approaches I have seen / heard of, this one takes the cake. This is a great way to initiate anyone in conversation, so beware friends, because some day you may find yourself falling victim of "the million dollar question" as well!
Until next time.
~TheSilentRider

The Mad Cow Boy

So if you ride the T a lot chances are you've encountered a crazy before. You may see some people talking to themselves, making strange noises, making strange movements, hell I've even seen someone just lay down on the bus floor for no reason. I'm not here to hate on and make fun of people with real issues but in this particular instance, I must admit I was quite frightened as were the rest of these passengers. I always feel like the ones who talk to themselves are the most dangerous from my experience.
Anyways here's how it started. Before I begin let me just say it a pretty ballsy move for me to even snap this picture, because I'm sure if he saw me he'd rip my head off. So I get on the train and take a seat across from this dude. Of course he looked pretty normal at first. Sitting next to this dude is a petrified woman with the most frightened facial expression i have ever seen. I'm kind of confused as to why she looks like this. She gets off at the next stop and another innocent lady sits next to him. This is when he starts talking to himself. I don't even know what hes saying but in the midst of his private conversation, I see his face start to turn beat red. Now I don't know if his imaginary friend pissed him off or what, but he starts punching the hand pole next to him. People kind of glance at him here and there, but nobody wants to actually look like their staring at him. By the time we get to park street I'm already surprised he hasn't hurt someone yet. Before the train stops he gets up and walks to the door waiting for it to open. He starts punching the door with all his might making a whole lot of noise. People are freaking out. The train finally comes to a stop and the doors open. He then darts out of the train car and heads straight for a pile of plywood that was being used for construction. He starts punching it like hes Rocky Balboa training for the big fight against Apollo. The doors close and we start pulling out of the station. We can hear the loud impacts of his punches against the wood as we depart. There's not much more to this story other than I thought it was hilarious he was rocking cowboy boots. This was one bad ass crazy.
You have been deemed #MBTANUTJOB
Beware of those who talk to themselves.
Until next time.
~TheSilentRider

One Man's Train Is Another Man's Bed Room

So I was riding the train this morning (which was rather uncrowded) and I see that it is definitely empty enough for everybody to be sitting. I see a group of people standing by this one set of seats that appear to have nobody sitting in them. Once the group of people clear out I see this fellow knocked out cold despite the loud subway noise. First of all I thought this was pretty funny, seeing as this guy was pretty much silently saying "screw you" to 4 people. Second of all I thought I'd take this opportunity to remind everyone to take proper sanitation measures after riding the T. This bum looked pretty dirty, and definitely smelled pretty funky. The point is, you never know who grabbed that pole, leaned against that door, or sat in that seat before you. For all you know it could have been this guy. With the temperature starting to drop, we should start to see more of these guys. Dont say I didnt warn you!
Until next time
~TheSilentRider

How You Can Tell An Inbound Train Came From Ashmont Without Looking At The Sign #1

So this is going to be part one of a series as you can tell by the title of this blog post. Reason being, because there are many ways to tell if an inbound train is coming from Braintree or Ashmont without looking at the sign or listening to the MBTA voice. For all my people who know the difference between the two destinations, this should be a fast easy giggle. For all of you who are confused, google the MBTA Red Line Map look at some of the stops next to Ashmont and then google some of those names + "news". Feel free to let me know what you find lol!
Without further or due, there is little that needs to be said here. I apologize for the quality of the picture as I was aiming in between two passengers, so I already looked pretty sketchy. The photo is of the window opposite me, and if you look closely I'm pretty sure those are bullet holes...... Enough said.
Good old #MBTASafety : )
Remember do the right thing and ride Braintree.
Until next time.
~TheSilentRider

"The Pusher-Shover"

So check it out. I'm going to be frank here...I cannot stand this man standing in this picture. I ride the bus with him every day and sometimes the train. I usually like to avoid him once I get off the bus though. I understand that the majority of T riders are retarded and will not step all the way back into the bus or train so people entering can fit...but cmon BE POLITE about it. AT LEAST AT FIRST. A polite person normally says something like "excuse me" "coming though" "pardon me" etc. And usually you'll find that the people in their way will move aside. You also get the brave loud person who politely announces "can you guys please move back". And again people will move. And in either of these cases if there is no response, I understand you must  wiggle your way through the crowd.
Our friend over here does none of the above. This man gets on the bus at a late stop so the bus is always crowded when he gets on. And everyday I see this man walk on the bus with his old rickety headphones, and just PLOW through the crowd of people pushing them, shoving them, making them flop all around, and without saying one word. One day this man will get punched in the face, and I will be there to take the picture to post here for you. I hope none of you have to meet this man, because he has officially been deemed #MBTADICK.
Until next time.
~TheSilentRider

You Aint Fittn'

So I know, its the morning, and the T runs a little slower because of increased traffic etc. Not to mention Harvard Station is also one of the busiest T stations in Boston. Thus we all gun for that first train we see coming after we get through the Charlie Gates. Is it worth it? Not if you ask me. But for some I guess I understand. Our friend here looks like hes taking a trip somewhere and may have a deadline for his next connection...but lets use common sense here buddy.
1. You gunned for the first car of the train which is the most crowded one since its closest to the Charlie Gate entrance.
2. You even see before the doors open that the car is packed in like a sardine can.
3. People are already struggling to fit inside the doors without the buzzer going off.
4. You also see some (smart) people choosing to wait for the next train which is probably directly behind this one, and which is probably less crowded.
5.You're carrying not one bag, not even two bags, but THREE BAGS

YET YOU STILL ATTEMPT TO SQUISH YOURSELF IN THE CAR... -________-

Now not only do you obviously miss this train, but you look like a dam fool in the act...
You have been deemed #MBTAIDIOT
Until next time
~TheSilentRider

Think you're the only one that can hear your ipod? Think again...

I was riding the 73 (Belmont/Cambridge) line today like always. It was about 10:15 when I boarded the bus and grabbed a seat in the way back. I usually like to do this so I dont have to worry about giving my seat up to pregnant women and people with disabilities. This usually works out since because of their shortcoming they cant reach the back of the bus to grab a seat. Anyways one passenger boards the bus with an ipod in hand, rocking the white earbuds. He takes a seat a few away from me. All of a sudden it begins. Not your typical hiphop or house music from your average student, or classical selection from your average white/asian professional...RIVER DANCE MUSIC. I wanted to die laughing...I instantly posted to facebook. The dude was getting wierd looks the WHOLE ride.
If you're going to blare something...dont let it be something people can shit on you for. You have been deemed #MBTALOSER.
Until next time...
~TheSilentRider