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It wouldn't have even occurred to me to ask this question, but everything just seemed...."off."
Last night, about 9pm, my wife, my 6 yr old daugther and I had just finished eating dinner downtown. We got on the 3 going uptown at the Fulton St stop (Manhattan). We got a lot of strange looks and I can't help but notice that there wasn't a single other family or child under, say, 15 the entire way from Fulton to 72nd street.
Was what we did incredibly stupid? Were we in danger? Was it just that it was 9pm on a Tuesday?
I assumed it was perfectly safe but like I said...something didn't feel quite right as we finally stepped out of the station up here.
Seems like your mind was playing tricks on you. You got scared or really self-conscious and started giving off an I'm nervous/scared vibe. People picked up on this and gave you strange looks or what your paranoid mind perceived as "strange," looks.
Absolutely no reason for you to be scared. There are a lot of tourists and bridge-tunnel folk in the city around this time, more than usual. I don't think anyone would be surprised to see a family riding the trains.
It wouldn't have even occurred to me to ask this question, but everything just seemed...."off."
Last night, about 9pm, my wife, my 6 yr old daugther and I had just finished eating dinner downtown. We got on the 3 going uptown at the Fulton St stop (Manhattan). We got a lot of strange looks and I can't help but notice that there wasn't a single other family or child under, say, 15 the entire way from Fulton to 72nd street.
Was what we did incredibly stupid? Were we in danger? Was it just that it was 9pm on a Tuesday?
I assumed it was perfectly safe but like I said...something didn't feel quite right as we finally stepped out of the station up here.
Maybe your fly was open. Yes, it happened to me once and no one said anything.
You were fine riding that line at that hour. I get strange looks myself in the subways at times, especially since I do not use them all that much, and I'm a native. As long as there are people around at night, varied people, not a seeming group together that might be shady, you're fine. Ride in the conductor's car for extra safety at night.
Maybe your fly was open. Yes, it happened to me once and no one said anything.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bmwguydc
. I get strange looks myself in the subways at times,
To the OP:
I get strange looks all the time. Don't know if it's because of my green parasol or yellow polyester suit which I frequently wear on a night out downtown. And no, it's not on account of an open fly as I verify that that is fully closed before leaving the men's room.
The Fulton stop is usually busy during normal working hours and @ 9 pm, it's stll pretty okay.
I am surprised that you got strange looks, as I assumed I was the only one who gets such.
I know that in another thread you mentioned that you were a Texan. Were you and family members dressed in any Texas sized hats by any chance?
Last edited by Moderate Guy; 11-26-2008 at 09:30 AM..
I got that vibe on the Atlanta MARTA subway 2 months ago when i rode it from the Airport station and on a MARTA bus 2 days ago riding through the northern suburbs. I'm a New Yorker and i felt like an outsider and i think I just didn't fit in with what people usually see. I felt as welcome as Sylvester Stallone did in the town in the movie "First Blood". I had my carry on and a backpack and though others certainly carry those on the trains, I think I just looked like an out of towner.
So it too happens to New Yorkers in much smaller cities such as Atlanta
I got that vibe on the Atlanta MARTA subway 2 months ago when i rode it from the Airport station and on a MARTA bus 2 days ago riding through the northern suburbs. I'm a New Yorker and i felt like an outsider and i think I just didn't fit in with what people usually see. I felt as welcome as Sylvester Stallone did in the town in the movie "First Blood". I had my carry on and a backpack and though others certainly carry those on the trains, I think I just looked like an out of towner.
So it too happens to New Yorkers in much smaller cities such as Atlanta
Yeah I was getting weird looks when I was in the Bay area over the summer riding the BART. I think its just human instinct, unfortunately.
The Fulton stop is usually busy during normal working hours and @ 9 pm, it's stll pretty okay.
Which is exactly what I assumed when we went down there. It didn't even occur to me that it was possibly a bad idea.
Quote:
I am surprised that you got strange looks, as I assumed I was the only one who gets such.
I know that in another thread you mentioned that you were a Texan. Were you and family members dressed in any Texas sized hats by any chance?
I know you're kidding, but not even close. I look like every other well-fed Jew in the city. I was dressed like anyone else who works downtown and my family was wearing nothing touristy nor attention-grabbing. Trust me, I wasn't being overly sensitive and certainly wasn't begging to be looked at. I guess it's just good ol' paranoia.
Appreciate everyone's help. I got back to our hotel last night and started thinking "that's fantastsic, I can't wait to find out what I just did was exceptionally stupid and hear about how lucky we are to be in one piece or still attached to our credit cards."
If it's all just inside my own head, I'm totally down with that. Whew.
You guys are from out of town? It could have been that you were talking more loudly than people are used to. That's a common tourist faux pas.. for instance, getting on the train with your family, sitting a few seats apart or across the aisle from each other, and kind of yelling to be heard over the sound of the train. Generally, frequent subway riders learn to keep their conversations low enough that other people can't hear them. That's one of the things that I'll shoot people looks for, and it's really just reflexive on my part... However, despite my dirty looks, I usually have no intention of stabbing, mugging or otherwise accosting people.
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Yes, it happened to me once and no one said anything.
