When video of a trans woman being verbally and physically attacked by a stranger on a crowded New York subway train during rush hour hit the internet this week, reactions were mixed.
Some people were critical of the dozens of bystanders who sat just inches away from the unprovoked assault and did nothing. Others felt they were in their right to ignore the hate crime playing out right before their eyes.
Related: Video Captures Trans Woman Being Physically Assaulted On NYC Subway While Bystanders Do Nothing
“What were the other people on the train supposed to do?” one Queerty commenter asked. “They were all minding their business so they can go home to their families when they get off the train.”
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“I think most NY’ers consider it personal policy to not get involved in anything that doesn’t personally involve them,” another person said. “I’m just glad the victim is physically OK.”
“I wouldn’t intervene, especially if I don’t know what’s going on,” a third person wrote. “It could be the continuation of something personal between them, for all I know.”
Related: Snickering Bystanders Do Nothing To Stop Violent Antigay Hate Crime Caught On Tape
Which begs the question: When is it OK to turn a blind eye to someone, particularly someone from a marginalized community, being violently attacked? Is the “This is New York” excuse an acceptable response, or is it just a way for people to shuck responsibility?
Sound off in the comments below…
IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou
Try barging up in the bathroom with her and see what you get. She isn’t the only woman out there that’s going to offended by men trying to steal women’s identity or private spaces.
joeyty
It’s okay when one doesn’t know if a hate crime is going on or not because one doesn’t know the full story. I say this because I felt like a jerk when I once jumped into a violent situation and then found out it wasn’t at all what I’d imagined and I was defending the actual villain. (Not saying that’s what’s going on in this case, but..)
kernowcraig
Its never OK. And there are ways to handle it without causing it to kick off, a couple of well minded passengers, could easily have moved the carriage and stood between them, blocking them from seeing each other. What was worse here though, was the way no-one did anything when the physical violence started. If you’re not part of the solution…. you’re part of the problem.
joeyty
@kernowcraig: ” a couple of well minded passengers, could easily have moved the carriage and stood between them, blocking them from seeing each other” Then one of those in the argument might just pull out a razor and slash through that human curtain.
Masc Pride
@kernowcraig: I think you’re answer only works under the assumption that everyone is civilized. That was an NYC subway. Simply getting up to block could get you stabbed. Three things:
1. We don’t know the whole story here. The altercation clearly started before video was rolling. You need to be very sure of what’s going on before you risk your own safety.
2. We don’t know what action these passengers may or may not have taken after exiting the train.
3. How is it everyone else’s responsibility to intervene when the person attacked refuses to do anything about it? The transperson claims to be too busy to even file a police report.
Masc Pride
*your
joeyty
@Masc Pride: I think half of these posters live in lily-white (with a few yellows thrown in) civilized neighborhoods in Vermont or something. The naivity astounds me.
joeyty
*naivete
Tackle
I think it’s completely ok to ignore it if the LGBTQ person brought it upon themselves. There has been a few cases on here ( Queerty) where the LGBTQ person ,ignited the fire. Instead of just walking away, some chose to engaged in a verbal spats. Or approaching someone in a Dallas BBQ restaurant, or in this case, just sitting there and NOT defending oneself. In this case here, what do you expect others to do. If people see that you ARE able-bodied,and not handicap. Not a child or elderly person, chances are, they will not assist you. I’m not for men hitting or beating up on women, but in the case here, the Trans person would have been totally justified in mopping the floor with her ass…
Me2
It’s NEVER ok to turn a blind eye! We have an obligation to help people in need and to be our brother’s keeper. But we also have the right to decide for ourselves which way to help. I find that most people in NYC will alert the authorities instead of jumping into the middle of an altercation between strangers.
Roan
@IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou:
Well, aren’t you a special little d’bag. You and the n*gger deserve each other.
midknightryder13
@Masc Pride:
That bothered me, too. This woman has VIDEO of the altercation. And I BELIEVE the MTA has regulations against that kind of behavior. And she cannot be bothered to file a police report? Did she even bother to report it to the MTA? I’m pretty sure THEY’RE not thrilled about this video. NEITHER is the tourist board of NYC.
It’s been on AT LEAST ONE “mainstream” news web site, that I know of, so it’s getting some rather widespread play. And given what’s going on at some of the Target stores around the country, one has to wonder.
joeyty
@Me2: ” We have an obligation to help people in need and to be our brother’s keeper.” Have you actually seen Pearl Love ? That brother looks like he could definitely take on the woman who started swatting at him, and wouldn’t need any help.
Louis
Any decent empathetic human being would do something not just sit there.
Its unbelievable that even some of these comments represent the classic bystander syndrome making excuses and rationalizing the inactive response when they could easily step in and say thats not right or back off of this person or persons.
Humanity really has gone downhill and incidents like this just continue to solidify this fact about this world.
In answer to when is it ever RIGHT it NEVER is .
If you are any ounce of a decent human being you wouldnt just sit there and look on as someone is physically assaulted .
Louis
@Me2: True as long as you try to make a difference even if that means reporting these attackers to the authorities on behalf of the ones who are assaulted it still makes a difference ultimately.
Louis
@kernowcraig: Exactly at least a few rational people are making logical statements.
As far as the fear or concern of the violence or hatred being turned on you for intervening in you said it perfectly .
There are ways to calm down situations like this without getting physically violent yourself.
You could simply talk to the person who is so heated in a well articulated and soft spoken way as to not get their anger anymore heightened then it already is.
If it were me id tell the person that the other person wasnt speaking to them and its rude to attack someone when they havent done anything nor said anything to you.
People here have mentioned living in a rose colored world no thats not what its about its about wondering afterwards what you could have done or you should have done.
Would people have that same attitude if the person had been MURDERED and they did nothing to prevent it from happening ?
Probably so and thats the saddest testament of them all about situations like this.
o.codone
So wait. The trashy bitch doing all the talking is the trans here? IDK. Somebody got their ass beat. And, right here in NYC you don’t EVER get mixed-up in somebody else’s drama. No way, unless you want to walk away dead and shit, motherfucker.
joeyty
@Louis: Where do you live, may I ask ?
joeyty
@Louis: So if some big tough dude (which Pearl Love IS built like) is getting swatted by a woman, you’d jump up and attack the woman ??
joeyty
@o.codone: Only if a kid or an old person is getting attacked. Otherwise….(and certainly not in a case like this). And if a man put his hands on that woman and she said “he touched me the wrong way” then the man gets arrested and, at the very least, spends the rest of his life as a “sex offender.” I saw a girl pass out from the heat on the subway once, and she’s lying on the floor, and not one man would touch her for that reason.
praenomenal
@joeyty: Your transphobia is showing. I don’t know much about Ms. Love, but I do know that years of hormones, while they won’t change your height or build, reduce muscle mass significantly. Your assumptions about the individual based on size are sadly lacking in context. I do not know you, so I will assume it is not willful ignorance and attempt to engage you. You have stridently claimed both that to intervien would have been dangerous and that Ms. Love should have been able to handle it herself, these two are diametrically opposed. If you would not engage due to fear of attack then that fear of attack should be an order of magnitude higher for the victim. Furthermore the assesment that, and I am paraphrasing, “Something happened before the video”, is also fallacious since in our society there are hierarchical power systems, (the same systems that enforce institutional racial bias), in which a transgender individual is fairly powerless.
There was a victim and an aggressor and it is absolutely beholden to all of us to stand up for one and another, that is part of the social contract. I don’t care where you live, if you ignore violence then you are the problem.
Masc Pride
@joeyty: Good point. I think it’s also easier for everyone to say they would come to the rescue when they don’t actually have to do it. Very easy for some to SAY what they’d do in a dangerous situation…from their laptops in the comfort of safe places.
@praenomenal: But some of your statements are contradicting as well. Doesn’t this LGBT “social contract” apply to Pearl Love too? Pearl CHOOSING to not report the crime means the assailant remains able to harass and assault another trans person. Again, arguing that it was everyone else’s responsibility to do something when the victim didn’t and won’t do anything is simply illogical.
joeyty
@Masc Pride: Wel…granted, some people who say, online, they’d intervene might do so in real life too. But I’m tired of these hicks who live coddled lives in super-civilized places criticizing anybody in this NYC subway situation. Pearl Love could be one of the trans activists who defiled the gay statues by George Segal for all we know, and could have been obnoxious to the mommy back on the subway platform, or they know each other from the neighborhood and it’s an ongoing thing, or….whatever. Who knows ?
joeyty
@praenomenal: “There was a victim and an aggressor and it is absolutely beholden to all of us to stand up for one and another, that is part of the social contract. I don’t care where you live, if you ignore violence then you are the problem.” How do YOU know who the aggressor was? I jumped into a fight once, where the cops were called and everything, and later found out I’d been an idiot. The guy who I saw throw the first punch, who I thought was the villain, was actually finally fighting back against someone who’d been tormenting him regularly.
kboyle49
ITS NV ER OK TOO IGNORE HATE CRIMES AGAINST ANYONE!!
Louis
@joeyty: What? I never implied id attack them the video made me angry and I responded with frustration but no id never physically assault the woman .
I would however take the other person out of the situation to keep them safe especially if they didnt want to get into a physical altercation themselves.
I think differently in this regard your opinion is your opinion as is your right as it is my equal right to disagree with said opinion and have a differing point of view.
As far as where I live I live in a bible belt basically and I live in a town where some still refer to blacks as the n word so yes Im stuck in a medieval era where I live.
However that being said if someone was actually physically assaulting someone for their race, sexual orientation, gender, or nationality I would say something and I wouldn’t be afraid to do so.
I have social anxiety disorder and numerous health issues but even with all that I wouldnt be the least bit afraid to step in and say something.
Now if they tried to throw a punch at me or the other person however well lets just say I have a very short fuse and I will when it comes down to it protect the people I care about especially those who are physically assaulted due to someone elses ignorance , insecurities, and juvenile and archaic mentalities about LGBT Americans.
Its just in my view the decent thing to do I would never sit there and worry about my own personal safety if someone else especially who was sitting beside me was being physically assaulted.
Thats the problem with this world too many people just dont want to get involved and simply dont care in the end.
There are still videos of LGBT people being physically assaulted and people taking out their phones and filming it laughing and then posting it to youtube to further victimize those who were already assaulted physically .
Louis
@joeyty: Thats why you pay close attention instead of reacting too quickly.
Absorb the entire situation and look at whats occurring before reacting to it.
Some here are claiming there is enough part to this video yet the video clearly shows the passenger being bombarded with insults and then physically assaulted while she simply sits there while others simply look on and intentionally ignore it.
Louis
@joeyty: Excuse me I meant to write another part of this video not enough.
Louis
@Masc Pride: Yes and the same can be equally said for people like you who insult people and hide behind a computer like a coward.
You really need to look up the word irony because it most definitely applies to you.
Louis
@praenomenal: Exactly the machismo attitudes are not a sign of superiority its a sign of weakness .
If thats what people consistently hide behind as a way to put themselves into the right and rational category then the concept of logic and rationality truly differs from the actual definitions of those two words.
Also referring to people as hicks does not support or help ones argument it simply comes across as rude and disrespectful.
Louis
@joeyty: How someone physically looks means nothing it doesnt automatically mean they get into random physical fights on a daily basis.
To use that argument is ridiculous and simply yet another way to make excuses for not making a difference by actually stepping in and trying to calm the situation and protecting the one who is being abused at the same time.
You and Masc simply project the same insensitive and uncaring attitude many masculine gay men project in this day and age.
You are both a part of the problem not the solution and thats just simple logic.
joeyty
@Louis: You move to NYC and ride the subway every day and you’ll see.
joeyty
@Louis: I was attacked by a gang of homophobic black dudes on the subway and you would have said nothing about that, for obvious reasons. And they outnumbered me AND most were bigger than me. But this case, where the mother swats at someone way bigger than her, is something you’d stick your nose into ??
joeyty
@Louis: “You and Masc simply project the same insensitive and uncaring attitude many masculine gay men project in this day and age” Because feminine gay men in NYC care so much about others ?? Oh…man..
joeyty
@Louis: Hicks are people who know nothing about other cultures but still criticize others in those places for how they behave. I’m waiting for you to look down on guys in African countries for not coming out of the closet.
joeyty
@Louis: “I have social anxiety disorder and numerous health issues but even with all that I wouldnt be the least bit afraid to step in and say something.” That would be a sight. You “protecting” towering Pearl Love who could obviously sweep up the floor with both you and the mommy.
joeyty
@Louis: BTW : Pearl Love would probably stab you right in the back to teach you a lesson about your “white cis male privilege”.
frenchjr25
When you live in a major city you learn quickly not to get involved in most issues like this. You don’t know of the assailant has a weapon on them or if they have friends on the bus/train/street car.
You also learn to quickly judge each situation and all of it’s variables. I’ve seen the video. It could easily be that this was faked. There are many videos online of attacks against LGBT people that have been faked. Some people simply are seeking attention.
People don’t get involved because they have a healthy fear for their lives. But it also depends on where you live. New York seems to be filled with people that refuse to help other in situations like this. Here in San Francisco things are a bit different.
I’ve seen situations that were solely verbal where all of the passenger on the bus told the assailant to shut the hell up. In nearly 9 years of living in SF have I yet to see people ignore a truly serious situation.