My colleague, the Budo Bum, has written a very nice post (it is a pure wonder to me how he can stay so focussed all the time) on the nature of "bu", "do" and the place it has in his life. He notes that budo is a tool, not an end it itself, and that it is important to remember it as such. Nice post. I would like to pick out one of the aspects he brought up, because it is always relevant in NYC, but feels lately like it is more so.
In the past month, we have had two incidents where someone pushed another human being onto the subway tracks in front of a moving train. Both victims were killed, but the similarities go beyond that. In both cases, the victims (and I am not blaming them here, just stating apparent facts) were not paying attention to where they were. The subway is such a normal part of life here we forget how incredibly dangerous our daily commute actually is. The MTA even posts warnings: Subway tracks are dangerous. They have trains moving on them. The third rail is a live rail with hundreds of volts running through it. Yet, it is surprising how casual we all are about where we are.
Many years ago, during a similar spate of trouble in an admittedly more dangerous New York, my teacher pointedly reminded us to always be aware of our surroundings wherever we were. He was very specific about subway stations. Don't lean, he told us. Stand up. Keep your hands out of your pockets. If you are on a station platform with a wall, stand with your back against it so that no one can get behind you.
This almost seems like crazy, even paranoid, advice in what our mayor proudly refers to as the Safest Big City in America, but these and other, less-publicized incidents that happen here *every single day* should remind us that situations can change in a split second. Even before I started budo (I was a western style fencer), coming from a non-metropolitan area, I realized I needed two things in order to adapt to life here - a sense of calm, and a sense of awareness. As the Budo Bum pointed out, budo can give you these things, but you don't need to practice budo in order to cultivate them in yourself. So, extrapolating on my teacher's advice, here's some from me, just so I can feel like I said something:
- When waiting for the train, just wait. Don't text, don't read, just wait. Subway arrival times are now actually posted in many stations, so riders don't even have to lean over the platform and peer down the track to see if anything is coming (I never understood this idea anyway. Staring down the tunnel does not make the train come any faster, people).
- Follow sensei's advice and stand with your back to the wall, and take your hands out of your pockets fergodssake. Where do you think you are? One of the really unfortunate video clips of the first subway victim shows him arguing with his assailant right before he got pushed. He has his hands in his pockets, and he is standing with his back to the tracks.
-If you see someone acting strangely, move away from him or her. And pay attention to what that person is doing. The second victim turned his back on the person who suddenly pushed him on to the tracks. She had been previously pacing the platform, talking to herself. Even if he had not seen her earlier, it is generally wise not to stand in front of someone if you can help it. I stand behind people, if I can't just stand by myself. And they don't even notice me, which I find unsettling, but at least I don't mean anyone any harm.
Yes, yes, yes, NYC could make stations safer, but those safety measures would cost millions of dollars. And we need better mental health care. Don't hold your breath. Awareness is free, and for now, it has to do.
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