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Jun. 25th, 2009 10:46 pmTonight I rode the Metro back to the store to return the Shoes-o-torture. As I sat, hurtling towards my destination, I noticed that most of the men preferred to stand rather than sit in a seat that would require they be in close quarters with another man. Although there were plenty of open seats, several men were standing. As I pondered this, the train stopped and let on a fresh batch of people. One of them was a guy carrying a shopping bag full of children's books. He looked around and then asked the man closest to him if he'd be move his bag so he could sit down next to him. The man roused himself from the stupor he was in and said "There are plenty of other seats to sit in", waving around to indicate the other empty seats. All the seats were half-occupied, meaning he'd have to sit next to someone, so why not that guy? What did it matter, I wondered.
The standing man continued to wait, quietly insisting with his manner more than his words, that he was going to sit there. The sitting man begrudgingly picked up his backpack and then completely vacated the seat. Imagine my surprise when he crossed half way across the car to come and sit by me. He then began to rant about how he was not going to sit next to a fag, how that guy must be f-ing gay to want to sit by him when there were so many other seats available. I just laughed (my lame attempt at diffusing the situation) and said "I'm sure he was just looking for a place to sit down." He disagreed and continued grumbling anti-gay sentiment.
The now-sitting, once-standing man didn't look the least bit upset or interested in the once-sitting, now-next-to-me man's tirade. The man next to me smelled strongly of alcohol, and it crossed my mind to point out to him that if the other man was gay, I'm sure that he wouldn't have singled him out for attention. I kept my opinion to myself.
However, it made me wonder if that's why so many men on the Metro prefer to stand rather than sit next to other men. Is it really a gay issue? Or was that guy just a drunk quack pot? Who knows. All I know is that I was very glad to be getting off at the next stop. I don't enjoy sitting next to smelly guys spewing hatred.
The standing man continued to wait, quietly insisting with his manner more than his words, that he was going to sit there. The sitting man begrudgingly picked up his backpack and then completely vacated the seat. Imagine my surprise when he crossed half way across the car to come and sit by me. He then began to rant about how he was not going to sit next to a fag, how that guy must be f-ing gay to want to sit by him when there were so many other seats available. I just laughed (my lame attempt at diffusing the situation) and said "I'm sure he was just looking for a place to sit down." He disagreed and continued grumbling anti-gay sentiment.
The now-sitting, once-standing man didn't look the least bit upset or interested in the once-sitting, now-next-to-me man's tirade. The man next to me smelled strongly of alcohol, and it crossed my mind to point out to him that if the other man was gay, I'm sure that he wouldn't have singled him out for attention. I kept my opinion to myself.
However, it made me wonder if that's why so many men on the Metro prefer to stand rather than sit next to other men. Is it really a gay issue? Or was that guy just a drunk quack pot? Who knows. All I know is that I was very glad to be getting off at the next stop. I don't enjoy sitting next to smelly guys spewing hatred.