New York is going through a tough time since the Pandemic. Residential rents are awful, commercial real estate is suffering. And, the Mayor, as usual, is incompetent, a deception. We all thought that because he was an ex policeman, he'd handle the problems that need to be handled. When you're living in a sick world, and that's what it is right now, one hopes that someone will be at least trying to do something to make the quality of life at least marginally better.
So, I was on the subway yesterday, going to work, and there was a woman, probably homeless, maybe hopeless, full of anger. And, probably drugs of some kind. Talking, screaming to herself, her badly dyed red hair seemed to send a signal to us all. One tries to ignore the problem. It's a New York thing one learns at an early age. It's part of surviving in a sick world.
Well, unfortunately, as no one said or did anything, she began to berate one poor, black man, who looked a bit homeless himself. It went on for several minutes, as some passengers scrambled towards another car. I sat there, occassionally daring to look at what was going on. I know, eye contact in New York can be dangerous. It's not like in Europe, where the second time we went to a restauarant, the waiter smiled, and said, "You've come back!" In New York, you can go in a store for twenty years and there's a chance you won't be recognized. Or, at least, acknowledged. It's a New York thing. I don't say hello in the elevator of my building very often, as I'm tired of the rudeness. As the person exits the elevator, I feel like saying, "I hope you have an awful life." But, I resist the urge.
Back on the subway, this woman finally peaks and throws a liquid on the poor guy, while brandishing a lighter in her other hand. The guy gets up and rushes through the car to exit, almost as though he's going to attack you if you don't shrink a bit. And, the woman sits down and continues her monologue.
Obviously, she's sick. New York has more broken human beings than any city I've been in. It's an education. But, what is there to do? Life is hard. We can't fix everything. As a matter of fact, the best way to fix things is to live as well as one can. There are people who thing they can fix that woman. Good luck. They attack us as being unfeeling, trying to get us to adopt a policy of ruining our lives to make a better world. A world, by the way, that doesn't exist. And, never will. Except maybe in some movies or tv shows. I wanted to belong to the family in The Roy Rogers show. I thought they'd be great parents. Not that mine were so bad. I was a privileged kid.
But, the problem is, we live with this daily, occasionally reading about one of these broken human beings attacking someone, even killing them. And, we have to ride on the subway with them. And, do nothing. For if we do something, we will be attacked, by them, or by someone who believes that they can create a better world by believing that they will change the world we live in.
It's a fantasy. Life is hard. And, hard enough without having to try to go to sleep and get the stifled reactions we have out of our systems. I'm sure we'll survive, as New York will survive, regardless of our politicians.