Something crazy happened on Tuesday evening. I was riding the subway home with a friend from class and there was this paranoid girl (a teenager) yelling at people for looking at her. No one was looking at her…of course. My friend and I continued talking and tried to ignore her when she got in my face. I calmly told her that no one was looking at her and that I didn’t have a problem with her. She was moving around a lot and ended up standing by the door and my back was a bit turned (not smart) and when the doors opened she came around and punched me in the face and took off running. Apparently she punched some guy on the platform too, or so my friend told me. I was too stunned to notice.
Due to the 5 psychology classes I’m taking at the moment, my thoughts walking home were centered on trying to figure out why someone would do that…what was wrong with her. The concept of Buddhist compassion floated through my head, but I just didn’t (or still don’t) quite know what to make of it. Since it happened, friends have shared thier stories- one told me how she was randomly punched in the stomach a couple of years ago in Union Square. Another recounted the time he was working as a restaurant manager and received a punch in the face for not seating someone in the garden.
What is wrong with people?! Living in New York, I think we just have more opportunities for these events to occur. We’re in constant contact with people…all kinds of people. So, in addition to considering a self-defense class (being that I’m going into the mental health field, it’s probably not a bad idea), I’m attempting to extend some compassion and lovingkindness. This was obviously a troubled girl who will inevitably run into problems down the line. This isn’t to say that I condone her behavior or that I”m not angry, but turning it into practice seems like the only constructive thing to do.