The people you sit opposite on the train these days

[sombrefan]

Usually on a week day when I got to work, I get the train and read my paper and get off at my usual stop. Today, however, was different. I sit down. Two guys sit down opposite. I figure they are students. So I glance over the guy sitting directly opposite me. To my bemusement, I see that he has swastikas tattooed on his hands, as well as Combat 18 (British supremacist terror organisation). By now, my normal daily routine has been killed off. So I look away from his hands and notice the White National Party badge on his jacket. By now I'm in two minds whether to find another seat or just sit there. So I sit there. Open up my Guardian (a paper which neo-nazis like him hate) and read that cover to cover several times so I didn't have to look at him.

I think he knew that I had twigged what he was. As he kept his head and didn't look at me either. Anyway the three of us got off at my stop, him and his mate got into a builders van and headed off. Leaving me wondering if I should have done something. I loathe neo-Nazis, always have done. But this is the first time, I've been face to face with one. Should I have punched him? Should I have spat at him? Should I have shown a look of disgust?

I don't know. What would you have done, if you had to sit opposite someone like that for 15 minutes on a train?

Comments

[rleyser.livejournal.com]

I would have done what you did. Just ignored him. Don't make trouble, baby.

Kiss

Can't say this has ever come up

[kuzibah.livejournal.com]

Mainly because I suspect anybody so blatant about it in a city in the U.S. would have his dick handed to him the first time he ventured out in public with his little jacket badge. (I'm presuming the White National Party is roughly the equivalent of the KKK.) I certainly can't imagine people politely pretending they don't notice, especially as it sounds to me as though they *wanted* to be noticed. I mean, he had tattoos on his *hands.* That's commitment. I don't know if they'd be punched, but I wouldn't be surprised if they'd been spat on, and they'd definitely be told off. They also probably wouldn't be getting into a work van, since people like that are bad for business.

Consider that the local white population is about 50% and falling...

[g-reaper.livejournal.com]

I don't think those guys would have even tried riding a bus in our neighborhoods. They're not generally known for their bravery. On the other hand, they're not generally known for their intelligence either.

Ignore them unless they begin any trouble, then have the driver call whatever backup is needed. Reading the Guardian was perfect.

ignore it

[swersfreakshow.livejournal.com]

don't give them fuel for the fire.

Just shun him.

[ruby2andor.livejournal.com]

Pretend he's dead.

I'd say step in if they start causing trouble.

[sternwieser.livejournal.com]

Until such time, reading the Guardian seems a good course of action.

[wondersheep.livejournal.com]

They didn't offer you violence, you didn't offer them violence. You did the right thing.

I would have smiled at the boys and said, 'Good morning!' in my most syrupy voice and then read my book. Then, when we left the train together, I would have stepped in front of them and said, "Pardon me, thank you." accompanied by another syrupy smile.

Why? I'm the child of a mixed race couple. I've been called a mongrel dog to my face. If you can't kill 'em, kill 'em with kindness.
SWS

[iamdigitalis.livejournal.com]

I'd say you did the right thing. I would probably tell them to go f*** themselves if they were causing trouble of any kind with me, or find some sort of police person (if one wasn't nearby, I'd call the police) if it were with others, but since they didn't do anything, best to just avoid trouble.

The quiet response was the best.

[thecuckoo.livejournal.com]

They wanted people to say something to them. You didn't give them the satisfaction. You won.

If they had started trouble, however, I would have said something/called the conductor/etc. Fortunately, that didn't happen.