The terror of street violence

One of the things I appreciate about Boston is that most neighborhoods are quite safe compared to other cities of comparable size. Today, however, I witnessed a terrifying scene in the middle of the underground walking tunnel leading to the Downtown Crossing metro platforms. Maybe for someone used to violence it would have been no big deal but I grew up in a small town and can’t remember ever witnessing any kind of street fight, not even the minor ones that often happen in high schools. Or maybe it was just my imagination coupled with mainstream media’s focus on violent crimes which caused me to blow the situation out of proportion. Here’s what happened, and you can be the judge:

I was walking in one of the underground passageways between the orange and red lines when I heard someone struggling and shouting things like “I’m not going to let you escape”, “You’re not getting away”. I uneasily kept walking and noticed two men struggling; one of them, who looked like a security guard, had the other guy in some kind of restraint hold, and the other one was trying to get away. A couple other people around were unsure of what to do and watching from a distance to see what would happen. I didn’t know what to do so I just kept walking, past them, when the security guard saw me and yelled out, “Someone call the police!” This is the point where my imagination started to go wild because clearly the guard didn’t have the situation under control if he wanted random strangers to call the police for him. I quickly scanned the area for weapons: not to defend myself, but to know what to expect in case the apparent wrongdoer freed himself and either he or the security guard became violent.

All the terrifying depictions I’ve seen on the news and in movies, both of police brutality and criminal violence, flashed through my mind. Would there be a shoot out? Would there be a stabbing? Would the criminal try to take a hostage? I was relieved to see an apparent lack of weapons, but still tried to get away from the situation as quickly as possible. Once I reached the ticket barrier about 30 yards away I fumbled for my ticket and got across as soon as possible, feeling a bit safer with a barrier between myself and the situation. I was debating calling the police, clueless as to what I would say, but feeling the need to do something, when I saw two more security guards running towards the scene. Together, the three of them were able to quickly restrain and handcuff the other man and lead him away.

I was shaken for quite some time afterwards, imagining what could have happened. My mind continuously returned to one topic: gun control. I’ve never really had to consider that topic from such a personal experience. I’m not going to go into my own opinions about the political issue because it’s quite complicated, and my thoughts on it are uncertain. But I know this much: if one or both of them had had a gun, the situation could have escalated quickly, and there could have been fatalities. I could have been killed or witnessed a death. That thought chills me to the bone.

Call me sheltered for this being the only real episode of violence I’ve witnessed firsthand, but I couldn’t help but be scared. Would you have been?

Traveling, moving, job-hunting, oh my!

So I’ve been busier than normal recently. And not even always because I didn’t have time, but most importantly, didn’t have a routine.

Having a routine is very important, at least for me, in getting things done. Otherwise I just have a list of tasks and seemingly unlimited time, which somehow leads to not actually having enough time to do anything. Without a clear set-aside time to actually devote to doing certain tasks, they just never seem to get done.

All that to say, I am finally getting around to writing in this blog again. Here’s what I’ve been up to the last 5-6 weeks:

• Traipsing through Europe for 16 days, which I’m hoping to write more about soon.
• Gathering and packing all the things I had in Prague, throwing out or donating a lot of it, and bringing all the rest of it with me on a plane back to the US.
• Hanging out at my parents’ house for a few days.
• Going to my best friend Christa’s wedding in Nashville, which was a beautiful and emotional experience, which I also hope to write about soon.
• Again hanging at my parents’ house, this time organizing, packing, throwing away, and donating ALL of my things, which previously occupied my parents’ basement.
• Making the 12+ hour journey to my new/old home in a suburb of Boston.
• Staying in a temporary airbnb location with the owner and her cats.
• Browsing for a new place to live more permanently in about 2 months.
• Calling, emailing, interviewing, receiving offers and painstakingly trying to decide on a job.
• Finally deciding on a job!!

I guess that sounds like a lot, but honestly I’ve had a lot of free time I could have (should have?) spent blogging because I know it’s something rewarding and enjoyable for me.

Hoping to post more soon! For now, here’s an article I’ve been musing over: White Privilege Explained.