This is a very upsetting story. I told it to my sister this afternoon, and over the course of the several hours I spent at her place, she would frequently go back, in the middle of an entirely unrelated conversation and say, "I can't believe that thing about the bus!"
Here's what happened...
I was out today, doing a long walk because I thought it would be a good way to loosen up my broken neck. I had gone all the way from my place, to Davis Square, Porter Square, Harvard Square, and was on my way to Central Square when the rain started coming down hard and heavy. I saw the bus to Central pull up and with a sense of relief, I got on. Another passenger was boarding the bus behind me, and I was still at the front of the boarding area as she made her way onto the bus because I was struggling to fit my dollar into the already jam-packed fare slot.
The passenger behind me was a woman, maybe around 50 or 55 years of age, and she was having difficulty boarding the bus because she was quite overweight. She was carrying a bag from the pastry shop, Au Bon Pain. She said to the driver, very pleasantly and apologetically and with a bashful smile on her face, "I'm sorry to hold you up like this." The driver looked at her with such an unmistakable expression of contempt and said, "Well, if you wanted to move any quicker the first thing you'd do is get rid of that bag of sweets."
I stopped dead in my tracks and in so far as my broken neck would permit, I quickly looked from the driver to the passenger and back again. The woman also stopped dead in her tracks, and I swear, there were tears welling up in her eyes. I don't know whether her face was just wet from the rain, but I swear there were tears forming there. She said, "You know something? I think I'll just walk." At that point, I pulled my dollar out from the fare slot and said, "You know? I think I'll just walk too."
The driver just shrugged at me and said, "Suit yourself."
With that, he peeled on the gas and took off. But not before I caught his bus number. I looked at the MBTA sign that was right there at the stop and reported his ass to a customer service agent. I described the driver's physical appearance, reported the bus number and destination, route number, and current location. The person in customer relations was profusely apologetic and swore that there would be "an MBTA superior waiting for him upon his arrival at the end point of the route."
Meanwhile, the woman thanked me for making the call, and standing up with her by getting off the bus. She said she was embarrassed and I assured her that she had absolutely nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed of, that if anybody should feel embarrassed, it was that asshole driver!
Jesus, I know this story is a complete downer, but I just had to share it because, like Lauren, I keep finding my thoughts wandering back there. I mean, that jerk will probably forget that he ever even made a comment like that, but what is the likelihood that the victim of his cruelty will forget that anytime soon?
I swear, I know I'm not perfect and that I sometimes make comments about peoples' wigs or whatever, but I hope that I would never sink so low as to make such a cruel and cutting remark to another human being's face like that! Man, this pisses me off!
Hey, this is like my 4th entry of the day, even though it is the first one you see. Read on for more lighthearted subject matter.
10 comments:
I am so taken aback by this story. I too am not perfect and will say things about peoples outfits (I mean that is a choice) as is a gig. If someone sits down in the barber seat and pays for a mullet, they are paying for harrassment, that is just the way it goes. But, when people go as far as making fun of someone due to their size, be it tall, short, heavy, too thin, it just isn't right. Weight for most is a battle, and God loves us no matter our size. Life is hard enough that we don't need people stating the obvious. I tried on some wedding gowns this year and sent out some photos for advice, being that my friends and family are not here in Tampa. I have stated before, i am by no means pretty to look at in the weight department. But for some reason, wedding gowns look beautifil on all shapes and sizes. I felt like a princess in those dresses. Anyhow, someone wrote back, "the dress with no sleeves does nothing for you, you really need to cover up those arms." I am very modest, if I looked bad, the photos and the 4 people with me would have said so. I was hurt. I guess I wish that the response would have been in favor of one they really liked instead of only zoning in on the one they thought made me look like cow. After rambling, my point is, I feel this womans pain. When you are fat, you are well aware, and you DO NOT need anyone to tell you. I'm sorry to ramble but what a ridiculous thing to say. So if someone is over weight, they should only be eating carrot sticks. Christ, you only live once, if you hungry and you want a cinnabon, get it. I'm not saying its healthy, by all means, I'm just saying, life is hard enough. PS for all other readers out there, it is one thing to make fun of someone's outfit or hairdo, they chose it, but when it comes to someone disability, whether it be mental of phyical, leave it alone. You aren't perfect. Think twice before you say the word "retard," people with mental handicaps are the sweetest caring most wonderful people, and they never asked to be that way. You can claim all you want that it's not the way you mean it when you use that so called expression. But think about what you do mean, because ten to one you will say I just meant they were being dumb, or stupid, well, that is a shitty way to feel about someone who is mentally disabled. I have always been an advocate and defender of this awful "R" word. So, please, don't use it and tell someone else not to either. There are plenty of other words out there to use. For example, when someone does something and you go to call them the "r" word, edit your thoughts, use "jackhole" instead. It is jackass plus asshole in one, a double whammy! The nest time you see someone who is over weight, don't look at them on the outside, try to look at them on the inside. They are human too. (Sorry Nancy for using your blog to make a speech like I am Dr. Phil or something, I just found it as a perfect oppurtunity to pass on something I feel strongly about.)
PS. Apparently I over clicked on responding to your email at my myspace account. So you may get forty emails. Only two are real. Sorry. "Patience is a virtue, posess it if you can. It's seldom in a woman and never in a man."
-Not written by, but way over used by Mary Tarpey.
Fwiz, Color me annoyed with myspace. I just saw that you're online, yet when I try to leave a message or contact you, they want all my vital information and everything. Why? Myspace is way too advanced for the likes of me
I second that, Lifwiz. And Nancy, you are one very cool person to stand up with that woman and to report that driver's behavior. There is absolutely no excuse for what he said! I hope the supervisor was, indeed, waiting for him at the end of his route. That is the kind of cruel comment that will be forever seared in that poor woman's memory. It was an assault on her and you were so right to do what you did.
Here's the plan...
Let's get the asswipe busdriver and the ignorant, insolent chump that insulted you last week for no reason...
We put them on the bus and give them the route with the end point being a cliff...we douse the road with the icky smelling Aveda hair products to ensure slippery situations and they go down in a blaze of OUR Glory!!
Good for you for being a responsible citizen...Shame on that bastard...I hope he ROTS!
I'm sorry but does anyone remember Slovac? I just had to ask. He had a greazy wig.
Thanks to Mo, Fwiz and Juanita for supporting my decision in this matter. But really, did I have any choice? I think not! That behavior is completely unnecessary, particularly from somebody who is representing a company (MBTS) in his "professional capacity."
Many people who should not work in customer service or with human beings in any respect do. It is unfortunate. You should see how vicious some of the nurses I work with in the ER, or the doctors for that matter. You go in there feeling sick, scared, and putting your life in someone's hand who you automatically trust because of their title, then they make you feel like shit right to your face. I have spent many a night holding a 98 year old womans hand as she lay there alone and dying. Carefully tending to her natural body functions, while others have the oddasidy to speak negatively about her while we change her, making crude remarks and tossing her around like a sausage. It happens 9/10 times that I take care of someone in that reguard. People are just cruel. They don't think of how others should be treated, they don't use respect, and they certainly don't treat strangers like loved ones. That is my rule of thumb, we are all human, and therefore I treat all people like they are family. You have to, or you should be working in a postoffice in the back, sorting mail.
I can not begin to tell you how angry I am at that bus driver. Good for you to stand up for her. NO ONE deserves to be treated that way - EVER! I hope he gets fired and gets his car repossessed so he can be left to ride the bus (when it comes on time) to his next job interview. UGH! It makes me SICK!
SLACKER! Just cus you post 4 in one day doesn't mean you can skip the next week!
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