Friday, August 25, 2006

Hey Brother, Can You Spare Some Common Decency?

My colleague and I headed into the on our way home from work last night, only to be confronted by a nattily dressed man standing about ¾ of the way down the staircase. “Can you give me a dollar so that I can get home tonight?” he barked at us as we began descending the stairs. “Sorry,” I said politely.

This did not deter the snappy . “Can you spare a dollar so I can get home tonight? Just a dollar?” He waved a handful of bills at us as we got closer, which made me wonder why he needed another since the subway is only $2 and it is possible to transfer to a bus for free. “Sorry,” I said again. He continued to block the stairs, so my co-worker and I proceeded single-file.

As I passed by him, he bellowed, “Aren’t there are good in this City who love Jesus?” I’m unsure what this had to do with anything, as I doubt he was (he was too well dressed), and our denial of funds to him seems to me to be unrelated to our goodness as people. I cheerfully replied, “Not me!”

“No wonder why September 11th happened here,” he sneered.

Wow. I highly doubt that I could even come up with a more offensive response.

4 comments:

  1. ouch.

    My response: tell the MTA guy that the nattily dressed man is harrassing people. Then he'll have to find somewhere else to be offensive.

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  2. I think a well-turned Holocaust or slavery remark could have been as offensive. Not that that's the kind of thing you should be going for. I'd have come back with something his-mom related, but that's just me.

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  3. If all the Christians would act like Jesus instead of just talking about him, imagine how people would see Christianity!

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  4. Wow.

    That's all I have to say. Just wow.

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