OK so my last couple of postings have sucked. Hopefully this one will be a little more interesting...
Something really awful happened to me on the way back from the airport after my fab holiday to Greece. The flight landed at Gatwick and fortunately, there is a train (the Thameslink) that goes from Gatwick to London Bridge station from where I can get a connecting train home.
So there I was, sitting on the train reading my copy of
Intelligent Life that I'd just bought from the airport newsagents. The train pulled into East Croydon station where this guy got on my carriage and sat opposite me. He started trying to get my attention but I wasn't having any of it and just ignored him. I didn't want any hassle after my holiday. So then this guy started trying to get the attention of the guy who was sat behind me.
At this point I need to give you some descriptions of the people involved...
- the guy that had got on the train: Asian (Indian or Pakistani looking), late teens/early 20's, wearing black denim jacket and black jeans, spiky black hair and an air of unwelcome confidence about him. Lets call this young man 'Asshole' for the sake of this description.
- lets also, for the sake of this description, call the guy who was sat behind me, 'Microcock'. He was white, a bit hippyish, i.e. smelly and long-haired.
- and there were also a group of 5 young (white) men sat nearby who had just come back off their holidays. They could have easily been rugby players judging by their size. Lets call this group the' Yellow Bellies'.
Asshole said to Microcock, "Will you look after my bag while I go to the toilet?" Now, in the current light of things that have happened in London i.e. the recent bombings, everyone and their dog knows that bags must not be left unattended anywhere, especially on a train. Anyone with a grain of common sense would have their suspicion raised if someone asked them to look after their bag, and thankfully, Microcock had the intelligence to say no, he would not look after Asshole's bag. So a row erupted between Asshole and Microcock. Asshole kept asking Microcock to look after his bag, (which was a black rucksack) and Microcock kept saying no. Asshole then said that he was going to the toilet and left his bag sitting on the floor opposite me.
I'm usually a pretty quiet sort guy and I keep myself to myself and don't cause any trouble for anyone. But this situation was getting out of hand and I was damned if this Asshole was going to do this to me. I got up and walked over to the door and stuck my foot in the way so the train wouldn't move out of the station. I then said to Asshole that if he left his bag, I would throw it off the train. Asshole started arguing with me saying that I thought he was a terrorist. I just kept saying that he could not leave his bag unattended on a train. This must have gone on for about a minute or so, maybe a couple of minutes. I was so scared. I was thinking I'm going to be stabbed or the bags going to explode or something terrible is going to happen in a minute. But I wasn't going down without a fight. Can I remind everyone of the other people sitting in close vicinity to these events: Microcock and the Yellow Bellies were all watching from the comfort and safety of their seats.
Finally, Asshole backed down and sat down with his bag. I moved my foot out of the door and the train moved on. No train guard appeared to check what the obstruction or problem was with the door. I said to Asshole that if he left his bag while the train was moving I would pull the Emergency cord. I was shaking and trembling. My adrenalin levels must have been the highest they've ever been! I had gone from holiday-no-stress to 100% stress.
Asshole finally got up and moved to the back of the carriage - with his bag. I think he was just trying to make a scene. He wanted to scare people. He managed it alright.
When the train pulled into London Bridge station I went and told the station guard what had happened and he went and had a word with Asshole. He told me that the next station had been informed and thanked me for what I had done and for me to go home. Nothing to see. So basically he couldn't care less.
I feel so strongly about what has happened in London recently and the amount of hatred and suspicion that surrounds Asian people in general at the moment. It just takes one fucking Asshole to spoil it for everyone. What did he think he was achieving by doing what he did? He could have taken his bag to the toilet. It was small enough. And realistically, it could only have been me that could have challenged Asshole. If a white guy had done it, he might have got off worse than me.
So there you go. Sometimes, I fucking hate London.
