So, two days ago I was coming home on the Purple Line, sitting in one of the seats that faces the other, right by the doors. This skinny kid, probably a NW student, was sitting across from me. I was listening to my iPod, and kind of just zoning out while this kid chatted about nothing in particular to his friend, who was sitting in the seat behind him. Then, out of nowhere, this big guy (like 6'2", 220 or more) comes out of the "hobo seat", simply walks up, smacks this skinny kid upside the face and then heads on up the aisle and looks back a couple of times before changing cars through the emergency doors.
This was simply one of the most shocked moments I've had on a train in my 4+ years in Chicago. The kid looked at me, stunned, kind of holding the side of his face which was bright bright red from his eye to his chin, and I kept on looking at him, at the guy heading up the aisle, at the kid's friend while none of us could say anything. We kind of gathered our wits, and I asked the kid if he was ok. His friend said he should call the police, and the kid calls 911 to report the situation. I hadn't realized, but the dude had stolen his hat off his head as he slapped him. (his hat! jesus, this was about a hat?!?) So I sat there while the kid talked to the dispatcher and related the story, and they asked if he was in any danger and he said no, but the guy hadn't gotten off the train yet. We watched as the train pulled into the next stop, and no, the guy didn't get off. The train rumbled on, and the guy was put on hold a couple of times, and I have no idea what they were telling him, or really, what they could do. I started wondering what would they do if it was something more serious like a stabbing or something. Would they radio the train conductor to lock down the train mid-stop? Would they try to swarm some cops on it before the dude could get off? There's nothing stopping anyone from changing cars, so he could come back at any point, and considering how random, swift, and bizarre this assault was, there was no knowing what this guy was going to to next.
The thing is, this was the kind of violence I used to see in high school. Someone beating up on a skinny kid who had something cool that they wanted, so they just took it. "And what are you going to do?" This was precisely the vibe of the look the dude was giving us as he walked up the aisle, and the same look he gave us as he got off the train at South Ave. in Evanston and went about his evening.
The kid relayed to the police that the dude had gotten off the train, and as we pulled into Howard, I had to leave them to change trains to the Red line. I don't know if it even got written up as a report or not, or if the kid pursued it much further.
I haven't seen violence on the CTA before, and the randomness and seemingly soberness of this attack is just bizarre. I've thought about it each time I've gotten on the train the last few days, not that it's deterred me from anything CTA-wise, but I've considered what I would have done in that situation, and how I would have wanted others to act as they came to my aid (or ignored it as other passengers did). Chalk it all up to another "big city experience", I suppose, and go about your day.