Dear Alisa and Gina,
Tonight, when I got on my commuter train to go home, I saw a pretty young woman also get on the train, in the same car. She sat a couple of rows in front of me, but was obscured by the seats, so I couldn’t really see her during the ride.
She was alone in a two-seater listening to music and reading a book. Soon afterwards, a creepy guy got on the train and sat right next to her. I saw him scouting around for a place to sit when he got on the train – and he seemed to deliberately choose to sit next to this woman. – even though there were many other empty seats.
There were three women sitting to my right – and I guess they could see what was going on with the cute girl and the weird guy. I guess the girl fell asleep at some point (the ride takes about an hour), and the weird guy sitting next to her started learning against her. (The women to my right were commenting about it loud enough for me to hear. They were obviously bothered by him – in fact, one of them referred to the guy as a pervert.)
I leaned over to look at the girl – and she suddenly woke up, looked at the guy sitting next to her, and gave him a dirty look.
Just then, the three of us, (the pretty girl, the weird guy and I) got up to get off at our stop. The guy kept staring at her. She was clearly uncomfortable – and ran down the aisle to wait for the door at the other end of the car to open. The weird guy then turned his attention to two other women standing at our door. The train finally stopped, we all got off, and that was it.
Should I have said something? Confronted the man? Or asked the woman if she needed help? ~ Good Samaritan
I think it’s a tribute to your empathy that you noticed the entire situation. Given the fact that the woman managed to get away from the strange guy you really don’t have anything to say to him (this time). If the opportunity had presented itself you could have made a supportive remark to the woman, but I don’t think running after her would have been what she needed at that point. Sometimes just being aware of what’s going on and watchful is valuable in and of itself. It’s a great reminder to stay awake. ~ Alisa
Oh, if only we could protect the world. It sounds like you did the right thing – kept an eye out for her safety without getting overly involved. Let’s say you had stepped in, and offered to walk her to her car. You might have made her feel uncomfortable as well. After all, you’re a stranger, too. Remember, she’s a grown woman – able to speak up for herself. Just keep a watchful eye…from a distance. ~ Gina
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