Every single day, more than 5 million New Yorkers ride the subway. Whether they're commuting to work, going to school, or running errands, New York City residents know that the subway is the most efficient way to get around.
Because there are so many people on the subway, though, it's not unusual to run into some unsavory characters. Usually, these individuals are annoying but totally harmless. Once in a while, though, subway riders will find themselves in the company of someone scary.
That's what happened to one woman, who goes by strawberry_luv on Reddit. She was waiting for the 1 train when a man approached her. He started catcalling her, but she tried to ignore him.
He stood behind her for the whole six minutes that she waited for the train. When the train finally arrived, she got on and sat down. The man followed her onto the train and stood right over her.
The woman felt extremely uncomfortable, but she didn't know what to do. That's when a stranger stepped in to help.
The woman, strawberry_luv, shared her story on Reddit, where it got a lot of attention. She wrote:
“I got on the 1 train here, and a man got on after me. (this happens everywhere).”
“I had my keys between my hands but barely noticable because this guy has been standing behind me the whole 6 minutes i waited for the train. (calling me baby etc,) I sat down and he sat over me holding the bar.”
“and I felt so anxious like throwing up so I stood up near a bunch of other people holding the rail. Then this guy says to me ‘hey lauren. you going to jeffs dinner party too?'”
“i was confused for a sec because he was staring at me and my name isn’t lauren. it took me like 10 seconds to even realize what he was doing. i said yeah. and he said ‘perfect timing we can walk together. what stop were you going to get off on’ and I told him.”
“then he says look what jeff texted me and handed me the notes app which had ‘are you ok?’ and he kind of moved to side so i could write in it. I told him this guy was following me.”
“He ended up getting off my stop with me and walked me all the way to my friends apartment. When he was suppose to get off at 103. The guy soon left mostly because this guy was way bigger than him thankfully.”
“I have never been in a spot like that and I always told myself what I’d do in a situation like that but I just froze and shut down. I am so thankful men like him are out there and aware of situations like that.”
“In New York most people really keep to themselves so thank you very much Michael. wherever you are. i am sorry i made you late. but you were like my guardian angel.”
Many women who read strawberry_luv's story could immediately relate.
One person wrote, "Sometimes, even eye contact from a guy with a concerned/questioning expression on his face will make me feel like somebody has my back in that kind of situation."
Another woman faced a similar situation. She wrote:
“I had an older man approach me late at night, getting in my space and asking for money. He wouldn’t leave me alone. A young guy walking by made eye contact with me and stopped. He just stood nearby waiting until the creepy dude finally left. Then he made eye contact again, nodded and continued on his way.
“I went from ‘oh sh*t’ to ‘ok, someone has my back’. I think he handled that situation perfectly and it made me so happy knowing there are decent people who will take the time to make sure a stranger is okay. I was just sorry I never got to thank him.
“You will probably never read this, random dude, but thank you!”
Some men who read strawberry_luv's account took note of Michael's actions. Many of them expressed interest in being there for women in a similar way that Michael was.
One man wrote, "Seeing all these posts makes me want to try my best to be someone's Michael."
Although New York City residents are known for keeping to themselves and minding their own business (especially on the subway), they also protect one another.
One fellow New Yorker wrote, "Recently heard a story of a friend who was getting followed on her way to work early one morning. Started freaking out and walked up to a fruit cart man and told him she was being followed by this creep. Fruit cart man starts screaming at this guy and throwing bananas at him. NYC rolls deep."
Thank goodness for men like Michael, who are true guardian angels!
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
