See something, say something

While it was technically a subway, the express train was much more like a train. Instead of ferrying people to different stops around the city all day, this train’s sole purpose was to alleviate rush-hour congestion by picking up passengers in the surrounding suburbs and depositing them all at the city center. The express only ran three times a day during the morning (now), afternoon, and evening. As a result, it was usually pretty packed. However, this did little to deter people as the trip from your stop (the first stop) to the city center (last stop) only took an hour and a half. That’s half the time of a commute by can with none of the traffic.

You sat on a bench as the subway platform began to fill with commuters. As you waited for the train, you couldn’t help but feel as though something was off. You almost constantly had goosebumps running down your arms. At first you just blew it off, and just attributed it it the air conditioning. It was summer after all and the tunnels did a great job of trapping cool air. However you began to doubt that that was the true cause. Unnerved at the lack of answers, you decided to try and stake-out the cause. You grabbed one of the free newspapers lying around and pretended to read it. While doing this, you also scanned your surroundings hoping to fool whatever was making you feel this way.

At fist you felt like an idiot. It probably was just the cold air. I mean, why would anyone be doing anything to you, all you had done was sit there reading the news? Then it happened.

Someone glance at you. A quick turn of the head. Then another person, and another. For the next ten minutes you watched as completely different people all glanced at you. Some looked for only a second, others stared for much longer. Why were they doing this? You didn’t stand out from anyone else here. Was it you race? No, it couldn’t be. While most of the people here were white, you could definitely see a decent number of other races amount the crowd. And some of those people had glanced at you too, such as an Indian woman who you caught scanning you from a distance. So what was so different about you?

And that was when it clicked. It had been right under your nose this whole time. You had just been so used to phasing it out you hadn’t noticed. It was tat dam automated message that they played over the loudspeaker. “See something, say something.” That one that encouraged you to report suspicious people or objects. Everyone that message played people glanced at you. While your race may have not have helpful, it was actually your headscarf that was the cause.

Whoever it was on purpose of not, whenever people heard that message, they immediately thought of the Muslim woman in a headscarf. You couldn’t help but feel a mixture of insult, fear, and mostly sadness. Was this what women like yourself went through every day?

After ten more minutes of sitting trough constant profiling, the train finally arrived and you made your way on board.