As a transplant in New York City, I often find myself amidst the buzzing building of Penn Station where I await yet another train ride to New Hampshire.  I try to get there early as I have made many rookie mistakes of being late, thus leading to the dreaded missed train.  So, in my time spent watching minutes slowly pass by I have had the interesting opportunity to observe all the chaos of the lives of fellow travelers.  On this particular day, I found myself in a unique situation due to the fear of the Coronavirus.  Among the various rushing crowds, I counted twenty seven people walking around with masks on, and eight of those people also wearing latex gloves.  Although official information states that these masks are nearly pointless in the efforts to avoid the virus, I tend to agree with those who choose to wear them that go by the saying “better safe than sorry”.  Aside from the things I noticed relating to this pandemic, I also observed several happenings which I have found to be common in my many visits to Penn Station.  For example, there are many homeless individuals who roam about and sleep inside the train station, and on this day, I saw twelve.  I have been taught by New Yorkers to ignore them, but that is not in my nature.  One man with a prosthetic leg and a long scraggly beard asked me for my kindness in a donation to his efforts to find shelter.  I spoke with him for a minute and I did not have any cash on me, so I gave him some of the snacks I packed for myself for my six hour commute.  Talking with this man reminded me that a six hour train ride is not so bad compared to the situation he is in, and I appreciated the realignment of my perspective.  I also often see young high school boys with clipboards wandering the crowds and asking people to donate to their basketball team.  I have been told by many people here that this is a total scam and to never fall for the innocent faces of youth seeking help for a supposedly good cause.  However, I tend to assume the best in people and I always hope that they are sincere, although this might just be a blatant display of how naïve I am to the natural schemes of the city.  I saw seven of these boys asking about, and every single interaction I observed ended in the stranger rejecting their request.  Some individuals were rude and dismissive to the boys, others ignored them and kept walking, and one woman reacted in the same way I did five minutes before by letting them finish their routine and respectfully declining.  Somehow, I find it easier to turn someone down if I at least hear them out first.  Lastly, I took a fly-on-the-wall moment to observe the people impatiently watching the screen displaying all of the train departures.  As the line with the information for a train to Washington D.C. finally posted its designated track, a sea of people scattered through the crowd to line up for boarding.  The group I stood surrounded by swiftly thinned out, and in minutes, steadily grew again just as quickly.  My favorite part of Penn Station is watching all the people running around trying to catch their trains.  Before moving here, I grew up with this image of the hustle of the city, and I find it to be so satisfying that one of my many “rose-colored” expectations of this place is true.  However, it is not so gratifying when I find myself in that very situation, experiencing the panic of a pure New York Minute.

This article is packed with a multitude of cultural information.  For example, one angle speaks to some of Rosie’s culture, pointing out the differences between her childhood consisting of selling bulk candy and getting into fights at her school in Rockland County and the contrasting glamorous ambience of the New York City club scene.  Amongst many other displays of cultural information, the article also reveals a small amount of insight into her Cambodian parents’ culture, as they are said to have gotten caught up in the American Dream and ultimately prioritized the allure of the material world over their two children.

Some of the background information that was conveyed in this storytelling included the synopses of the women involved in this intense recollection of the past.  This information gives the reader a glimpse of the lives of these individuals which helps to better understand them as people and the attitude that they shared towards those men.  The descriptions of the informants brought those individuals to life because it gives the audience a succinct, yet extremely informative idea of who they really are.  Not only did their basic demographic and physical descriptors help create this image, but the various indicators of their personalities or mindsets and especially the direct quotations formed this telling that became extremely vivid.  The author effectively creates a verbal portrait of the informants by maintaining the integrity of each individual’s persona throughout the entirety of the piece.

The illustrations of the informants both add texture and help set the scene by constructing a narrative that draws the audience into the world and minds of these women.  This article provides such a clear picture for the reader that it almost feels like you are in the room with them and observing each of these occurrences as they happen in real time.  Additionally, the portrayals of the men involved in this scene supply the curious with a better understanding as to why the women felt justified in their actions.  Personally, I found myself cheering them on as they empowered themselves to shut down the corruption in their own unique way.

The whole of this narrative thoroughly draws out the truth of the situation despite how it may appear at a glance.  Initially, the story seems to shed light on some badass women serving justice from their perspective.  However, a larger theme reveals itself as we learn how ugly and terrifying this lifestyle actually was for these women.  The shame, guilt, and fear becomes exposed throughout, and it displays the lifestyle’s reality.  In facing the inevitable consequences of their actions, the women feared jail time for their crimes.  In spite of the potential ramifications, they persisted in a seemingly unfazed manner.  Rosie even states that she was aware of why they did what they did: “Hurt people hurt people”, which exemplifies the entire motive behind this operation.  This article is an incredible communication of the (cliché) concept: ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’.  The author truly uncovered the actuality of an event that appeared so differently than how the insiders experienced it.

James Baldwin reports on the appalling treatment of ‘non-white’ groups, or people of color, “…which is also a plea for the recognition of our common humanity”.  This article includes varying cultural perspectives of the 1960s, and the two most emphasized are those of the black community and those of white policemen.  Some cultural information within the black community includes slight indicators within their language usage (such as the use of the word “axe” instead of asked).  I appreciated that Baldwin chose to retain these nuances within his piece not only for the mere sake of accuracy, but also to solidify the integrity of others’ words.  Another piece of cultural information is within their behaviors.  The way in which they felt they must carry themselves in order to be cooperative was (and remains today) extremely restrictive and precautionary so as not to draw attention to oneself or create conflict.  The feeling of living in “occupied territory” sculpts the majority of their behaviors and consequently becomes an unavoidable aspect of their culture, being constantly surrounded by and fearful of the intimidating presence of racist white policemen.  The negatively impactful culture of these forces is apparent not only in their disgusting privilege and views, but the sheer brutality that those perspectives breed.  Their blatant abuse of authority and complete disregard for ‘the other’ as human creates an ignorant, heinous culture in which they possess no remorse.  These white supremacists consider people of color as savages when in fact, that is who they are.

As outrageous as it is that this event occurred more than five decades ago and cannot be undone, we must still consider what might have been done in order to continue improving our society today.  There is a multitude of unasked and unanswered questions regarding this particular circumstance, in which a fieldworker might ask to further uncover the culture that this article describes.  A more obvious question may be to ask the policemen, “Why do you view yourself as superior to people who are ‘different’ than you?”, or “How do you feel before, during, and/or after you treat others in this manner?”.  On the other side, they may question the innocent group by asking, “As a minority, what do you do to avoid conflict?”, or “What do you think should be done to advocate for these victims?”.  There are innumerable possibilities of inquiry to gain a better understanding of both parties’ perspectives and to grasp how each culture is shaped.

In order to more accurately understand the insider perspective, we must also consider other factors beyond these informants’ contributions.  A fieldworker might also speak to communities just blocks away from the area to apprehend any differences and, if there are any, why?  They could ask a nearby largely white community, “Is your neighborhood heavily monitored by the police?”, or “What does the police activity look like from your perspective?”.  Any additional information would colossally impact the awareness and comprehension of how these situations come about and are perceived.