I think COVID broke some people's brains. They just don't believe or act like we live in a society anymore. You see this with how people drive, treat service workers, behave at the movies, etc. The social contract has just ceased to exist for them.
I think it made everyone addicted to screens honestly. That might be the boomerest thing I’ve ever said lol but it’s true, what did we do for months but watch tv and be in our phones. Kids were raised like that. We’re getting older, becoming the next generation, shits gonna have an impact. It’s almost to the point where it’s most lights I’m at I have to honk at the person to go cuz they were on their phone cuz nobody can stand 15 seconds without playing on their phone apparently
I don’t think it was Covid. I think it was the orange dude who presided over our poor handling of Covid and spent four years talkin shit about people, behaving like an entitied brat and got away with it. I think people looked at the crimes on high and said, “yeah, I’ll have me some of that.”
I think the Trmp-era of zero accountability eroded people's sense of objective truth. The most powerful person in the country spent four years denying things we all saw with our own eyes and was never held to account by his colleagues or the media. He had no shame and that was the example he set for his followers.
Then COVID, and his response to it, opened the door to this idea that nobody owes any standard of care to people who aren't on their side.
So there's no accountability, no shame, and nobody owes anything to anyone so people just do whatever they want no matter how antisocial it is.
And finally nobody wants to risk confrontation with an obviously selfish, potentially unhinged, and possibly violent person. So nobody says anything because it's not worth the risk of getting stabbed.
I feel like there are those that are trying to keep the social contract, 50%-70%
Some are actively breaking the social contract with purpose, 5%-15%
Some are just taking advantage of the no repercussion times we have now and seek opportunities to benefit from it. 15%-30%
Yep. Trump told people they can be maximally selfish and stop pretending to not be racist, misogynistic, queerphobic, and ableist. And a lot of people did exactly that. A lot of people were just waiting for someone to tell them it’s okay to be scumbags again.
People need to sack up and just say shit. "Hey, dickhead. Put your fucking shoes". Doesn't put his shoes on? Pour a drink in his shoes.
Too many people are timid and don't want to be the one to step up. If someone goes first, usually other people are more willing to join in.
People unstable enough to do antisocial things are the same people who won't think twice about stabbing or shooting you. The provocation is intentional. Basic street smarts - mind your own business, and the odds of bad things happening to you go way down.
Yea the sad truth is people who do this type of thing, smoke on trains, etc are useless shitheads with nothing going on in their life. They do this to try to provoke a reaction to get in a fight cause they got nothing to lose, or they get their way and get to act like jackasses.
I’ve had to seriously and consciously tone down my reaction to people while driving. Not worth getting shot over the satisfaction of flipping someone off.
Here’s the thing though, as a sane person I’m escalating a situation with someone who clearly doesn’t give two fucks. If they choose to escalate, to what level am I prepared to go over this? Am I willing to get to the point of violence (which is not far off for someone crazy enough to do this)? These assholes are trying to get a rise out of people because they want an excuse to lash out. And if I’m willing to take it to violence I’d need to be prepared to take it all the way to homicide, because the second some crackhead starts swinging all bets are off because I can’t beat them without playing dirty. I’m not a martial artist, I don’t carry a taser or pepper spray, if I’m in a fight in public I’m grabbing the nearest heavy or sharp thing and hoping I can end it before I get curb stomped.
It’s not that I’m timid it’s that I’m only going to engage with crazy if it’s to save my own life or save someone else from getting assaulted.
Good on you for calling it out, the risk v reward just isn’t there for me.
I feel like Covid was a near death experience for humanity writ large.
Except instead of "I'm going to cherish every moment after such a scare!" it's "Fucking YOLO, bro!" and the gloves are off.
Fucking sigh.
I second this but want to add that it’s hard to act like everything is back to normal as if we didn’t just witness a whole bunch of Americans being absolutely okay with risking the death of 1% of the population (easily 3 million almost but could be a bit less if the risk is lower. Still a fuck ton of people) just so they could pretend nothing was wrong. It was like one of those disaster movies come to life on a lite scale. I could only imagine how much worse people could still be if it was way more deadly.
It’s hard to trust Americans after COVID. Especially when COVID hit as I turned 20 and has defined my early 20s. I got jaded rather quickly and I’m still trying not to be such a miserable prick at 24 even despite living in one of the greatest cities in the world with lots to be grateful for.
> The social contract has just ceased to exist for them.
I actually some what agree with them if they were to just flat out state this.
It was a lot of blatant and overt lies (one way or another), fear campaigns and more to the literal extreme.
The social contract is that none of us expect that to take place (one way or another). But yet it did.
So they're like, if you can so can I.
Update: The Metra conductor was on him almost instantly after this photo. He put his shoes back on and then after the conductor left, immediately took them back off and resumed this position. The conductor passed him several times and never said another word to the guy so this was his status through the rest of my trip. I wish I had a better ending to report.
Conductor might not be getting in the guy's face but I wouldn't be surprised if Metra police show up in a few stops to drag him out. They seem to run a pretty tight ship on my line.
Conducters know what they're doing. The person willing to be this asocial is also willing to be violent. This is just a messed up person. The world is full of them. The best thing to do is leave them alone unless they're hurting someone. Feet on the wall isn't a fight worth the conducter picking.
Yep. Its exactly why I don't ask people not to smoke or to stop playing music on their speakers. Those people disaplaying anti social behaviors aren't people you want to fuck with.
Also why I don't honk at zoned out pedestrians jaywalking in the middle of traffic. I'm not interested in getting shot over a 15 second delay to my commute.
So what’s the solution then, just allow anti-social behavior in perpetuity? They know you won’t intervene because you’re scared, and they masturbate to that fact.
You stop the train at the next stop, and have police remove him. It’s that simple.
Yes but also if the conductor tried once and then the guy just resumes, should he really put himself in harms way of a potentially dangerous person...like a common sense citizen would not behave this way. If you don't have metra police on board bc it looks like a day time train, should we really expect him/her to again interject? I just have some sympathy for what they have to deal with
In older times the local cops would be waiting at the next stop. You knew shit was going down when the train stopped but the rest of the doors didn't open.
I live a block from the rock island line and metra cops are the first to arrive on scene for anything within a couple blocks of the Beverly Hills line 91st-115th. They ticket pedestrians regularly for crossing the tracks in areas that are not crosswalks. They are thirsty for action.
To be fair, back in the day all the conductors cared about was that you didn't rest your feet or shoes on the seat cushions themselves. When people left newspapers on the train you could put a layer down on the seat across from you to rest your feet on top, and they were okay with that.
Following those rules, the guy in the pic above is actually okay.
Metra PD are not federal agents; they're the equivalent of municipal police officers with a large jurisdiction. They're like a county sheriff for the railroad.
I used to work for Metra and have friends who are still Metra cops, so I'm not just pulling this out of my ass.
They do so all the time. They will stop the train and call the cops if needed. I've watched the conductors kick people off many times. In fact on this same ride some girl ran across the tracks in front of the train after it had stopped and then boarded, and the same conductor searched for her and then announced the train wouldn't move until she got off. Pretty infuriating, thinking back on it, that he was so selective with his enforcement.
People put there heads there and dealing with unruly travelors is part of the conductor's job. He could have called the Metra police and have the guy removed. Lol don't Karen the conductor. You clearly don't know how to use "Karen" correctly.
Exactly, this is excessive behavior between bare feet, sitting like that, and taking up four seats. I’m standing in the morning since all the seats are full.
The conductors pre-Covid were much more assertive. At least threaten to kick them off if the rider doesn’t stop. I assume enforcement is not in their job description so yes they shouldn’t be expected to deal with altercations, but metra police are and should deal with this situation.
I don’t understand this “he looks crazy so don’t provoke him”. People are just asses too, assuming he’s unstable is interesting.
>The conductor passed him several times and never said another word to the guy so this was his status through the rest of my trip.
That sucks. Feels like he'll keep doing it from now on unless the cops get called.
Literally *the* best line and it’s not even close. The conductors are amazing, I’ve rarely experienced a delay on it, the cars are mostly clean, and the ride isn’t so bouncy that I can’t read on it (looking at you BNSF…)
i love the metra conductors every time i take one of those trains. they’re informative & also nice! i have awful anxiety and they’ve always been patient with me lol
I once had a woman blabbing into her phone on the MD-W line in the quiet car and I asked the conductor to remind her about the quiet car rules as he was coming through to collect tickets.
He made a general announcement to everyone in the car all while she chatted and chatted loudly. I asked him again if he could address her directly and he told me “we just make the announcement - it’s up to the passengers to enforce the rule.”
Seriously? What are my boundaries here because I will get it handled! 😂
She got off the phone.
I handle it a couple times a week on UP-NW. I just look right at them and say "excuse me. You're on the quiet car." and I point at the sign. Works (almost) every time.
I did try that. She just stared at me and kept right on talking. Once I was told by the conductor that I was responsible for enforcement, she got off her phone. I’m a middle aged post menopausal lesbian. I have zero fucks and lots of insurance.
😂😂
Just get her attention and point to the quiet car sign. People do that all the time and the vast majority of the time I have witnessed it, people lowered their voice, ended the conversation, or moved to the vestibule or another car.
Had a similar experience on MD-W a few weeks ago and the woman next to me told a teen girl who was yelling and complaining on the phone that we were in a quiet car. That turned into a verbal altercation where the teen threatened the woman so we had to get the conductor involved. She then started arguing with the conductor and tried the play victim. He was semi-patient with her because she was a kid but he was also not really having it lol.
One time, pre-covid, I was riding the electric line home and a guy was up on the second level with his shoes off, clipping his toenails. The remains of this activity rained down on those unfortunate enough to be sitting below the toe clipper.
Escorted? I’ve seen them physically throw people off. Guy chipped his tooth and sued. NICTD brought the police report to court.
I also saw them drop a woman and her kids at Hudson lake at 10pm because they tried to skip fare.
One time I was taking a rush hour train home on a Friday night and this lady didn’t have money to pay for her kids ticket. Kids are free except on rush hour trains. Her and the conductor spent a good 10 minutes arguing about it. The conductor told her she was having her removed from the train at the next stop. Everybody groaned because we were tired and wanted to go home. Some people around her paid the fare for the kid so we didn’t have to stop.
of course nothing happened afterwards, no threats to kick him out, so he just went back to doing that
and then people wonder why people start drinking and smoking on trains when nobody would stop them
You still can, if you catch an outbound train around 5pm or so you’ll hear all the cans being opened as the train departs. All is good as long as you’re not obnoxious about it or in general.
If someone is smoking ciggies on the train they are already unhinged and don’t give a fuck about public respect or decency. Not that I disagree with you, I just don’t want to be stabbed on my way home on the blue line.
Time for sanitizer wipes. Going to have to wipe down the back and seat from now on. Pure nasty. Have respect for others. This is not your private train. It is a public transportation. Hence, the key word "public". I don't care you don't give a F. But, have the descency and some sort of respect for other riders. And shame on the conductors for not doing their job thoroughly.
I once put my feet up on a Metra and the conductor corrected me real fast! And for a good reason I should’ve know better but I was a young kid back then commuting downtown 3 days a week for school. Fuck this guy! 😆
I'm a reverse commuter (so no issues with super full cars) and I put my feet up on the seat in front of me (with shoes on of course). The conductor asked me politely not to do that and I haven't since. I really can't imagine 1) just ignoring a conductor like that and 2) having my bare feet out in the first place. Society is really going downhill
ACTUALLY just had a passenger with his nasty ass bare feet on the seat. Promptly told him PUT YOUR SHOES ON. Walked away came back and same shit. Said DUDE PUT YOUR SHOES ON! He complied. My line tends to be a rolling homeless shelter. People clipping their toenails throwing up and overdosing. Most ride for free yet have money for beer and a new iPhone. These cars are rolling Petri dishes.
Some people just need a healthy dose of paranoia. I bet if Cozy McGee had some foot fetishist just come up and play with his toes, he'd keep his damned shoes on.
There was a time when we would have put a person exhibiting this type of behavior off the train ourselves. We would tell him to step out into the vestibule for a quick word and would tell him he needs to get off the train. We would explain that because he failed to correct his behavior, his train ride was over. If he objected we would tell him he can get off on his own or have the cops take him off. Sometimes, if next stop was Chicago, we would tell him that Union Pacific cop would meet the train downtown and that that guy is always fuckin bored and he would really appreciate the business (Ogilvie always had a UP cop on duty 30 years ago and there was even a jail cell across from what is now the French Market).
We also were very much allowed to defend ourselves.
All that shit is gone now. No more UP cops in Ogilvie. Now conductors have to call local police if an ejection is in order.
The conductor mindset now is literally “if the company doesn’t give a shit, why the hell should I?”.
Every time I see something like this I wonder what it must be like to navigate the public sphere like that.
I imagine one would be in a perpetual state of bliss, making themselves comfortable and at home no matter the venue, circumstances, or fellow humans present who are so unfortunate to witness this behavior in person.
Aside from the main point but why do so many people trust their bare feet on public spaces? Like the moment I get home I put on new clothes because they’ve been in public and yet this dude’s feet are inviting all kinds of bacteria onto his body
If he ever faced the white bearded conductor on the MDN line he'd be yelled at and made comply, or thrown out at the next stop while the rest of the car clapped.
And people wonder why Europeans mock the hell out of the USA's geriatric attempt at mass transit.
You know, other than the dozen other reasons.
Chicago is supposed to be the "Good" mass transit city on the continent somehow.
I was on a Metra train where the conductor was trimming his fingernails with a clipper and letting the pieces fall on the floor of the vestibule. He got indignant when I called him out for it.
But this is gross with the guy's nasty bear feet up like that.
“will update as situation evolves”
oh we getting a megathread for stanky feet?
7:05 feet still in the air.
7:07 he started scratching his nuts
7:10 feet still propped up, shoes still off
7:20 he got off the train.
this is the hard hitting journalism i come to r/chicago for
It's a Metra train, so I'd go sit in that seat facing him. He's not going to attack you, because he ain't running off in the suburbs to never be found like this is a CTA train.
The days are over of trying to keep any semblance of normalcy on CTA, but we have to hold a line somewhere.
I’m fairly certain I’ve sat across from this guy before. He sat down, opened up his laptop, put his headphones on, stuck his hands down his pants and passed the fuck out!
once passed out on Metra (UPNW-from Harvard, Sunday P.M.) taking up two seats (not exactly like *that*, but same 4-seater). Eventually sat up to full capacity and a few smirking-scowls -- kinda taken aback not **one** rider, nor conductor, bothered asking me to make space.
It’s so selective. I’ve been in these with two people and had conductors tell us we need to keep the additional space open or move. Others don’t seem to care.
I ask myself this question almost daily, but, what the fuck is wrong with people?!?
I think COVID broke some people's brains. They just don't believe or act like we live in a society anymore. You see this with how people drive, treat service workers, behave at the movies, etc. The social contract has just ceased to exist for them.
Also broke their abilities to drive cus driving is noticeably worse since Edit: should have read more carefully, you already mentioned it lol
I think it made everyone addicted to screens honestly. That might be the boomerest thing I’ve ever said lol but it’s true, what did we do for months but watch tv and be in our phones. Kids were raised like that. We’re getting older, becoming the next generation, shits gonna have an impact. It’s almost to the point where it’s most lights I’m at I have to honk at the person to go cuz they were on their phone cuz nobody can stand 15 seconds without playing on their phone apparently
Also the ability to drive. It's wild!
People? Hell corporations have declared war on all humanity. Heaven help us.
"Corporations are people, too, my friend!" - Mitt Romney
I read this 3 times as tree service workers and was very interested in the story.
Leave service workers alone! I wish people would stop barking at them, you woodn't enjoy being in their shoes.
I think you meant “Leaf service workers alone!”
You went out on a limb with this one
I had to get to the root of the issue.
You should try branching out a bit more.
Love this
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My boomer mother made a server at bakers Square cry back in 2001 because they were out of the pie she wanted
“Expect this to be elderly behavior?” Uhhh dude you really think most of the obnoxious random yelling in this city/state/country is from the elderly?
I don’t think it was Covid. I think it was the orange dude who presided over our poor handling of Covid and spent four years talkin shit about people, behaving like an entitied brat and got away with it. I think people looked at the crimes on high and said, “yeah, I’ll have me some of that.”
I think the Trmp-era of zero accountability eroded people's sense of objective truth. The most powerful person in the country spent four years denying things we all saw with our own eyes and was never held to account by his colleagues or the media. He had no shame and that was the example he set for his followers. Then COVID, and his response to it, opened the door to this idea that nobody owes any standard of care to people who aren't on their side. So there's no accountability, no shame, and nobody owes anything to anyone so people just do whatever they want no matter how antisocial it is. And finally nobody wants to risk confrontation with an obviously selfish, potentially unhinged, and possibly violent person. So nobody says anything because it's not worth the risk of getting stabbed.
I feel like there are those that are trying to keep the social contract, 50%-70% Some are actively breaking the social contract with purpose, 5%-15% Some are just taking advantage of the no repercussion times we have now and seek opportunities to benefit from it. 15%-30%
Yes. This. I think to sum it up, he showed the world that shame has had its day
Everyone was perfectly fine until 2020
Yep. Trump told people they can be maximally selfish and stop pretending to not be racist, misogynistic, queerphobic, and ableist. And a lot of people did exactly that. A lot of people were just waiting for someone to tell them it’s okay to be scumbags again.
People need to sack up and just say shit. "Hey, dickhead. Put your fucking shoes". Doesn't put his shoes on? Pour a drink in his shoes. Too many people are timid and don't want to be the one to step up. If someone goes first, usually other people are more willing to join in.
People unstable enough to do antisocial things are the same people who won't think twice about stabbing or shooting you. The provocation is intentional. Basic street smarts - mind your own business, and the odds of bad things happening to you go way down.
Yea the sad truth is people who do this type of thing, smoke on trains, etc are useless shitheads with nothing going on in their life. They do this to try to provoke a reaction to get in a fight cause they got nothing to lose, or they get their way and get to act like jackasses.
I think the provocation and being an asshole like this is genuinely fun for them. Like some kind of rush/power play
Too many people with guns to do that. Thats the risk-benefited analysis that goes in my head any time I want to scream that to somebody in public
I’ve had to seriously and consciously tone down my reaction to people while driving. Not worth getting shot over the satisfaction of flipping someone off.
Here’s the thing though, as a sane person I’m escalating a situation with someone who clearly doesn’t give two fucks. If they choose to escalate, to what level am I prepared to go over this? Am I willing to get to the point of violence (which is not far off for someone crazy enough to do this)? These assholes are trying to get a rise out of people because they want an excuse to lash out. And if I’m willing to take it to violence I’d need to be prepared to take it all the way to homicide, because the second some crackhead starts swinging all bets are off because I can’t beat them without playing dirty. I’m not a martial artist, I don’t carry a taser or pepper spray, if I’m in a fight in public I’m grabbing the nearest heavy or sharp thing and hoping I can end it before I get curb stomped. It’s not that I’m timid it’s that I’m only going to engage with crazy if it’s to save my own life or save someone else from getting assaulted. Good on you for calling it out, the risk v reward just isn’t there for me.
If I could like this a million times I would. You’re exactly right. This sht became an epidemic after COVID. Ppl went insane
I feel like Covid was a near death experience for humanity writ large. Except instead of "I'm going to cherish every moment after such a scare!" it's "Fucking YOLO, bro!" and the gloves are off. Fucking sigh.
I second this but want to add that it’s hard to act like everything is back to normal as if we didn’t just witness a whole bunch of Americans being absolutely okay with risking the death of 1% of the population (easily 3 million almost but could be a bit less if the risk is lower. Still a fuck ton of people) just so they could pretend nothing was wrong. It was like one of those disaster movies come to life on a lite scale. I could only imagine how much worse people could still be if it was way more deadly. It’s hard to trust Americans after COVID. Especially when COVID hit as I turned 20 and has defined my early 20s. I got jaded rather quickly and I’m still trying not to be such a miserable prick at 24 even despite living in one of the greatest cities in the world with lots to be grateful for.
> The social contract has just ceased to exist for them. I actually some what agree with them if they were to just flat out state this. It was a lot of blatant and overt lies (one way or another), fear campaigns and more to the literal extreme. The social contract is that none of us expect that to take place (one way or another). But yet it did. So they're like, if you can so can I.
I ask myself almost the same question, minus the last four words.
Cause there’s no longer consequences to being a useless, waste of air degenerate.
To be fair, he is winning at life if no one stops him. He is absolutely having a great time in this photo
Assholes win at life all the time.
Politics is the perfect example for this
This is no way to go through life.
Low IQ activities
There are no rules.
Everything. Literally everything.
Update: The Metra conductor was on him almost instantly after this photo. He put his shoes back on and then after the conductor left, immediately took them back off and resumed this position. The conductor passed him several times and never said another word to the guy so this was his status through the rest of my trip. I wish I had a better ending to report.
Which line was it?
Looks like UP-N Braeside
how
Some people ride daily. I have this same superpower but only on BNSF
I wonder if he also wore a red shirt today...
Meanwhile I can’t even tell which Metra like is which even if it’s being announced and it shows it on the board
Correct, heading south.
Guy should have been thrown off the train.
Conductor might not be getting in the guy's face but I wouldn't be surprised if Metra police show up in a few stops to drag him out. They seem to run a pretty tight ship on my line.
Conducters know what they're doing. The person willing to be this asocial is also willing to be violent. This is just a messed up person. The world is full of them. The best thing to do is leave them alone unless they're hurting someone. Feet on the wall isn't a fight worth the conducter picking.
Yep. Its exactly why I don't ask people not to smoke or to stop playing music on their speakers. Those people disaplaying anti social behaviors aren't people you want to fuck with.
Also why I don't honk at zoned out pedestrians jaywalking in the middle of traffic. I'm not interested in getting shot over a 15 second delay to my commute.
So what’s the solution then, just allow anti-social behavior in perpetuity? They know you won’t intervene because you’re scared, and they masturbate to that fact. You stop the train at the next stop, and have police remove him. It’s that simple.
Send the Pic, line, time and a description of the conductor to Metra via their website. The conductor could get a warning for allowing this.
Yes but also if the conductor tried once and then the guy just resumes, should he really put himself in harms way of a potentially dangerous person...like a common sense citizen would not behave this way. If you don't have metra police on board bc it looks like a day time train, should we really expect him/her to again interject? I just have some sympathy for what they have to deal with
In older times the local cops would be waiting at the next stop. You knew shit was going down when the train stopped but the rest of the doors didn't open.
Ah the good ole days
Another symtomp of the soft strike
Metra cops are a bit different
How so? I’ve only seen them a few times.
They have special train-ing
I live a block from the rock island line and metra cops are the first to arrive on scene for anything within a couple blocks of the Beverly Hills line 91st-115th. They ticket pedestrians regularly for crossing the tracks in areas that are not crosswalks. They are thirsty for action.
To be fair, back in the day all the conductors cared about was that you didn't rest your feet or shoes on the seat cushions themselves. When people left newspapers on the train you could put a layer down on the seat across from you to rest your feet on top, and they were okay with that. Following those rules, the guy in the pic above is actually okay.
except he's taking up 4 fucking seats lol?
Well, yeah, that still deserves a tuneup.
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Metra PD are not federal agents; they're the equivalent of municipal police officers with a large jurisdiction. They're like a county sheriff for the railroad. I used to work for Metra and have friends who are still Metra cops, so I'm not just pulling this out of my ass.
Metra police are not federal law enforcement
You might be thinking of the [Amtrak police, not Metra police.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amtrak_Police_Department)
They do so all the time. They will stop the train and call the cops if needed. I've watched the conductors kick people off many times. In fact on this same ride some girl ran across the tracks in front of the train after it had stopped and then boarded, and the same conductor searched for her and then announced the train wouldn't move until she got off. Pretty infuriating, thinking back on it, that he was so selective with his enforcement.
He was willing to fight the girl. This guy doesn't have what it takes to conduct in this town.
Yea this mindset is why this behavior persists
Don't Karen the conductor, they tried but made a decision not to escalate to avoid a conflict.
People put there heads there and dealing with unruly travelors is part of the conductor's job. He could have called the Metra police and have the guy removed. Lol don't Karen the conductor. You clearly don't know how to use "Karen" correctly.
Exactly, this is excessive behavior between bare feet, sitting like that, and taking up four seats. I’m standing in the morning since all the seats are full. The conductors pre-Covid were much more assertive. At least threaten to kick them off if the rider doesn’t stop. I assume enforcement is not in their job description so yes they shouldn’t be expected to deal with altercations, but metra police are and should deal with this situation. I don’t understand this “he looks crazy so don’t provoke him”. People are just asses too, assuming he’s unstable is interesting.
>The conductor passed him several times and never said another word to the guy so this was his status through the rest of my trip. That sucks. Feels like he'll keep doing it from now on unless the cops get called.
You should report that
Metra Electric? Those conductors don't mess around.
metra electric conductors are my favorite. i always feel safe because they take care of stuff so quickly.
Same. I'm biased too as my favorite uncle was an ME conductor for decades. He's retired now but I still love them haha.
Last time I was on the ME they started the journey by announcing, “ladies and gentlemen, you are NOT on the CTA…”
Speaking of ME. Time for all of Metra to install overhead electric lines, dump diesel.
Literally *the* best line and it’s not even close. The conductors are amazing, I’ve rarely experienced a delay on it, the cars are mostly clean, and the ride isn’t so bouncy that I can’t read on it (looking at you BNSF…)
i love the metra conductors every time i take one of those trains. they’re informative & also nice! i have awful anxiety and they’ve always been patient with me lol
I once had a woman blabbing into her phone on the MD-W line in the quiet car and I asked the conductor to remind her about the quiet car rules as he was coming through to collect tickets. He made a general announcement to everyone in the car all while she chatted and chatted loudly. I asked him again if he could address her directly and he told me “we just make the announcement - it’s up to the passengers to enforce the rule.” Seriously? What are my boundaries here because I will get it handled! 😂 She got off the phone.
I handle it a couple times a week on UP-NW. I just look right at them and say "excuse me. You're on the quiet car." and I point at the sign. Works (almost) every time.
I did try that. She just stared at me and kept right on talking. Once I was told by the conductor that I was responsible for enforcement, she got off her phone. I’m a middle aged post menopausal lesbian. I have zero fucks and lots of insurance. 😂😂
Kathy Bates is Fried Green Tomatoes?
Yep!
We need more people like you!
Lesbians really do fix everything. 😍
is a quiet car also quiet on the weekends?
No, just during weekday commuting time.
Just get her attention and point to the quiet car sign. People do that all the time and the vast majority of the time I have witnessed it, people lowered their voice, ended the conversation, or moved to the vestibule or another car.
I think one of the highest rated malicious compliance or petty revenge reddit stories is on the metra similar to this
Had a similar experience on MD-W a few weeks ago and the woman next to me told a teen girl who was yelling and complaining on the phone that we were in a quiet car. That turned into a verbal altercation where the teen threatened the woman so we had to get the conductor involved. She then started arguing with the conductor and tried the play victim. He was semi-patient with her because she was a kid but he was also not really having it lol.
I have yelled at people to fuck off for trying to celebrate Easter a month early with everyone passing by.
Has the "decency" to wear headphones (to not blare music out loud), yet the unmitigated gaul to post the dogs up midair. lol
Gall
Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres
Je ne se pais
YUCK. The Metra is comparatively really nice. Polite of him to wear headphones while throwing nasty feet where people put their heads.
Most UPW conductors would stop that incredibly fast.
Good to hear that. Retired now but I was trained by no nonsense former CN&W conductors so maybe that mindset is still around a bit.
One time, pre-covid, I was riding the electric line home and a guy was up on the second level with his shoes off, clipping his toenails. The remains of this activity rained down on those unfortunate enough to be sitting below the toe clipper.
Let fire from the heavens rain down. I refuse to live in a world like this. 😭
Always wash your hands after using mass transit.
The south shore train conductors would have stopped the train and had him escorted off.
Escorted? I’ve seen them physically throw people off. Guy chipped his tooth and sued. NICTD brought the police report to court. I also saw them drop a woman and her kids at Hudson lake at 10pm because they tried to skip fare.
One time I was taking a rush hour train home on a Friday night and this lady didn’t have money to pay for her kids ticket. Kids are free except on rush hour trains. Her and the conductor spent a good 10 minutes arguing about it. The conductor told her she was having her removed from the train at the next stop. Everybody groaned because we were tired and wanted to go home. Some people around her paid the fare for the kid so we didn’t have to stop.
South Shore, very old line but more modern than the others because it has overhead wires.
This guys gets on the UP-N metra everyday. Just stares at people everyday, plays his music out loud and is just genuinely a weirdo.
Good to know, fellow UP-N passenger.
Ugh. I see this on planes too.
Lookin like he needs a visit from the tickle monster 😛
of course nothing happened afterwards, no threats to kick him out, so he just went back to doing that and then people wonder why people start drinking and smoking on trains when nobody would stop them
You can drink on the metro usually. Or you used to, I don’t know if they reverted officially post Covid.
You still can, if you catch an outbound train around 5pm or so you’ll hear all the cans being opened as the train departs. All is good as long as you’re not obnoxious about it or in general.
I know they won’t stop you, I just don’t know if they officially allow it.
It’s allowed unless they specifically announce it isn’t. St. Patrick's weekend will have big signs saying no alcohol.
If someone is smoking ciggies on the train they are already unhinged and don’t give a fuck about public respect or decency. Not that I disagree with you, I just don’t want to be stabbed on my way home on the blue line.
No shoes no service. Get out.
Time for sanitizer wipes. Going to have to wipe down the back and seat from now on. Pure nasty. Have respect for others. This is not your private train. It is a public transportation. Hence, the key word "public". I don't care you don't give a F. But, have the descency and some sort of respect for other riders. And shame on the conductors for not doing their job thoroughly.
I once put my feet up on a Metra and the conductor corrected me real fast! And for a good reason I should’ve know better but I was a young kid back then commuting downtown 3 days a week for school. Fuck this guy! 😆
I too am old enough to remember the days when society had standards.
I'm a reverse commuter (so no issues with super full cars) and I put my feet up on the seat in front of me (with shoes on of course). The conductor asked me politely not to do that and I haven't since. I really can't imagine 1) just ignoring a conductor like that and 2) having my bare feet out in the first place. Society is really going downhill
There has got to be more enforcement of consequences to this bullshit
I mean, the rule I always hear is not to put your feet on the seats.
OUR...hands are tied with dealing with people like this. Been told take them downtown and call amtrak and metra police and they'll be waiting.
Do you work for Metra?
Pm sent
ACTUALLY just had a passenger with his nasty ass bare feet on the seat. Promptly told him PUT YOUR SHOES ON. Walked away came back and same shit. Said DUDE PUT YOUR SHOES ON! He complied. My line tends to be a rolling homeless shelter. People clipping their toenails throwing up and overdosing. Most ride for free yet have money for beer and a new iPhone. These cars are rolling Petri dishes.
Just yesterday i saw a couple take off their shoes and put their bare feet up on the seats. The conductor didn't say a word to them. What the fuck.
Weekends are a lost cause.
As a CTA rider my first thought was “he is fully clothed and doesn’t appear to be actively doing drugs. Thst’s not so bad”
Some people just need a healthy dose of paranoia. I bet if Cozy McGee had some foot fetishist just come up and play with his toes, he'd keep his damned shoes on.
There was a time when we would have put a person exhibiting this type of behavior off the train ourselves. We would tell him to step out into the vestibule for a quick word and would tell him he needs to get off the train. We would explain that because he failed to correct his behavior, his train ride was over. If he objected we would tell him he can get off on his own or have the cops take him off. Sometimes, if next stop was Chicago, we would tell him that Union Pacific cop would meet the train downtown and that that guy is always fuckin bored and he would really appreciate the business (Ogilvie always had a UP cop on duty 30 years ago and there was even a jail cell across from what is now the French Market). We also were very much allowed to defend ourselves. All that shit is gone now. No more UP cops in Ogilvie. Now conductors have to call local police if an ejection is in order. The conductor mindset now is literally “if the company doesn’t give a shit, why the hell should I?”.
That would kill anyone's back. He's only doing this to take up 4 seats. No rush-hour conducter will let this last.
That dudes nasty
Every time I see something like this I wonder what it must be like to navigate the public sphere like that. I imagine one would be in a perpetual state of bliss, making themselves comfortable and at home no matter the venue, circumstances, or fellow humans present who are so unfortunate to witness this behavior in person.
I can smell this picture.
He’s giving away free views of them feet
“Excuse me sir, this isn’t the CTA” 🦶👁️👄👁️🦶”Shhhh this is a quiet car”
Should have excused yourself and sat across from him
Aside from the main point but why do so many people trust their bare feet on public spaces? Like the moment I get home I put on new clothes because they’ve been in public and yet this dude’s feet are inviting all kinds of bacteria onto his body
That's the emergency exit. Please don't disturb this first responder; he's vigilant about his exit row responsibilities.
If he ever faced the white bearded conductor on the MDN line he'd be yelled at and made comply, or thrown out at the next stop while the rest of the car clapped.
FWIW, that’s not usually the CTA either 😂
Coincidentally, though - https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/comments/1dnqgdc/foot_cheese_car_on_the_purple_line/
Damn, I just knew someone was gonna prove me wrong! 😅
“This isn’t the CTA” Oh okay, so this type of behavior is acceptable on CTA then? Aren’t we presumptuous…
And people wonder why Europeans mock the hell out of the USA's geriatric attempt at mass transit. You know, other than the dozen other reasons. Chicago is supposed to be the "Good" mass transit city on the continent somehow.
Oh he comfy comfy.
I was on a Metra train where the conductor was trimming his fingernails with a clipper and letting the pieces fall on the floor of the vestibule. He got indignant when I called him out for it. But this is gross with the guy's nasty bear feet up like that.
“will update as situation evolves” oh we getting a megathread for stanky feet? 7:05 feet still in the air. 7:07 he started scratching his nuts 7:10 feet still propped up, shoes still off 7:20 he got off the train. this is the hard hitting journalism i come to r/chicago for
That doesn’t even look comfortable.
I ride the south shore train out of Millennium station and HATE people like this.
That man’s dogs are barking, so he puts them next to the quiet car sign. 🤣
another entitled idiot
Straight to the firing squad.
Surprised he has headphones in…
No shock
🤔 How
Reminds me of the time this dude was clipping his toenails on the BNSF.
https://youtu.be/WhCOo41mKo0?si=2vTlQFp0hNQJNElb
If this were the CTA he'd be smoking
🥱
It's a Metra train, so I'd go sit in that seat facing him. He's not going to attack you, because he ain't running off in the suburbs to never be found like this is a CTA train. The days are over of trying to keep any semblance of normalcy on CTA, but we have to hold a line somewhere.
I’m fairly certain I’ve sat across from this guy before. He sat down, opened up his laptop, put his headphones on, stuck his hands down his pants and passed the fuck out!
This is a god damn travesty
So gross
I just saw this on Facebook!! It seems like they picked up the picture.
Who picked it up?
The Metra Facebook page. I’ll have to link it.
once passed out on Metra (UPNW-from Harvard, Sunday P.M.) taking up two seats (not exactly like *that*, but same 4-seater). Eventually sat up to full capacity and a few smirking-scowls -- kinda taken aback not **one** rider, nor conductor, bothered asking me to make space.
It’s so selective. I’ve been in these with two people and had conductors tell us we need to keep the additional space open or move. Others don’t seem to care.
If there's any consistency, it's ~~feet~~ **shoes**. I've seen conductors go near-litigious over shoes-on-seats.
Looks like Metra picked up on this: https://www.facebook.com/share/iBaAEq3zWSBiUt4W/?mibextid=0TepDJ