In 2015, New York police arrested two men for “manspreading” — sitting with their legs unnecessarily far apart on subway trains and buses — but that hasn’t prevented certain riders from expressing their masculinity by taking up more than one seat.
When a woman on her way to work Thursday was pressed against a wall by a passenger occupying most of her seat as well as his own, she politely asked him to stop. The woman, named Sam Saia, was unprepared for his reaction.
According to the New York Post, Saia recounted:
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When I asked him to give me room, he yelled ‘B*tch, you ain’t nothing! I’ve raped white b*tches like you, f*cking c*nt! You ain’t nothing, you f*cking b*tch!’
She inserted her earbuds in an attempt to drown out the tirade, at which point, the man proceeded to attack her physically. He punched her in the mouth, bloodying her lip, and began slamming her head against the wall behind her.
Another passenger rose to the woman’s defense and began grappling with the suspect.
The good Samaritan, who described himself as being “not on duty right now,” told him to “get the f–k off the train.”
The attacker tried to apologize to the woman before exiting the train.
A video of the exchange between Saia’s defender and the assailant was captured, revealing that the defender was a much bigger man.
Saia says that she reported the incident to police, although the NYPD claimed to have no record on file as of Friday morning. Police are now investigating the video. There is no word on whether investigators plan on focusing on the obvious racial element the attacker injected into the incident.
This is not the first time a rider has been attacked for asking a manspreader to show consideration on a crowded train.
