On a more serious note

An open letter to my youngest sister, in response to a pretty awful scene witnessed on the way home tonight.

The Recipient- Ailsa, My little sister

Hey

So this is kind of random, but something just happened on my subway ride home from school and I really need to talk to you about it. You in particular. 

I was on the train and it was noisy, as per usual. Honestly, I was trying to make eyes at the handsome mustachioed men nearby and not paying attention to much else, but the noise grew louder and slowly one voice started to become more distinct. I looked over to my right in time to see a young woman, maybe 19 or 20 get up from her seat to stand a short ways away from where she had been seated, while an older man she had been sitting next to shouted things at her. Drawn to the confrontation, like many others on the train, I listened and watched this man call her a freak because of her dyed blue hair, exclaim that no man would want to marry her, and that she was sick and immoral. Sexist and homophobic slurs where thrown at her and she just stood there and said nothing back.

As this continued I felt increasingly uncomfortable, not only because of his words and not only because other passengers were watching but avoiding getting involved, but mostly because no one was coming to HER side. This young woman was being harassed and verbally abused, in public, and no one did anything. What's worse, I didn't do anything right away. I knew that to confront this guy would just make him more aggressive, but I really just wanted to make sure this woman felt safe and okay. 

In this moment, I thought of you. I love you and if I knew someone had spoken to you because of the way you cut your hair or dress or anything, it would make me sick. I would be heartbroken to know that no one stopped to make sure you were okay. You are one of the kindest, sweetest, funniest people I know and it made me so angry to think that you could be labeled and harassed like this girl was. 

So I stepped over. I didn't want to engage with the crazy dude but I wanted to offer her some gesture of kindness and love so that in that moment so that she would know that no one thought this guy was anything other than nuts. I wanted to make sure SHE was okay and just offer a friendly smile as we got off the train. I said a few quick words to her, we exchanged a smile and I stood between her and this guy for the rest of the trip, hoping my back would help shield some of the hate coming from him. 

I'm glad I did something, though it doesn't feel like enough. Of course I thought about it the whole way home and by the time I got back to the safety of my house I had composed a mature, thoughtful, yet assertive speech to this man that would have eloquently handled the situation. Ah well. I did what I could. 

It did make me want to tell you that should you ever encounter anything like this, don't listen. I wanted to tell you that I Love you and admire you and think you're gorgeous. 

Call me soon! I miss ya

Carrie

Clearly she is the best