Sometimes, People Are Just Assholes

I had every reason to be in an excellent mood this morning.  I was heading to my fitting for the role I nabbed on Law and Order: Criminal Intent.  I walked into the subway and I ran into my friend, the incredible Alex Carney - director and smarty pants, who (whom?) I had not seen in a while.  We had catching up to do.  

We were stand on the subway train chatting - he had just gotten engaged to his significant other, my significant other had just gotten 11 stitches in his hand - we had shit to talk about.  From behind Alex, a very surly middle aged Russian man began yelling at us.

"This is not your apartment!  Be quiet!  You are talking too loud!"

Unfortunately for this Russian guy, Alex is quite the alpha male and immediately began telling this guy where he could shove his disapproval.  Chekhov was quite unprepared to have a combination of a defensive/offensive attack that was ready and waiting to strike, like a scorpion under a rock.  Or on top of a rock.  I don't know much about scorpions.  I feel like they live in hot places.

Anyway, that's irrelevant.

This guy would not shut up.  Finally Alex told him that he should move trains if our conversation was bothering him so much.  As he got up and walked past us he muttered, "Some people are so inconsiderate," to which Alex replied, "Some people are just assholes."  I guess this guy felt like he needed to be the "bigger" person and added, "Have a good day," and Alex told him, "Well, we were before we met you."

First of all, having Alex there to tell Vanya to quit being so Russian - it taught me something.  Defending yourself in a situation like that doesn't make you a jerk.  I think most people in a situation like that would just shut up to avoid the confrontation.  But standing up for yourself is not a bad thing, being right about something and being vocal about it is actually pretty empowering.

You can totally feel the rest of the subway car observing the situation between us and Rasputin, doing that "looking" but not really looking.  Everyone who was reading was still looking at the pages in front of them, but you could feel all their attention laser beamed in on the situation unfolding before them.

It takes a good amount a bravery to be able to take a stand, especially when you have an audience.  And Russian people are just scary in general - they are so used to being cold and miserable that making other people feel the same is second nature.  

But you know, maybe I'm being too harsh.  Maybe seeing Alex and me chatting reminded him of his relationship with his young sister in the old country who died in a tragic Vodka accident.  Like, she fell in a vat of Vodka and she froze to death.  That's how cold it is there.  Vodka freezes.  But she was his only sister that he loved very much, and if only he had been there for her she would still be alive today.

Honestly, I don't really care - he was a douche.