This is a story from a field-trip i had when was in highschool together with my class, around 30 students in total and the story took place on a train.
I'm from scandinavia and i just remembered this yesterday, and how it shook me to my bones when i first experienced it.
Anyways we we're on what supposed to be around 1 hours train ride.
These trains are made for commutes and the train was full. A ticket is around 10 – 11 dollars in our currency.
The train took an about 10 minutes extra at a stop and people started to get stressed and mostly thinking that something was wrong with the train until suddenly the consuctor announced in the trains speaker-system.
Announcement: ” We have a traveller here who won't pay for their ticket and the train won't move until he either does or leaves the train, if people would please come stare at him until he feels embarrased and get off it would be of great help.”
I kis you not i have never heard something as embarrasing in my entire life, and from what i have heard by classmates who went back to stare at him. (Still can't believe anyone actually took part in humilating another human this way).
The man who they stared down was an alcoholic that had no money to return home and had broken/ or his cellphone was out of battery..
NO ONE helped this man but people flooded to stare him down and make him feel so embarrased he left.
NO ONE batted an eye the teachers we had even encouraged students to go stare at him so we would get home in time for a rental bus.
This raised 2 questions for me.
A train filled to the brim with paying customers (these trains can take about 300 seated travellers) seriously had to go trough waiting 30 minutes just because 1 person could'nt afford to pay.
And also a whole train of people isntead of helping him out felt like the best way to solve their convenience was to stare at him instead until he left the train.
This made me lose so much faith in humanity and i can't until this day describewhat this scene made me feel and think about society.
For your information i was a 15 year old with no money and if i could afforded it i would have helped this man…
This affected me deeply but i could tell for moste it was just an inconvenience best solved by ridiculong someone who was already struggling…