Even if you’ve never been to New York City, you know what the people there are like. Right? They’re rude, aloof, liberal, and fashionable. Right?
I’ve had time to see people here exemplify these stereotypes, but I’ve also met people who completely defy them. Also, think about this: most New Yorkers aren’t even from New York. So maybe there’s this personality strain we could diagnose in transplanted Midwesterners or some other group IF the stereotypes were true.
Most New Yorkers have seen so much craziness that they’re jaded. They lose sympathy and the ability to laugh. Bobby and I decided to go to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) last night after work for Free Friday. This is the place to scope out some Andy Warhol, Vincent van Gogh, or just a lot of really fine frugal folks. Our commute required three different trains, so I came up with a social experiment - Bobby would wear his ipod and loudly sing along with it on the subway. I pretended not to know him and sat far enough away from him that we didn’t look like we were acquainted, but close enough to be able to hear him belt out the songs. I watched to see how the other passengers reacted.
Bobby started out singing songs most people should know. He sang parts of Kelly Clarkson’s “Because of You,” which I don’t really know, but could recognize as a more recent pop song being completely desecrated by the big dork bopping against the subway pole. Then Bobby sang “To Be Real.” As far as I’m concerned, no one else could sing a song that poorly written and sound good. “What you think ahhh. What you know ahhh. What you feel ahhh. To be real.” Huh? “My love is your love and your love is my love. Our love is here to stay-ay-ay-ayyyy!” Kind of desperate, no?
One man chuckled very openly and faked some applause. He and I made eye contact as I wiped the tears out of my eyes. Another lady across from me on a different train said, “It’s that American Idol. Everyone wants to sing and they’ve gotta practice.” She said this to me from feet away. Most of the time, people don’t even talk on the subway. There are unofficial rules of NO EYE CONTACT WITH STRANGERS, NO TOUCHING ALLOWED, GET OFFENDED BY ACCIDENTAL TOUCHES, and NO HUMAN INTERACTION THAT MAY QUALIFY AS MEANINGFUL.
Bobby changed this.
He was trying to stay in character while I looked around the train. People were smiling at each other and talking. We were bemused and delighted by the atypical - a weirdo on the train who didn’t scare us or reek of urine.
The social experiment will continue. We’re going to add a duet to the mix (starring me, yes) and maybe even some ad-libbed performance. Wouldn’t it be funny if Bobby was in character and asked me out? Or I took his ipod away from him? That’s comic genius right there.
My conclusion from the experiment was that there are plenty of genuine, humane, happy people in NYC that don’t often get the chance to show their sense of humor or personality on the subway. If the opportunity arose more often, I think the subway would have a lot less sleeping people and commutes would seem exponentially shorter. And the people who didn’t laugh or respond? They’re hard and dull and fit the stereotype - avoid them.
