Kenmore Square safety

[alonewiththemoon]

To any of you who regularly use the Kenmore Square T station, or know anyone who does--

Last night I had a run-in with a panhandler in the Beacon Street entrance to the Kenmore Square T station.  Panhandlers frequently stand at the bottom of the stairs at that entrance because it is sheltered from the weather and also because due to the angles of the corridor there, they cannot be seen from the token booth area.  Some of the panhandlers are particularly aggressive towards women, usually just verbally.

I entered the T station just after 7pm and ignored the panhandler who was demanding money from the passersby.  In my experience, if you make any kind of eye contact with the more aggressive guys, they take that as an invitation to make inappropriate comments.  Apparently this angered him, and as I walked past him he punched me in the arm.  Not hard enough to have bruised, but hard enough that it was meant to hurt, he wasn't just trying to get my attention or anything.  As I mentioned before, you can't see into that corner from anywhere else in the station, so he felt like he could get away with it.

I kept on walking but glared at him as I went.  His response was "Don't be mean, I only hit you with one hand."  I suppose this appeal to my better nature was supposed to make me think it would be unreasonable to report him.  I called the MBTA police this morning, and they said they will step up patrols in that area (incidentally, I've never seen any patrols coming through there) and the officer I spoke to agreed that there was a problem there with aggressive panhandlers. This particular panhandler was about 5'8" or so, African American, shaved head, wearing a new-looking black leather jacket, and dress shirt/pants/shoes.   The officer I spoke to said he sounded like somebody they were already familiar with, though he could have said that to make me feel like they were on the case.  I am a little skeptical about the T police, since this corner must have been a problem since the day the station was opened.  Hopefully the T police will actually do something about this, but in the meanwhile, if you use that station or know anybody who does, be careful.  Feel free to forward this message.

Comments

[frederic.livejournal.com]

Wow, kind of scary... I'd believe that the T police guy recognized him by your description. Most of them have the same location and modus operandi. Some of the panhandlers in Harvard Square have used the same lines on me over the last 12 years.

Usually I don't ignore panhandlers but give them the "i can't do nothin' for ya man" shrug which seems to go over better than any verbal explanation or other in my experience.

[rojagato.livejournal.com]

I am so sorry that you had this experience. The design of that entrance is terrible.

[kambriel.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Good to know. I've noticed some of the Panhandlers becoming more agressive lately, thank goodness (knocks on wood) they haven't quite reached the Tenderloin (SF ~ where they actually grabbed me by the wrist or hair) or Paris Metro (where I was shoved through a turnstyle) levels yet.

The "don't be mean" comment by some stranger who just punched you is pure stupidity.

Be well.

Ugh.

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

Looks like MA is a bitch about carrying pepper spray and the like. Look into it, though. There must be something you can carry.

[pyrric.livejournal.com]

How scary. I'm so glad you're OK, and I hope the T police keep that entryway clear in the future.

Don't feel guilty for not doing anything more than glaring and walking away[1]; engaging the guy any further would only have served to reward him with attention for this behavior and would have probably encouraged him to do it again to someone else, under the misguided impression that bad attention paid to him is better than no attention at all.

[1] Easier said than done, I know; I didn't do anything the time I was grabbed walking down Mass. Ave. a few years ago and felt badly about it for a long time.

[alonewiththemoon]

The problem with some of these guys is that if you are female and give them the shrug or say sorry, no, then they provide suggestions about other things you could do for them. It's pretty much a lose-lose situation.

Another thing about this spot is that it seems to be some pretty tough guys who are there at rush hour. I think they drive off the real derelicts during the prime panhandling hours, so they are violent individuals to begin with.

Re: Ugh.

[alonewiththemoon]

M asked me last night if he could get me anything and I replied "A baseball bat." Though actually I did have my dance cane with me, I suppose I could have smacked him with it.

[alonewiththemoon]

I think you are right about the bad attention thing, otherwise he wouldn't have hit me in the first place. I think part of my guilty feeling stems from the fact that I just wanted to get to dance class and not deal with it. But I did report him today, and hopefully there will be some increase in security there. I reported him to the BU police as well, so they now know to keep a closer eye on the panhandlers.

[alonewiththemoon]

The "don't be mean" comment by some stranger who just punched you is pure stupidity.

The ridiculousness of that did occur to me. I'll just hope it meant that my mean face was effective :-/

[alonewiththemoon]

Seriously, what were they thinking? It's not like Kenmore Square *used* to be a safer place or anything like that.

[frederic.livejournal.com]

Have you considered using the other entrance (near the bus terminal)? It's less haunted by panhandlers and is a shorter distance from the token window (and the people waiting to catch their buses). It does add the danger of crossing half of Comm Ave though...

Re: Ugh.

[frederic.livejournal.com]

Asp. It's a retractable metal baton (a lot of police forces have replaced their standard batons for these since they get in the way a lot less). Although you have to be sure that you're going to use it and finish with it. Lepido's suggestion of pepper spray is a good one since it's debilitating from a distance and you don't have to cause enough blunt trauma to put the guy out (it's harder than you think if the person is motivated).

Pepper spray can be purchased on the web and shipped. I made a group purchase for myself and a few other people years back. Mine was partly for unleashed dogs like the neighborhood pitbull out in the street who wouldn't let me pass once and partly for people uses.

Re: Ugh.

[frederic.livejournal.com]

A simple $35 or so license will allow you to do it legally. My theory is that even without a license, no police officer is going to be upset with a woman carrying it for her own protection or using it on a person who is threatening her etc. It's a different story when it's used maliciously (ie: not self-defense) regardless of gender.

fantasy world

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

Ah, heck with it. Buy a small nail clipper, sharpen the file to a very, very sharp point, and dip it in the fast-acting poison of your choice. Keep it in your bag, carry it open in all the right places. If you ever have to use it, you can just close it up and drop it in the river afterwards. Won't look like anything.

Re: Ugh.

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

I was going to recommend a telescoping baton, too! I'm just not sure she'd get to use it well. I'm pretty sure I'd screw up with it, anyway. That's why I like projectile/chemical stuff. :)

[atalanta.livejournal.com]

Whoa - I just read this - how scary! And obnoxious!

[alonewiththemoon]

The bus terminal is a pile of rubble at the moment--the station is being rebuilt :-)