The Train Strikes Back: Crazy Preacher Lady

Posted by Johnny at 8:09 a.m.

I've finally encountered the Filipino lady that Kevin has alluded to; the one who stands on the train and preaches the Word of God™ to no one and everyone. Yes!

At first, I thought it was two people having a loud conversation, but then I realized it was one louder person talking about Jesus and God and junk. Everyone was looking at her funny, snickering, and occasionally someone would burst out laughing at something she said. She would go on unphased and remark about how we were all going to hell, unless we went to our local Christian store and *purchased* a Bible (for the low, low price of $19.95!). At one point I thought she was done, because she said, "praise the lord, amen," but she sure wasn't done.

All along I was making sarcastic remarks to Scott, the people around me, and even her, but she ignored me (bitch). If I was closer to her, I would have started asking her annoying questions, such as if I was going to hell for not believing in the concept of god and if it was worse to be a celibate atheist or a slutty Christian. But before I could ask, she started telling us that she couldn't be a queen in heaven because she was married and therefore a sinner. Too much information! And how can the human race continue if *marital* sex is a sin? I mean, come on woman.

Then this one guy got on the train and he was not at all entertained by this (unlike me). He tried telling her to shut up from afar and someone sitting down told him that they already tried pressing the help button but the train operator wouldn't throw her off. When the big crowd got off at 1st street, he walked over to her and started telling her to shut up and got into some kind of argument. She told him to go to hell and he started swearing and it just got ugly. When I got off the train, I saw her move into the seated area and he was following her.

When he decided to step in, it changed from an annoying, but entertaining conversation-starter into a potential incident - and that isn't cool.

I believe it was Evelyn Beatrice Hall, paraphrasing and explaining Voltaire's beliefs, who said "I disapprove of what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it." If I'd gotten 8 hours of sleep last night, I would have remembered this quote and told it to Pissed Off Dude in defence of Crazy Preacher Lady. No one on that train wanted to hear anything that she had to say, and she was completely out of line by converting the train into Church on Wheels, but free speech still applies. Her sermon was in the poorest taste, but she wasn't assaulting anyone; her words were directed to no one in particular.

When he chose approach her and start telling her to "shut her mouth," that was not only in poor taste, but could have been construed as verbal abuse. She was obviously insane (for so many reasons), so what is harassing her going to accomplish? Yeah you might scare her into staying off of that particular train time for a while, but she'll still go back and try to save all the sinners. There's no stopping her - she's insane and on a mission from "God".

So today, I give out two massive thumbs down: One for Crazy Preacher Lady, who was talking about religion before 8am to a secular audience, and one for Pissed Off Dude, who chose to fight fire with brimstone.