Helping each other out of the dark

I AM glad someone wrote an article for SocialistWorker.org about the recent fire on the Chicago subway system's Red Line ("Almost a deadly disaster"). I and some of my friends were riding that very same train north to Addison. In some official Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) reports, I have read lies about how the CTA staff was there to help and give direction.

What really happened is the train filled up with smoke while we were in between stations. The train operator said that he was going to try to get us to the next station, and then after that, there was silence.

A minute or so later, the doors opened violently and then just as violently, black smoke started pouring into the train. No one knew what to do, and no one had any idea where we were. Luckily, some people took the first steps off of the train, into the darkness. Yells of "We're at the station!" started ringing out from passengers who first stepped off, and so the rest followed.

The actions of the CTA--or better put, the inaction of the CTA--was appalling. On the other hand, the actions of the passengers were brilliant. No one ran, pushed or shoved. The evacuation process was not how Hollywood movies portray situations like this. People lined up and helped other people up stairs, and walked to get fresh air.

We knew that we were deep underground, in the dark and breathing in black heavy smoke. Everyone was aware of this, but did not allow it to take them over.

Once I was on the street, I gave a man selling postcards $4 for a postcard and some simple directions to a place I knew how to get to. If I had $20, I would have given him that. At that moment, I had lost interest in what was in my wallet.

Situations like this breed humanity, not the inhumanity that the capitalist press and movie industry promote at every turn. We all need to remember that.
Joshua Watson, Denton, Texas