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 Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 6:30 pm
East Chicago, IN - Suspicious Person with Box and Wires on His Head Stops Morning Train
A confusion over a suspicious man brought a South Shore train to an halt.
Robert Byrd, chief of transit police for the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, said passengers on Train No. 108 out of East Chicago told the ticket collector they believed a man on the 6:46 a.m. train was dressed strangely and acting suspiciously.
The man was described as wearing a head piece with a box on the front of it, the box had wires sticking out of it and other wires led down his arm, they reported.
When the man did not respond to repeated inquiries by the ticket collector and conductor, crews called Metra police. The crew stopped the train at the 57th Street station in Chicago, where they were met by Metra police and bomb-sniffing dog.
But then the man explained that he was Jewish and was in the middle of reciting his daily morning prayers when the crew tried to question him.
The box on his head did not contain wires, he said, but rather, leather straps which bind the box to his head. More leather straps bind another box to his arm.
After the man, who said he was from New York City, explained what he was doing, the train continued on to the Randolph Street station in Chicago as planned, Byrd said. [thetimesonline]
I'm sure Divash heard about this... I just... wanted to get it in before she could xd . Hey, I gotta take care of my parents this weekend, and since I plan to break the sabbath all weekend... I have an easy out.
Besides, I'll make it up Yom Kippor.
And now that I'm finished hijacking my own thread, what do people think of the story.
Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Complaints?
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 4:59 pm
*pinches the bridge of her nose, closes eyes, and sighs*
I hadn't heard it, actually. Where's the link to the story you read? Since you posted it at 6:30pm Friday, by the timestamp I see, I'm just guessing that it was already Shabbat for a couple of hours by the time that appeared anywhere on news sources.
Not that I'd have read them anyway, because on Fridays I'm pretty much spending the entire day preparing for Shabbat. This week, the sun set so early, and daylight savings time changes don't help. Plus, I ran into a teensy emergency with the grocery shopping. I forgot that Thanksgiving turkeys actually take up space, so I had to rearrange my fridge, then ask a neighbor to store some things for me in her fridge for a few days until we could use up some things and make room. That took about an extra hour and a half, maybe two hours, out of my preparation time. I did get done in time, but only because I reduced my usual relaxing shower to a five-minute quickie. Even with that, I had to light the candles wearing no makeup, and with a thrown-on robe and hair covering instead of a nice formal outfit. I lit the candles, then changed clothes for services, which I attended with still-wet hair. A very hectic beginning indeed.
Anyway... yeah. Some "light to the nations" we are, eh? They don't even have enough experience seeing us pray to be able to identify it as such.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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darkphoenix1247 Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2007 7:22 am
Divash *pinches the bridge of her nose, closes eyes, and sighs* I hadn't heard it, actually. Where's the link to the story you read? Since you posted it at 6:30pm Friday, by the timestamp I see, I'm just guessing that it was already Shabbat for a couple of hours by the time that appeared anywhere on news sources. ........................ Anyway... yeah. Some "light to the nations" we are, eh? They don't even have enough experience seeing us pray to be able to identify it as such. I agree. In a way, it's vaguely amusing in that America is known for being "land of free," yet if somebody looks a certain way or is of a certain religion, all of these freedoms are taken away from you. Mostly, I just think it's pathetic that it's assumed there is some sort of evil in the unknown.
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Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2007 1:52 pm
Freedom is always such an interesting subject. Considering how little trust people have in their goverment and vice versa.
"You can't give them freedom, they won't know what to do with themselves! They'll kill eachother with their freedoms" ~ The Dragon by Anton Checkov
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Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2007 6:05 pm
My mother's family is from Indiana, and when I told her about it she laughed and said the person who freaked out was probably from Kentucky! Not that it is justified, but I did find it comical in a very bad way. Bad because it seems that we live in such a state of fear, that when someone is different suddenly THEY'RE A TERRORIST!
Good for him for not interrupting his prayers, and being able to proudly show his religion in a public place.
I did exactly what Divash did! People are so silly.
And yeah, the sun sets way too early these days...
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Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2007 8:32 pm
As someone who spent 2 years in Fort Wayne IN, I'm glad to know that there's another jew SOMEWHERE in the state of indiana.
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 10:48 am
Actually this is a completely understandable situation, sure people see pictures of jews praying but in a very sterotypical manner. They think only the chassidim looking men prayer with teffial, when they see a average looking guy it doesn't click. They don't know how to interrpet it, also this is chicago not new york so the like... interaction is greater than most places yes, but not that big. (i think personally, correct me if i'm wrong)
another thing, he's trained to do that stuff. He had to follow his own set of rules as did the man.
:shrugg:
Still think it's stupid, i mean if a guy is going to blow you up, i doubt he'll not do when you're questioning him.
I think there was a better way to handle it, but america is so use to people assimulating and becomeing "american" so they often times don't take the time to learn about other cultures. :shrug: it was really the only way for this to come out,s orry that i am ramble.
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 12:10 pm
I actually think there's a pretty large community in Bloomington, but yeah, I feel your pain! I've seen 1 for sure practicing Jew my entire life (within Arkansas), and it was actually quite comforting to know that he would wear his tzitzit and other things in a place where people really don't understand this kind of thing.
But Yvette's right, if they have seen a religious Jew praying at all, it's normally in some manner they don't think they'll ever come across. I really can see how it would be alarming to uncultured people, but there's still a problem there. There's still a problem with this profiling issue, and it should be addressed. Just because you have a long black beard does not mean you're a terrorist. You know?
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 8:40 pm
Sorry to go off-topic...
But Tefillin really hurt my arm. confused
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Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 4:05 pm
SlamuelBTP Tefillin really hurt my arm. confused You may be wrapping a bit too tightly. It should bind, but not cut off circulation.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 5:13 pm
I would imagine it pinches a bit.
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