Outta the Way / Rider Strategy

Can we all agree that Columbus Day is the most pointless holiday of the year?

subwayblogger20 Comments

Honestly, it really is.  It’s like a fake holiday.  The damn kids have school off, but we don’t get the day off from work.

Let’s look at a quick holiday breakdown:

St. Patrick’s Day:  An excuse to get wasted in the middle of the week.  And who doesn’t love green beer?

Valentine’s Day:  This one’s for the ladies, but it gets men laid.  And women get chocolate.

Labor Day:  Hey, no work!

Memorial Day:  Honor the troops.  Hey, and another day off!

President’s Day:  Still, more people get the day off than Columbus day.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day:  Celebrate racial equality, and yes, another day off from work.

Then, there’s Columbus day.  Only kids in public school and teachers get the day off.  The rest of us have to go to work.  Yeah, there’s a parade, but even that’s pretty lame.  The Italian community latches onto this guy like a saint.  I mean yeah, he “discovered” America, and was alleged to be Italian, but even that’s up for debate.

Besides that, he is widely known as causing the most massive slaughtering of human life in history.  The exploration and settling of Columbus’ voyages displaced, enslaved, and killed millions of indigenous American people.

Columbus, and the people he brought to this continent “…caused the deaths of millions of American indigenous peoples, in what can only be described as one of the greatest tragedies of all time.”

Ok, now that being said, let’s get back to the kids.  They were everywhere today!  The day off from school meant that thousands of teenage students were turned loose on the city.  The trains were super crowded with teens huddled in small groups all over the trains.

Since the parents still had to go to work, they were left to their own devices.  So why not hit the city for the day and do…things.

I have no idea where all these kids are on the weekends because you never see them out like this on a random Saturday.  Something about having a day off from school brought them all out, thus making the commute a nightmare.

Of course, they were not out of bed yet for the morning commute.  But the afternoon ride…WOW!

20 thoughts on “Can we all agree that Columbus Day is the most pointless holiday of the year?”

  2. Wait, what? Who the hell gets off from school on Columbus Day? I grew up in the DC suburbs, and like fun we ever got the day off.

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  4. Yes, that’s true, actually. Usually when im riding in the mornings to school, there are teens here and there on the train but not too many crowds. Im 17 years old and honestly, i do logically see that teens have their little “travel buddy” groups, but i dont do that. I want to get to where Im going and go. It does get aggrivating having some 1/2 considerate teenager stepping on your shoes to get to their friends’ seat on the other side of the benches, but, thats the subway…

    btw guys, check out this video i made of nyc, youll love it, peace!

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  5. I took the day off on Monday, making up for the lack of holidays I got off in college. For some reason I saw the parade, and it was totally Italian central. I was wondering if we were celebrating Columbus Day or Italian Heritage Day.

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  7. Never got it off growing up as there are not enough Italians in Iowa to clamour for it. There are however, many Norwegians (I’m half), and as the Vikings found North America 500 years before Columbus, it’s we who should be having the parade!

    Sedge

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  8. Subwayblogger, can you keep some of your more exteme political/racial/social views to yourself? I come here to read about NY subways, not to hear you go on and on about how Columbus slaughtered people. Nor to read about your grotesque generalizations of how black/latino/white kids would behave like you wrote in another entry. Is riding the subways turning you into another Bernhard Getz? Seek therapy if it is. Stick to the topic of this blog or create another blog for your other diatribes.

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  9. Subwayblogger, can you keep some of your more exteme political/racial/social views to yourself? I come here to read about…”

    Relax folks. I’ll handle this one. Let the games begin.

    Ok, first of all, this is my blog. So if you dont like what’s said, then don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. Otherwise, feel free to post more comments.

    Granted, this particular post had only a loose association with actual subway happenings. However, this and all posts here have something to do with the subways.

    There’s plenty of other good transit blogs to read that have standard subway related news.

    This blog is about everyday experiences on the subway. Sure, some news mixed in, but mostly stuff that we all experience.

    …grotesque generalizations of how black/latino/white kids would behave like you wrote in another entry.

    Generalizations ? Perhaps. Grotesque? WTF? Talking about race, noticing race, how certain groups of people behave, dress, interact, etc does not make someone racist. It means they have eyes and ears.

    Stick to the topic of this blog or create another blog for your other diatribes.

    Or you could start YOUR own.

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  10. The way you keep veering off to all kinds of sensitive topics and going on and on and on about them just indicates you’re losing control with the main purpose of this site. Every time you ramble away with your assorted diatribes, you just hurt the credibility of your reporting. Some of your entries read like you’re just blowing off some excessive steam after a bad day of commuting, and thus unfit to objectively and accurately report information, because your observations would be very likely clouded and distorted by your personal frustrations. Some of your entries have no pictures nor videos and we only have your side of the tale, and I wonder if you even make up some of these stories just so you can vent your frustrations. If you are frustrated to the point that you have to bring all kinds of political diatribes, then maybe you should stop riding the subway. A site like this and the kind of reporting you do NEEDS a person with a better control of him/herself.

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  12. Every time you ramble away with your assorted diatribes, you just hurt the credibility of your reporting. Some of your entries read like you’re just blowing off some excessive steam after a bad day of commuting…

    Uhhh [cue the crickets]….

    That’s the POINT!!!

    That’s kinda why people come here in the first place. It’s all real. All relatable. And very honest.

    If you want hard news, go read the Times.

    Or if you want a more newsy subway blog with less “excessive steam,” I recommend you start reading http://www.secondavenuesagas.com.

    If you want more news and analysis, go there.

    If you want a view from the eyes of regular subway riders come here. And yeah, sometimes it’s gonna be heated.

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  13. That’s exactly why i come here. Subway blogger is always raw and honest. No sugar coated bull. And it’s funny.

    Almost every post i read makes me think of something i have expereinced myself.

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  15. KY, as much as I sometimes think SB is a douche, it IS his blog, ans you can go elsewhere. In fact, I sometimes find his douchiness charming. In this case, he IS right. Sounds like he hit a nerve.

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  18. When Josh said that you were right, he used he. I dunno, Im not sure if it was the Generic use of he or if it was specific. I just assumed. Well, anyways, male of female its still and interesting blog.

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