Thread by @gauravsabnis

On the subway ride home today, it was the lowest percentage of passengers immersed in their phones I've seen in a decade. Most people were just scanning the subway car and other passengers, seemingly casually, just like I was. #NYC

Today was non-stop teaching day and also nonstop phone buzzing in the pocket day.

The hours in a day after there has been a terrorist attack in your city feel surreal, especially when you're just supposed to go about your work day like it's any other day. But everyone knows it's not any other day. Everyone is waiting to just go home and hug someone.

Those extra cops in the PATH and Subway today, just standing in the corner and watching, not stopping and frisking anyone. Just watching. Just in case.

My random thought was, where would they have been posted today if not for the attack? Does their usual beat miss them?

Digital display at my home station flashing that D, N, R trains are not running in Brooklyn because NYPD is responding to "an incident at 36th Street".

I stopped to read. As did a woman behind me who wondered out loud,

"Is this a new incident or the same incident as before?"

I had the same question. I left to teach just as the news of the shooting was breaking. Then teaching. Then, given the crazy number of missed calls & "you and rupal okay?" messages, I just kept my phone in my pocket & focused on getting home. Didn't look up the details.

Turned out it was the same incident. But that laconic but of information did confuse those of us who weren't caught up on the developments and the details.

Overheard so many people on the commute home saying "the good thing is that at least no one died". That's the bar now for random mass shootings in America. Yes, a dude randomly opened fire in a subway car, but at least no one died.

Generally though, other than the slight extra caution, NYC is pretty much functioning like any other day. Reminds me of Halloween 2017 when there was a terrorist attack downtown as we were going to the AMNH in UWS for an astronomy show. There was some uncertainty over the event.

But kids and parents were out trick or treating, Young adults dressed in funky costumes, everyone determined to not let some violent asshole ruin the most fun night of the year in NYC. But also warily eyeing any SUV or pickup truck passing by. And the event was packed.

It sucks being in a city right after a terrorist attack. You try to get on with your day and still have fun & random faraway people will lecture you to "not normalize this" as if there is anything anyone can do to stop a terrorist hell-bent on killing people.

You disrupt what you're doing and a voice inside your head says, isn't this exactly what the terrorist wants? Make one random attack and terrorize 20 million people into changing how they live?

Have experienced this dilemma or no-win situation in Bombay & NYC multiple times.

After the July 2006 local train bombings in Bombay, this played out in a very ugly way on the desi blogosphere.

You tried to move past the trauma & people would shit on the "spirit of Bombay". You talked about the trauma & ppl would go "what about the people who die everyday?"

I hate that I'm so jaded about such days.

I hate that my first thought after hearing about the attack was "ugh, most of today is going to be spent replying to messages of concern".

Just as I was hoping to cajole someone from UK to Zoom stream the new episode of #DerryGirls for me.

I guess #DerryGirls is the perfect show to binge today. It does such a great job of making us laugh even in despair, without extracting anything melodramatic from the helplessness of random violence.