diversion about the guy on the subway who won the internet by letting another guy sleep

did you see this yet?

Chances are, you saw something on the inter-tubes about the older guy in the yarmulke on the Q train who let a younger black guy in a hoodie stay asleep on his shoulder. After all, it also made the dead tree media (Daily News piece, here.) The person who put a photo from an opposite seat had the photo go viral, as the kids say, to the extent that Yarmulke Guy’s sister in Montreal saw it and called him. That guy wins the internet.

Now comes the backlash. Weird, that.

Because no well-intentioned deed on the inter-tubes will go unchallenged, there is now a discussion about whether people like Yarmulke Guy may have contributed to people like Sleeping Guy missing his stop. (From The Atlantic Cities, here, citing many comments to that effect on the original source, Reddit.)

Sheesh, people. A random act of kindness (tikkun olam!) was committed by Yarmulke Guy. Sleeping Guy was responsible for getting his ass off the train when necessary. In this case Sleeping Guy did not miss his stop, as The Atlantic Cities reports, to the great relief of Concerned Citizens Everywhere.

Yes, he might have overshot. In which case Sleeping Guy would be more careful next time he is tempted to catch 40 winks while moving underground. Or, he will start to carry a sign to hold in his lap while he naps, alerting samaritans of all persuasions where he needs to get off.

Set an alarm if you are afraid of missing your stop. Or go higher tech and get the Android-only app mentioned by Atlantic Cities that senses where you are in the NYC subway system. Or, as the song put it back when I was just starting to use the subway every day, don’t sleep in the subway, darlin’.

Shalom Sleeping Guy. And Yarmulke Guy.