Okay well this one is a bit weird. Friday I was coming home from seeing my wife/houseboi tobi to the bus to visit for the weekend with one of her other partners in montreal. I got on at the bus station the local Octranspo bus after seeing her off.
As I was boarding I was immediately aware there was a CD on the bus. I was in male mode and had my 2 year old child on a carrying harness on my back. The reason I noticed right away was the person had put very little effort into making it non-obvious, the most striking clue was a couple days worth of beard growth. The reddish wig she had on was well worn with extensive frizz from wear, and it too drew attention to her. The clothes were discrete enough ( longish past the knees jean skirt I'm not sure about the top as they had a guy mode jacket over top) and she made certain to pretty much constantly be looking away out the window but the really badly applied and godawful pink lipstick stood out like a sore thumb on the unshaved face.
It would be nice if this were the end of the story, but it isnt. The person was noticed by other people on the bus, in particular a group of 5-6 28-35 year old men who was with one woman. These men immediately started to giggle and then make fun of this person, audible to pretty much everyone on the bus ( about 30 people) until eventually the woman with them got upset with them and told them to stop, which they didnt really do anyway ( they were still laughing about it and making gestures/faces) . I briefly considered getting up and approaching them, to perhaps educate them or request that they kindly leave her alone in peace but didnt for two reasons, first I had a child on my back and was taking safety consideration in mind, but also , because of the poor effort at concealing his birth gender I wasnt sure that exactly that type of humiliation/public scene wasnt exactly what she was looking to happen in the first place as she had set herself up for it.
Now it's not the first time I spot a CD on the bus, in fact it happens pretty commonly but I'm feeling more than a little guilt over not intervening on her behalf as silly as that is. I highly doubt it would have had the desired effect though and could well have turned out worse...for either me or her if I had so I still think I did the right thing by staying quiet.
So ....why do I still feel guilt?
Amanda