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Video: L Train Rider Lets Pet Rat Loose In Subway Car—You Got A Problem With That?
By
Chris Hooks
Published Oct 9, 2012
Modified Oct 9, 2012
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Chris Hooks/Gothamist
By
Chris Hooks
Published Oct 9, 2012
Modified Oct 9, 2012
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Straphangers packed into a Brooklyn-bound L train had to keep their distance from a large rat last night, when a man who keeps it as a pet released it from its cage. The rat owner, who we'll call Indignant Rat Man, was actually in possession of two pet rats, but only one was granted the privilege of riding outside of the cage. Horrified commuters in the crowded subway car backed away as much as they could, at which point Indignant Rat Man snapped. Here's video:
As his rat crawled around his chest, inside his shirt, and over his back, Indignant Rat Man took aim at nearby teenagers mocking his pet. "I thought gangsters carry guns, but y'all n***** afraid of rats?" IRM asked. "Weak-ass motherfuckers." Yeah, it's not like he was forcing anyone to put their head inside the rat cage to satisfy the sadistic whims of a totalitarian government. He just wanted his pet to have a little play time.
To be sure, this is nothing new: rats have previously been observed on the subway crawling on the faces of sleeping men, enjoying some of the city's fine Italian food, and involuntarily (we assume) making out with the iconic Sad Rat Man. But the close bond we observed last night may signal a new degree of intimacy in human-rodent relations.
"Touch my rat and I'll kill you," IRM told the crowded car before disembarking hurriedly at First Avenue, along with his companion, who did everyone the courtesy of keeping her rat inside a matching pink crate.
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l train
MTA
rats
subway
subway etiquette
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Chris Hooks
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