NYC man assaulted after asking for quiet

by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition

Photo credit: Roy Reyna

New York City television station PIX11 reported that a man was stabbed in the abdomen when he asked another subway passenger to lower his voice.  The stabbing victim is expected to recover.

Obviously, a request for someone to speak more softly or to turn down the volume of amplified music should not be met with violence, but that can unfortunately be — albeit rarely — the outcome of a request for quiet. The assailant could have merely declined.

I know from personal experience what it’s like to be threatened for requesting quiet. A neighbor’s son had a loud party with music after the 10 p.m. noise curfew. Rather than confronting a bunch of rowdy young people, I called the police.

The next morning, when I walked outside to go to the market, the young man was there cleaning up from his party. At least 2 inches taller, and 20 pounds heavier with gym-built muscles, he approached me and demanded to know why I called the police. I quietly answered that the noise from his party was bothering my wife, and it was after curfew. I turned around and went back inside the house, and he didn’t follow.

Our late colleague Arline Bronzaft always spoke about people needing to respect others. That’s what a request for quiet involves. One shouldn’t need to be afraid to ask for quiet.