Maybe you know this scene.
You’re sitting on a New York City subway car. The train squeals to a halt at a station. The doors slide open and a homeless man walks on, yelling to no one in particular that he is hungry and needs money.
You can feel the subway car’s passengers collectively freeze. No one speaks to the man. No one makes eye contact. But everyone is aware of him.
The man walks the length of the subway car. A few people hand him some coins. You hope he doesn’t stop to speak to you. At the next stop, he leaves, cursing and yelling incoherently.
