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Bathroom situation

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danno617

New member
What is the name of your state? MA
I'm not sure if I am posting this in the correct area but I got into a very strange altercation with the local transit in my area. I have been raped before as a child so I have very little tolerance to things like being put on the spot and even exposing my skin for that matter. I know the story sounds a bit silly through reading and whatnot but I want to know if there is anything I can do about this I am sending a complaint to the local transit but just getting on the phone and talking to them through the complaint department seems like they are just trying to just not take me seriously:

"Today at 8:30 pm while at Harvard Square Station I was violated by the MBTA ambassadors when I had gotten to the station I was feeling sick because of some food that I had eaten and had needed to use the restroom. I was in the restroom for about 10 minutes and the MBTA ambassador had started knocking on the door and I had answered that I was in the bathroom. As I continued using the bathroom I had heard the ambassador continue opening the door with his keys as I repeatedly said that I was in the bathroom until I had made direct eye to eye contact with him with my pants down and started leaning forward off of the toilet to yell and say something to him for him to stop peeking into the bathroom. At that point, I had continued and looked to see if there was any toilet paper and to my surprise there was none. I then leaning forward waddled to my backpack to get some wet wipes that I had and continued to finish using the bathroom. As I’m finishing I keep hearing a combination of people laughing and talking as well as banging on the door and I am feeling very uncomfortable because I get panic attacks from anxiety. When I finished and as I am washing my hands I hear the keys start opening the door so I slowly started walking towards it and I see the ambassador opening the door. He started trying to yell at me as well as size me up and treat me as if I am taking drugs in the bathroom. He was implying that I give an answer to why I was in the bathroom for so long as well as block me off from exiting the bathroom. I am a very nonviolent person and the ambassador was blocking the doorway as well as keeping his guard signaling from an outsider’s perspective as though I was going to cause some sort of physical altercation. I feel as though I was being trapped and contained until transit police were going to come so I had started to panic yelling louder and telling him to let me get out of the bathroom and telling him how crazy he was looking blocking me inside of the small bathroom. He continued to yell at me and say I was in there too long and continue to contain me in the area and I see his coworker in the back holding in laughing turning her face away as well thinking the entire situation was funny. At that point, I was panicking but trying to not start hyperventilating so I continued arguing with the MBTA ambassador and he moved away from the door. I slowly walked forward-thinking that the only reason he moved was that an MBTA police officer was coming because the ambassador had lied or made something up about me. There was an older woman that had an inspector jacket on that had told me to leave and I had explained what happened to the lady and she had continued in a nonchalant manner to tell me to leave and she kept making it seem as though I was taking too long in the bathroom as well. She then asked the ambassador how long I was in the bathroom and he had told her that I was in the bathroom for an hour. She then asked if I was the same guy and he kept saying yes. I then told the inspector that he was lying and that I was just with my friend and I would call him to prove so and the ambassador then got silent and started to look at me funny and then when I looked at the other ambassador she was staring at me as though I’m making a big deal out of nothing. The inspector then kept asking me do I know how long normal people stay in the bathroom rhetorically answering one or two minutes. She was very uncaring about the entire situation and starting asking me if I had wanted the police called or did I want to leave in a sense paltering lingo making it seem as though I was going to be in trouble. I honestly as a black male do not trust the police and to hear all this being said I then was very overwhelming so I had left the station. Just recently one of my friends has gotten arrested by the police and made to seem like a monster on the news due to a similar situation. I started to look at my phone and try to find out some way to file a complaint because I still needed to get on the train to go home and then the inspector that was treating me as if I am some erratic person that was not using any MBTA service and trying to find warmth in the cold weather started heading up the stairs and I cautiously approached her and she had said that something about the transit police coming and I had asked her if they were coming to arrest me and the way she was looking at me like I was on some sort of drugs and she said no. Honestly, she wasn’t very professional at all about the situation which also is what I found most funny about the situation. The supposed most trained person in the entire time of the instance was, in fact, behaving the most strange and careless. I feel as though she has a lot of run-ins with the homeless other people who are in rough times in their lives and she felt as though I was just another. The transit police officer then had come and he had asked me about the situation and I then for the third time had to explain and embarrass myself for the third time what had happened and as I glanced around I seen both ambassadors subtly smirking and I honestly am feeling very hurt emotionally while I am making a fool out of myself to the transit police and he had told me the only option I had was to get on the train. He then kept saying that was the only thing I could do and one of the parts that had felt like a knife in my heart is how they kept telling me that they were going to let me through the fare gate and let me leave. This may not seem like anything to you people who are looking and reading this laughing but this is what had solidified my assumption that they thought I was some homeless vagrant just causing a ruckus. I’m honestly going through a really depressive and rough time in my life right now and to go through something like this just adds onto things to consider during my every waking day of trying to get rid of a feeling of all hope being lost. I’m not the type of person to emanate any cynical feelings or to cause harm in anyone’s life because I know firsthand how it is to feel low. I’m just saying today my rights were violated, I was embarrassed, made to look like a fool and lied on. The only time I felt some respect was shown toward me was when I mentioned that I was formerly in the military so I know the difference between right and wrong and my rights. That is when the transit police told me that he would speak to the ambassadors as well as their manager. Soon after that I got on the train and went home feeling very terrible and embarrassed and honestly just feel not that surprised that as a black male in Cambridge at Harvard station. I know I don’t belong over there and am expecting you all to get a good kick out of this email. I’ll be making a call to make sure you guys get this and let me know how subtly you could answer to a dumb black person like me as to why unfortunately there’s nothing left for me to do but to maybe take it up with a third party or whatnot. I’m sorry I’m not that tough of a guy to suck it up at chalk it up to a bad night but this has had to be said for a long time. You can have whatever colored official that can empathize with me and let me know I’ll be alright. I just want to let you guys know that you guys are wrong and violated and humiliated me starting from when your ambassador was peeking in on me exposed while I was saying I’m using the bathroom to when you were treating me like a homeless vagrant looking for a free ride. Your organization needs to learn up on professionalism,"
 


Just Blue

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? MA
I'm not sure if I am posting this in the correct area but I got into a very strange altercation with the local transit in my area. I have been raped before as a child so I have very little tolerance to things like being put on the spot and even exposing my skin for that matter. I know the story sounds a bit silly through reading and whatnot but I want to know if there is anything I can do about this I am sending a complaint to the local transit but just getting on the phone and talking to them through the complaint department seems like they are just trying to just not take me seriously:

"Today at 8:30 pm while at Harvard Square Station I was violated by the MBTA ambassadors when I had gotten to the station I was feeling sick because of some food that I had eaten and had needed to use the restroom. I was in the restroom for about 10 minutes and the MBTA ambassador had started knocking on the door and I had answered that I was in the bathroom. As I continued using the bathroom I had heard the ambassador continue opening the door with his keys as I repeatedly said that I was in the bathroom until I had made direct eye to eye contact with him with my pants down and started leaning forward off of the toilet to yell and say something to him for him to stop peeking into the bathroom. At that point, I had continued and looked to see if there was any toilet paper and to my surprise there was none. I then leaning forward waddled to my backpack to get some wet wipes that I had and continued to finish using the bathroom. As I’m finishing I keep hearing a combination of people laughing and talking as well as banging on the door and I am feeling very uncomfortable because I get panic attacks from anxiety. When I finished and as I am washing my hands I hear the keys start opening the door so I slowly started walking towards it and I see the ambassador opening the door. He started trying to yell at me as well as size me up and treat me as if I am taking drugs in the bathroom. He was implying that I give an answer to why I was in the bathroom for so long as well as block me off from exiting the bathroom. I am a very nonviolent person and the ambassador was blocking the doorway as well as keeping his guard signaling from an outsider’s perspective as though I was going to cause some sort of physical altercation. I feel as though I was being trapped and contained until transit police were going to come so I had started to panic yelling louder and telling him to let me get out of the bathroom and telling him how crazy he was looking blocking me inside of the small bathroom. He continued to yell at me and say I was in there too long and continue to contain me in the area and I see his coworker in the back holding in laughing turning her face away as well thinking the entire situation was funny. At that point, I was panicking but trying to not start hyperventilating so I continued arguing with the MBTA ambassador and he moved away from the door. I slowly walked forward-thinking that the only reason he moved was that an MBTA police officer was coming because the ambassador had lied or made something up about me. There was an older woman that had an inspector jacket on that had told me to leave and I had explained what happened to the lady and she had continued in a nonchalant manner to tell me to leave and she kept making it seem as though I was taking too long in the bathroom as well. She then asked the ambassador how long I was in the bathroom and he had told her that I was in the bathroom for an hour. She then asked if I was the same guy and he kept saying yes. I then told the inspector that he was lying and that I was just with my friend and I would call him to prove so and the ambassador then got silent and started to look at me funny and then when I looked at the other ambassador she was staring at me as though I’m making a big deal out of nothing. The inspector then kept asking me do I know how long normal people stay in the bathroom rhetorically answering one or two minutes. She was very uncaring about the entire situation and starting asking me if I had wanted the police called or did I want to leave in a sense paltering lingo making it seem as though I was going to be in trouble. I honestly as a black male do not trust the police and to hear all this being said I then was very overwhelming so I had left the station. Just recently one of my friends has gotten arrested by the police and made to seem like a monster on the news due to a similar situation. I started to look at my phone and try to find out some way to file a complaint because I still needed to get on the train to go home and then the inspector that was treating me as if I am some erratic person that was not using any MBTA service and trying to find warmth in the cold weather started heading up the stairs and I cautiously approached her and she had said that something about the transit police coming and I had asked her if they were coming to arrest me and the way she was looking at me like I was on some sort of drugs and she said no. Honestly, she wasn’t very professional at all about the situation which also is what I found most funny about the situation. The supposed most trained person in the entire time of the instance was, in fact, behaving the most strange and careless. I feel as though she has a lot of run-ins with the homeless other people who are in rough times in their lives and she felt as though I was just another. The transit police officer then had come and he had asked me about the situation and I then for the third time had to explain and embarrass myself for the third time what had happened and as I glanced around I seen both ambassadors subtly smirking and I honestly am feeling very hurt emotionally while I am making a fool out of myself to the transit police and he had told me the only option I had was to get on the train. He then kept saying that was the only thing I could do and one of the parts that had felt like a knife in my heart is how they kept telling me that they were going to let me through the fare gate and let me leave. This may not seem like anything to you people who are looking and reading this laughing but this is what had solidified my assumption that they thought I was some homeless vagrant just causing a ruckus. I’m honestly going through a really depressive and rough time in my life right now and to go through something like this just adds onto things to consider during my every waking day of trying to get rid of a feeling of all hope being lost. I’m not the type of person to emanate any cynical feelings or to cause harm in anyone’s life because I know firsthand how it is to feel low. I’m just saying today my rights were violated, I was embarrassed, made to look like a fool and lied on. The only time I felt some respect was shown toward me was when I mentioned that I was formerly in the military so I know the difference between right and wrong and my rights. That is when the transit police told me that he would speak to the ambassadors as well as their manager. Soon after that I got on the train and went home feeling very terrible and embarrassed and honestly just feel not that surprised that as a black male in Cambridge at Harvard station. I know I don’t belong over there and am expecting you all to get a good kick out of this email. I’ll be making a call to make sure you guys get this and let me know how subtly you could answer to a dumb black person like me as to why unfortunately there’s nothing left for me to do but to maybe take it up with a third party or whatnot. I’m sorry I’m not that tough of a guy to suck it up at chalk it up to a bad night but this has had to be said for a long time. You can have whatever colored official that can empathize with me and let me know I’ll be alright. I just want to let you guys know that you guys are wrong and violated and humiliated me starting from when your ambassador was peeking in on me exposed while I was saying I’m using the bathroom to when you were treating me like a homeless vagrant looking for a free ride. Your organization needs to learn up on professionalism,"
Please edit the block of text to include some white space. Very few volunteers will read this and risk a headache from eye strain. Thank You.
 

not2cleverRed

Obvious Observer
TL;DR.

White space is your friend.

You do not have legal grounds to sue the MBTA.

You can file a complaint, but be concise. Running on and on makes you appear to indeed have a drug problem, not diarrhea or gas.
 

quincy

Senior Member
If you were locked in the public restroom for an hour, that can legitimately give rise to concern.

You can file a complaint but I see no legal action for you to pursue.
 

danno617

New member
If you were locked in the public restroom for an hour, that can legitimately give rise to concern.

You can file a complaint but I see no legal action for you to pursue.
I was in the bathroom for 15 minutes I have phone evidence as well as there are camera's right in front of the bathroom.

TL;DR.

White space is your friend.

You do not have legal grounds to sue the MBTA.

You can file a complaint, but be concise. Running on and on makes you appear to indeed have a drug problem, not diarrhea or gas.
That is the thing. What I had written above was just basically a rough draft and I wrote everything down just because it was all fresh in my head.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
I was in the bathroom for 15 minutes I have phone evidence as well as there are camera's right in front of the bathroom.


That is the thing. What I had written above was just basically a rough draft and I wrote everything down just because it was all fresh in my head.
What you should do is distill that mass of text down to the pertinent parts.
 

quincy

Senior Member
I was in the bathroom for 15 minutes I have phone evidence as well as there are camera's right in front of the bathroom.


That is the thing. What I had written above was just basically a rough draft and I wrote everything down just because it was all fresh in my head.
You can file a complaint. But I do not see that you have any legal action to pursue, based on all that you describe of the incident.
 

Just Blue

Senior Member
I was in the bathroom for 15 minutes I have phone evidence as well as there are camera's right in front of the bathroom.


That is the thing. What I had written above was just basically a rough draft and I wrote everything down just because it was all fresh in my head.
You have a BIG block of text with no paragraphs or spacing. No one will read it. Edit, as a politely asked you to, to include some white space. Thank You..
 

quincy

Senior Member
You have a BIG block of text with no paragraphs or spacing. No one will read it. Edit, as a politely asked you to, to include some white space. Thank You..
I read the entire post. To summarize:

dano ate bad food and needed to use the restroom.

The MBTA claims dano was in the restroom for an hour, preventing others from using it. dano claims he was in the restroom for 15 minutes and that he was embarrassed when MBTA opened the door on him.

Apparently there was a verbal exchange between dano and the MBTA and dano was asked to leave.
 

commentator

Senior Member
Dano's letter to the transit system is going straight to the trash. There is no legal issue here. No one cares about the hard time this person is going through. Sorry, but that's just the way things are.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Dano's letter to the transit system is going straight to the trash. There is no legal issue here. No one cares about the hard time this person is going through. Sorry, but that's just the way things are.
Here is a link to the MBTA where danno can file a complaint:
https://www.mbta.com/customer-support

A complaint is limited to 3000 words. Danno should work on getting his story reduced to just facts. All extraneous material should be eliminated.

I think it probably is not worth danno’s time to file a complaint but, if he feels he was treated poorly, it won’t hurt to tell the MBTA
 

Just Blue

Senior Member
Dano's letter to the transit system is going straight to the trash. There is no legal issue here. No one cares about the hard time this person is going through. Sorry, but that's just the way things are.
You are very likely correct. The MBTA worker likely thought someone was o.d.ing in the bathroom and entered to make sure everything was okay. It's not unusual for Boston public bathrooms to be used for other than intended reasons. Which is why I, personally, wouldn't use one EVER.
 

quincy

Senior Member
You are very likely correct. The MBTA worker likely thought someone was o.d.ing in the bathroom and entered to make sure everything was okay. It's not unusual for Boston public bathrooms to be used for other than intended reasons. Which is why I, personally, wouldn't use one EVER.
It was no doubt embarrassing for danno to be mistaken for a “homeless vagrant” but embarrassment is rarely a good basis for a lawsuit. Danno might be best served by getting help for his panic disorder.
 

Just Blue

Senior Member
It was no doubt embarrassing for danno to be mistaken for a “homeless vagrant” but embarrassment is rarely a good basis for a lawsuit. Danno might be best served by getting help for his panic disorder.
I agree it was embarrassing to have the T worker open the door...but I can understand why they would do that if danno was in there for 15 mins.
 

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