Fight Breaks Out on New York City D Train Between Two Women Over Swine Flu Fears

Swine flu fears caused brawl in New York City D subway train Monday. According to The Business Insider's Lawrence Delevingne, two women got into an argument on the train yesterday morning over one woman's refusal to cover her mouth while coughing. The altercation ended with her spitting on the other woman and the second woman dragging her by the hair to the floor of the train car. I have long maintained my disgust with people who cough and not cover their mouths or use the rest room and not wash their hands. That is just downright unhygienic, especially when so many of us are exposed to the threat of H1N1.

Here's the play-by-play account, as written Lawrence Delevingne:

Another woman, roughly 5'2", stocky, with her blond hair in a slicked-back bun, was nearby, clearly displeased. She made a curt comment to the first woman, something to the effect of "you need to cover your mouth -- I don't want swine flu." The second woman continued to yell at the cougher, berating her until she reacted, beginning to curse back. It escalated, and the accosting woman yelled "get the conductor!"

No one got the conductor -- it just seemed like a shouting match -- but as the train pulled into 42nd Street, the coughing woman spit on the other, provoking what sounded like a punch from the reaction of the crowd (we didn't directly see it). Then the cougher attempted to exit the train as the doors were open, but the second woman grabbed her by the back of the hair, violently yanking her down to the floor.

The last action happened directly in front of us. The cougher got up, yelling and cursing, but was escorted out of the train by what appeared to be a friend. Your correspondent, who had been sleepily reading about CIT's bankruptcy filing, held the shorter woman back, who kept screaming as the second woman left the train.

This is just absurd and this woman deserves the beat-down she received. Sadly, there are more people like this woman coughing without covering their mouths out there.