This is how catastrophes happen

So on the way to work today, I had to take a different way that lead to me standing in the rain waiting for the shuttle.  Which absolutely put me in the proper mindset for what followed.

A police van pulls up across the street, nothing special considering I live in the gentrification frontier.  In fact, if I didn't see at least one heavily armed policeman on the way home, I'd start getting concerned.  But then one officer piles out while the other is screaming at someone in the back of the van.  I can't get a good view (nor did I particularly want to) but it looks like the guy they arrested is trying to fight the cop, yelling and screaming and kicking.

All of a sudden, everyone is slowing down what they're doing, whipping out cell phones and just generally being an audience.

It occurs to me this is how catastrophes happen.

People stop their work-home beeline
Click and flash their way into history
While this guy, this one guy, could grab hold of a cop's gun
And cause headline news havoc.
Run down the street shooting to freedom
Until his struggle is spent
A quick-trigger officer putting him off his flight
And sending him crashing to the ground.

There could have been blood.  There could have been CNN vans, reporters with microphone-backed questions.  The guy with the iPhone saying it shouldn't have happened.  The girl in tears asking how it could happen.  Shells on the ground and police lines do not cross.  Chalk outlines dripping like made-up eyes.


I would say "I was just trying to get to work.  But that's how it is.  Catastrophes never happen when they're supposed to."

But reality has a bias towards the undramatic.  Some obscene number of cop cars pulled up and the guy was subdued before you could say "don't tase me, bro".  It was over in about ten minutes.  A girl walks up to me and asks "What happened?"

I tell her the truth.  But I almost didn't want to.