I can't understand how the token boooth clerk Tuesday night did not leave his plexiglass shelter to come to the aid of a woman being raped. He knew what was happening to her and even reported seeing her abudction. But he was afraid to break the rules in his employee manual - rules that forbid him from leaving his locked cave.

His union is praising him for calling an emergency number - a number that must make contact with three other sites before help is dispatched. His union also said that he acted properly.

Thank God some of the readers at the Gothamist, think differently although the posts devolved at times into union debates. Only a male dominated union would praise one of its own for following the rules, rather than acting to defend a woman as she was being raped.

The union and the MTA posit that the token booth clerk could have been "set up". How much verification is there for that theory? Is there a pattern of such incidents? This station is one of the least used in the city - so what kind of sense would it make to "set up" a token booth clerk? And besides, clerks don't have money any more.

If the rules say you must stay in the box, and someone outside the box is being hurt - for life - which rules would you follow - those wrought by a bureaucracy - or those forged from your own instincts - your own personal constitution? What if it was your your friend, daughter, sister, or wife? Would it be so easy to clutch the rule book then?