I recently attempted to attend Mass at the SSPX Chapel in Manhattan with my young son. We arrived between 5 and 10 minutes before the start of the Mass. The chapel was pretty much full. We tried to be as quiet and discreet as possible when entering, but the chapel is located in a building that looks to have once been an old house, so the wooden floorboards creaked and we drew a bit of attention to ourselves. Most of the parishoners took no notice of us but those who did met our eyes with scowls and looks of mistrust and disdain. There were no pews, but rather couches, folding chairs and dining room / sitting room type chairs. Nearly all of the chairs were occupied, but there appeared to be room on some of the couches. However, no one moved down to make room for us. Finally, I noticed one free chair near the back, next to a table on which various SSPX books and pamphlets were laid out for sale. I told my son to go sit there (as the layout of the chapel does not really allow for standing - there is literally no room at the back so one would have to stand in the vestibule area, which is really outside the chapel proper). Anyway, when my son sat down, the scowling gentleman seated behind the table (the bookseller, I assume?) snapped his fingers at me to get my attention saying "Hey. Hey. He can't sit there. He can't sit there." So I simply said "All right," and ordered my son to return to my side. At this point, I thought to myself "Well, no one has to knock me over the head - I've got the message." The message being "Get lost, stranger." So my son and I departed without comment.
I'm not sure what we did to warrant this reaction - we were both well dressed as we always are for Mass. We were as quiet as it was humanly possible to be. Perhaps I was being prideful or overly sensitive for leaving, but I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that that was a pretty unwelcoming atmosphere. I've heard before that some SSPX-ers can be cliquish if not outright cultish, and I must say - much to my disappointment - that my recent experience at that chapel has done nothing to dispel that particular stereotype.