At last New Yorkers have reason to be happy that the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s courtesy campaign has been a total failure. It’s a sign that riders don’t pay attention to notices on subways and busses! This makes me feel better about the U.S. District Court judge who would allow the pro-Israel American Freedom Defense Initiative to run an ad featuring a menacing Arab and the words “Killing Jews is Worship that draws us close to Allah.” [See AFDI photo featuring a non-menacing American] The ad attributes this to Hamas TV and adds this line below the quote: “That’s his Jihad. What’s yours?”

The AFDI wanted to run this message in the NYC transit system last year, but the MTA rejected it saying it could be a call to violence again Jews. The AFDI sued and won Tuesday in the U.S. District Court. Today the MTA tried to blunt the ruling by sending a letter to the judge saying that at its April 29 meeting the MTA board will establish a new policy to ban ads of a political nature. The MTA also has 30 days to appeal the decision through the courts.

Judge John G. Koeltl of the U.S. District Court sided with the AFDI based in part on the lack of evidence that similar ads in Chicago and San Francisco had ill effect. He also noted, “The defendants underestimate the tolerant quality of New Yorkers and overestimate the political impact of these fleeting advertisements.”

Pole Hog Under “Don’t Be A Pole Hog” message

Well, okay. We could also call New Yorkers “tolerant” rather than “dangerously self-absorbed” when they ignore the following notices that are part of the MTA courtesy campaign: “Step Aside to Let Others Off First.” “Don’t Be a Poll Hog.” “Keep the Doors Clear So Others Can Board.” Riders of all races, colors, creeds and nationalities feel free to block subway doors and restrict entry to other riders whether a car is empty or has relative extra room at rush hour. We could be helping each other, but we don’t.

This behavior comes at a time when ridership is the greatest it has been in 65 years and crowding is a serious problem. I would like to believe that it is tourists who are behaving in such piggish ways, but they seem to find bad behavior part of the show. In any event, if the AFDI does get to run its ad, tourists will have more to see. Not so New Yorkers who will be too tolerant to take much notice, according to the judge. Would they clear the doorway if a police officer asked them to? Would it be helpful to find out? Please scroll down to the “Leave a reply” box and comment.

Update: On Monday April 27 the MTA board voted 7 to 2 in favor of banning political and other controversial ads. A WSJ story notes that government agencies that restrict ad to commercial content generally prevail when challenged in the court. Hooray (for once) for the MTA!