Sometimes out-of-towners just don’t understand the dynamic of New York City. It looks like George Washington Lawprof Jonathon Turley got “took” by this report from WCBS :
A new campaign reminds subway and bus riders to give up reserved seats to the elderly or disabled.
Those who refuse could be fined $25 to $50 — or even face up to 10 days in jail.
Signs are going up this week in thousands of subway cars and buses. The law has long been on the books; transit officials are now trying to get people to obey it.
You gotta be kidding. You think anybody is going to end up on the Rock for 10 days for this? Apparently, he does:
One of the most surprising things about New York City is that people occasionally give up a seat on the subway to the elderly, mothers with young children and pregnant women. I mean, this is New York, renown for attitude, and yet kids who would be pegged as gangbangers anywhere else offer their seat to a kid. It’s amazing.
But nobody is going to jail over it. Fuggedaboutit. Ain’t happening.
The only way to make a dent in the consciousness of New Yorkers is with a sledgehammer. It’s not a city of subtlety. Appeals to our better nature reveal that we don’t have a better nature. It’s dog eat dog, and everybody knows it. So when the powers of the subway want to persuade people to be a little more thoughtful, they need to use a little clout to make their point clear.
There are plenty of infractions in New York. No one is ever prosecuted for most of them, unless someone has simultaneously managed to severely piss off a cop in the process, in which case it doesn’t matter what the infraction is since the cop will find some reason to make you spend 24 hours in a holding cell to teach a lesson.
So the Transit Authority has decided to push the envelope with a new campaign to give up seats to the elderly or disabled or face 10 days in jail? It’s good to hear that they’ve got the money to put thousands of stickers on subway cars while they’re jacking up fares yet again.
There has been a steading criminalization of bad conduct in the United States, as discussed in earlier columns. We can add the New York subways push to force people to give up their seats to the elderly and disabled — or face a potential 10 day jail term.Yeah, right. And taxi drivers have to speak English too. And use the most direct route. Man, I can barely stop laughing thinking about that one being enforced.
One of the most surprising things about New York City is that people occasionally give up a seat on the subway to the elderly, mothers with young children and pregnant women. I mean, this is New York, renown for attitude, and yet kids who would be pegged as gangbangers anywhere else offer their seat to a kid. It’s amazing.
But nobody is going to jail over it. Fuggedaboutit. Ain’t happening.
The only way to make a dent in the consciousness of New Yorkers is with a sledgehammer. It’s not a city of subtlety. Appeals to our better nature reveal that we don’t have a better nature. It’s dog eat dog, and everybody knows it. So when the powers of the subway want to persuade people to be a little more thoughtful, they need to use a little clout to make their point clear.
There are plenty of infractions in New York. No one is ever prosecuted for most of them, unless someone has simultaneously managed to severely piss off a cop in the process, in which case it doesn’t matter what the infraction is since the cop will find some reason to make you spend 24 hours in a holding cell to teach a lesson.
So the Transit Authority has decided to push the envelope with a new campaign to give up seats to the elderly or disabled or face 10 days in jail? It’s good to hear that they’ve got the money to put thousands of stickers on subway cars while they’re jacking up fares yet again.
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Does that mean a person with a heart condition would have to give up their seat to a person with a cane? Will all ‘disabled’ have to wear a ‘bracelet’ or mark on their foreheads?
Nah. It’s just our way of saying “stupidity is not a disability,” at least not in New York. Give up the seat to someone who needs it more than you.