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New York Subway Officials To Shame People Sitting With Their Legs Spread

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is launching a campaign to target man spreaders and backpack wearers. posted on Nov. 18, 2014, at 6:03 p.m.
Tasneem Nashrulla BuzzFeed Staff posted
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1. The MTA, which manages New York City’s subways and buses, will launch an awareness campaign in January to stop people from taking up too much space on the seats.

 

2. The campaign, in part, will target man spreaders: people who spread their legs wide open, even on crowded trains, MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz told BuzzFeed News.

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Aaaaand the #MTA #NYC subway man-sitter champions of 11/10/14 are... (Celebrating 110 years of spread legs!)

3. Oritz said man spreaders “is an issue” — although he denied receiving consumer complaints.

4. The campaign will also target people who don’t take off their backpacks in the train.

Dear gentlemen on the subway with the overly large backpack who insisted that it remain on your back, you're an asshole. #newyorkproblems

An MTA board member, Charles Moerdler, said he first wanted to ban backpacks but later explained that riders should be required to take them off as a courtesy, AM New York reported. Moerdler realized backpacks were a problem when his granddaughter was wearing one that stuck “out a mile back” in the subway.
“I believe that you ought to get them off the back and onto the floor so they don’t hit people when you make an inadvertent movement or the train comes to a sudden stop,” Moerdler said.

6. “When you get to the hardcore violators and courtesy doesn’t work, then you have to take enforcement action,” Moerdler told AM New York.

Oritz said the campaign will entail other “courtesy-type issues” through signage and possibly train announcements.
They will also change the current slogan “courtesy is contagious.”
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New York Subway Officials To Shame People Sitting With Their Legs Spread

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  • Lacy Smith · Top Commenter
    I doubt any of these men have junk so large it's necessary for them to keep their legs that far apart, they're just jerks.
     
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  • Remy Lexington · Artist at Remy Lexington
    lets not forget the leaning on the entire pole so no one else can grab it.
     
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  • Ramona Fagbore · Volunteer at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
    Here comes all the guys complaining how impossible it is to sit with closed legs...
    • Rob Kenney · Top Commenter · Columbia University
      Sup? "Because of the broader pelvis in the female, it is necessary for the femur to come inward at an increased angle to make the distal end of the condyles parallel with the ground. The quadriceps, patella and patellar tendon form an angle centered at the patella. As the quadriceps contracts, the angle tends to straighten, which forces the patella laterally." ~Magee, D.J., Orthopedic Physical Assessment, 3rd Edition, 1997, pg. 507.

      This means that in a comfortable, relaxed position, men's knees do not touch, whereas women's knees do, due to differing bone structure. If the train is not crowded (see every image above), asking men to deviate to an unnaturally shallow angle creates significant discomfort that is completely unnecessary. Talk about biology-shaming. See attached image (slightly NSFW). Your move.

      Image:
      http://www.ptonthenet.com/images/articles/reebok_illus_1.gif
      Reply · Like
      · 27 · 4 hours ago
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    • Hamish Allan · Top Commenter · Goldsmiths
      Rob Kenney:

      In the diagram you linked to, if you draw a line down from the outside of the hip to the ground, the knee is well inside this line, for both men and women. It's just further inside for women.

      This is not the case for any photo in the article. Nobody would be objecting if those men were sitting as per the diagram.

      As for "If the train is not crowded (see every image above)" -- you simply cannot make that judgement for most of those images. It doesn't have to be "sardines in a tin", just "no other empty seats".
      Reply · Like
      · 10 · 4 hours ago
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    • Rob Kenney · Top Commenter · Columbia University
      Hamish Allan sorry, I should have indicated - that's a standing diagram. When sitting, the effect is exacerbated. Unfortunately I couldn't find a sitting diagram which demonstrated the effect of differing pelvic structures in men and women.
      Reply · Like
      · 1 · Edited · 3 hours ago
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  • Ramon Luna · Saint Peter's University
    Can we also make not folding up a stroller in a crowded train a felony?
    • Melissa Erin · Top Commenter · Vancouver, British Columbia
      umm, with a baby in it or....?
      Reply · Like
      · 72 · 7 hours ago
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    • Laura Chandler · Top Commenter
      Melissa Erin Technically, you are supposed to take the baby out for safety. (At least on Portland's transit systems). However, if no one gives up a seat for Mom and kiddo, it's unsafe and impractical to consider standing and holding your kid. On buses, drivers will boot somebody if no one gets up, or if anyone in the elderly/disabled seating is not in fact elderly or disabled.
      Reply · Like
      · 10 · 6 hours ago
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    • Laura Chandler · Top Commenter
      Melissa Erin Although I honestly never understood how that was safer. Then again, I can't figure out why school buses don't have seat belts.
      Reply · Like
      · 11 · 6 hours ago
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  • Jonathan Griffith · Top Commenter · New York, New York · 1,653 followers
    Are they replacing "Courtesy is Contagious" with, "Keep your legs together, it's contagious" ?
     
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  • Brett Allen · Top Commenter · Brooklyn, New York
    The weird thing about man spreaders is they do it to other men too. At least once a week I have some guy do that and then I have to glare at his knee and look up towards his face so he knows to get his fucking leg off of mine. Those guys don't give a damn about anyone's personal space, male or female.
    • Frances Locke · Top Commenter · Works at Freelance Writer
      Right? I don't understand why some people are making this a woman complaining about men thing when most men don't even do this and they do it to other guys too. My brother gets so annoyed when dudes do this on the subway.
      Reply · Like
      · 1 · about an hour ago
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  • Jennifer Brill · Top Commenter
    So, the backpack one. Trust me, I don't enjoy keeping 25 pounds of crap on my back while I stand for half an hour in the subway, so I'll be glad to take my backpack off when I can be reasonably sure some piece of human garbage isn't going to try and steal it out from under my feet. (And yes, I put my feet through the straps - which is how I got nearly got a broken ankle the last time some turd tried to steal my damn bag.)
    • Dave Brown · Top Commenter · Boston, Massachusetts
      Did it ever occur to you that when you keep your backpack on your shoulders, anybody can just reach inside one of the pockets and steal something without you even noticing because it's behind you? If you hold it in front of you, your personal belongings are actually SAFER. So now you have one less reason to inconvenience your fellow riders. You're welcome.
      Reply · Like
      · 46 · Edited · 6 hours ago
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    • Angela Marie · Top Commenter · C. Washington
      Dave Brown Holding a backpack and holding on to a railing at the same time would not be ideal for me and I would probably topple over if there was a sudden stop.
      Reply · Like
      · 1 · 4 hours ago
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    • Dave Brown · Top Commenter · Boston, Massachusetts
      Angela Marie Really? You only have one hand? And you can't rest your bag on the floor?

      Don't bother answering, nobody really cares what reasons you can come up with for why you shouldn't have to do what everybody else is expected to do. Yeah, life is hard. Deal with it.
      Reply · Like
      · 5 · 4 hours ago
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  • Bob Heaney · Top Commenter · Supervisor at Securitas
    Let's not forget the good number of ladies out there who seem to think that the seat next to them is reserved for their purse, either.
       
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    • Justin Anton Blu Rosado · Top Commenter · CUNY Manhattan
      I am assuming the people behind this campaign are either cisgender women or have very small testicles.
       
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    • Jack Walter · Top Commenter · Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
      Guys can only bring their knees together so close, after that point it's damn near impossible. But there's no need to take up three seats, that's a joke.
       
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