The MTA is constantly in trouble with the public. 

Even if it was free, your train arrived the minute you stepped on the platform, you had plenty of seats to choose from, there wasn't anybody smelly, loud or obnoxious ruining your ride, and they magically made a 30 minute trip in 10 minutes, you'd still complain that the floor was sticky, or something.

So, it's no surprise that the public pulls no punches when dealing with the advertisements we're faced with daily on the subway. Whether it's budget drama, ever-looming fare hikes, or it's the crumbling and soggy stations, everyone always has a reason to be mad in/at the subway. 

Following an incendiary anti-Muslim ad campaign by  human basketball and absurd political commentator Pamela Geller, the MTA instituted a viewpoint-neutral advertising rule, seeking to keep politics out of subway adverts.

So now, the same no-politics-allowed rule that's meant to keep things non-offensive has been invoked to remove subway advertising by Amalgamated Bank in support of the #RaiseTheWage campaign, an initiative seeking to raise the minimum wage to a living wage.

Regardless of the fact that one of the few things the Mayor and the Governor happily support together is the living wage initiative, not to mention the national impetus of support, the MTA held strong removing Amalgamated Bank's commercial posters: 1,260 of them to be exact.

[anad]

Outfront Media, the MTA's ad buyer, apparently erroneously approved the proposal, and now has reversed the six-figure buy. Sheesh. 

Keith Mastrich, Amalgamated Bank's CEO and president, had this to say, "The #RaiseTheWage Campaign is not about politics, it's about giving the people of New York a fighting chance." 

And we can get down with that, Mr. Mastrich. We can get down with that all day and night. 

the2ndqt Amalgamated Bank, Do you know what lifts up New Yorkers? It's not raising minimum wage. It's reducing the cost of living. Reducing costs for everyday necessities like rent, utilities, food and public transit allows those struggling with low pay to struggle less. Looking at your ad makes me think....who's in your pocket that you support this? Lobbyists? Politicians? #NYC #AmalgamatedBank #DontRaiseTheWage #DontSupportThis #DontRaiseMinimumWage #LowerCostofLiving #MTA #2Train

But from an objective perspective, the MTA's decision was probably correct. Though we agree that everyone deserves a fighting chance, there are a myriad of mainstream political perspectives to which that concept may run contrary, and therefore qualifies, to us, as a political statement. 

It's like freedom of speech. Everyone has the right to it, and nobody has to agree with what's being said. 

So imagine that in reverse: if there's a rule in place to keep politics out of the advertising in the subway, it should be followed regardless of what side of the spectrum is tooting their horn, whether you agree or disagree. 

Check out New Yorkers Smoke Weed on the Street (and No, We Don't Care). 

[via NY Daily News]

[Feature Image Courtesy NPR]