Racist ads featuring an Ayn Rand quote were posted in numerous subway stations throughout New York City on Monday, and New Yorkers were ready to greet them with messages of their own.
The ads, placed by Pamela Geller's hate-mongering organization, American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), were similar to the one shown below in Times Square:
The ad pictured above first uses an Ayn Rand quote, "IN ANY WAR BETWEEN THE CIVILIZED MAN AND THE SAVAGE, SUPPORT THE CIVILIZED MAN," followed by the words "SUPPORT ISRAEL / DEFEAT JIHAD."
The ads were originally rejected by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), which considered them "demeaning." However, a
Federal District Court in Manhattan ruled that the MTA, in rejecting the ads, had violated Geller and Co.'s First Amendment rights.
Their hand forced, the MTA today posted Geller's ads. And soon after being placed, New Yorkers greeted them by plastering "Racist" and "Hate Speech" stickers wherever they were found.
An ad at the 23rd Street Station gets the "Racist" treatment.
The ad in Times Square is labeled as "hate speech."
Additionally, prominent Egyptian-American columnist
Mona Eltahawy – who writes on Muslim and Arab issues – tried to deface one of the ads and was confronted by a known Islamophobic blogger, Pamela Hall.
A New York Post journalist, expecting the ads would cause some traffic, was on the scene, and captured the confrontation:
While the ads have brought the wanted attention that Geller seeks, they have also highlighted the fact that New Yorkers simply don't accept the Islamophobia her organization is selling.
And the best part: it was via non-violent protesting.