Anti-Muslim Subway Ads Enjoy the Freedom to Offend

THE NEW REPUBLIC
By Amy Sullivan

NEW YORK---Yes, at the same time that Obama was counseling world leaders to embrace tolerance, professional Islamophobe Pamela Geller and her American Freedom Defense Initiative launched an anti-Muslim ad campaign in New York subways. The large wall ads, which are posted in at least ten subway stations, read: “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.” New York’s Metro Transit Authority originally rejected the ads, citing a regulation that prohibits offensive language. However, a federal judge ruled that Geller’s posters were protected by the First Amendment and ordered the MTA to allow the ads. By midday on Tuesday, New Yorkers had taken it upon themselves to reject the ads, posting stickers that read “RACIST” or “HATE SPEECH” on ads in at least seven stations. [link]