Hateful graffiti on a subway Saturday night brought New Yorkers together as they used hand sanitizer and pocket wipes to remove the hateful messages written with permanent marker on the train's windows and ads.
An unknown person wrote “Jews belong in the oven,” “Destroy Islam,” and “Heil Hitler” on the windows along with drawing swastikas. As the passengers sat uncomfortably, stunned by the messages, Manhattan chef Jared Nied said, “Hand sanitizer gets rid of Sharpie pen. We need alcohol,” rider Gregory Locke told CNN.
Passengers used hand sanitizer and wipes they were carrying with them to scrub off the graffiti together. Nied told CNN they were “satisfied in just doing the right thing.”
“It was very uplifting to see everyone come together like that,” Locke told CNN.
Locke posted about the graffiti incident on his Facebook page, noting that one passenger said, “I guess this is Trump’s America” and arguing that it wasn’t and would never be when “stubborn New Yorkers have anything to say about it.”
President Donald Trump’s own daughter, son-in-law, and several of his grandchildren are Jewish, and he has indicated strong support for Israel throughout his campaign and since being elected president in November.
Locke's post about the graffiti has gone viral with 455,810 shares as of Monday afternoon, though many of the comments took issue with the Trump association.
One clever commenter called the New Yorkers' graffiti removal "eracism."
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