With headlines about Muslim bans, fake massacres and general impending doom dominating lately, an uplifting tale from the New York subway has set social media alight.
On Saturday night passengers in Manhattan were disgusted to find “every advertisement, every window” defaced with neo-Nazi graffiti.
Swastikas and phrases such as “Jews belong in the oven” had been daubed across carriages.
Gregory Locke, 27, was one of those onboard and he posted about what happened next on Facebook.
The post reads:
I got on the subway in Manhattan tonight and found a Swastika on every advertisement and every window. The train was silent as everyone stared at each other, uncomfortable and unsure what to do.
One guy got up and said, “Hand sanitizer gets rid of Sharpie. We need alcohol.” He found some tissues and got to work.
I’ve never seen so many people simultaneously reach into their bags and pockets looking for tissues and Purel. Within about two minutes, all the Nazi symbolism was gone.
Nazi symbolism. On a public train. In New York City. In 2017.
“I guess this is Trump’s America,” said one passenger. No sir, it’s not. Not tonight and not ever. Not as long as stubborn New Yorkers have anything to say about it.
New York police have reported a spike in such incidents in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential election.