Filed Under "Not the Onion" - First Manspreading Arrests Made in New York

[davekay1971]

Maybe this just seems ridiculous because I live in the relatively spacious and roomy South (thank God), but apparently "manspreading", the act of spreading one's legs far enough to infringe on someone else's space in a public place, is such a problem in New York City that it requires space in the city's penal code. And, gentlemen (and any of you ladies who might manspread...you know who you are), the law is being enforced.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/06/01/first-manspreading-arrest-made-in-new-york_n_7482630.html

So obviously that guy who feels the need on a crowded subway to sit down, lean wayyyyyyy back and to the left, stick his tush at the edge of the seat, and spread his knees three feet apart is an inconsiderate lout who deserves public scorn and ridicule. Apparently, he will now also find himself on the wrong end of the law. Other passengers can be relieved that the manspreader will be confronted with something more forceful than a glare.

Of course when the law asks cops to confront people over silly offenses, and the offenders decide to defy the law, things can escalate. Here's a Huffpo opinion piece on the more serious side of the issue:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/28/manspreading-arrest-broken-windows-policing_n_7462944.html

My opinion: when society feels the need to create laws for this kind of thing, we've gone down the rabbit hole.

[Duvall]

Maybe this just seems ridiculous because I live in the relatively spacious and roomy South (thank God), but apparently "manspreading", the act of spreading one's legs far enough to infringe on someone else's space in a public place, is such a problem in New York City that it requires space in the city's penal code. And, gentlemen (and any of you ladies who might manspread...you know who you are), the law is being enforced.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/06/01/first-manspreading-arrest-made-in-new-york_n_7482630.html

So obviously that guy who feels the need on a crowded subway to sit down, lean wayyyyyyy back and to the left, stick his tush at the edge of the seat, and spread his knees three feet apart is an inconsiderate lout who deserves public scorn and ridicule. Apparently, he will now also find himself on the wrong end of the law. Other passengers can be relieved that the manspreader will be confronted with something more forceful than a glare.

Of course when the law asks cops to confront people over silly offenses, and the offenders decide to defy the law, things can escalate. Here's a Huffpo opinion piece on the more serious side of the issue:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/28/manspreading-arrest-broken-windows-policing_n_7462944.html

My opinion: when society feels the need to create laws for this kind of thing, we've gone down the rabbit hole.

Well, look. It's hardly a new development for American cities to give the police flimsy laws that provide them license to harass and harry people for little to no reason. The only differences here are that these laws come with an Internet-born portmanteau and arise from the complaints of women, so *of course* people will consider them more frivolous than the nuisance laws that have been around for decades.

[weezie]

This "manspreading" discourse is making weezie queasy. Kind of barfy. :eek:

[hurleyfor3]

No wonder we're having the ACC Tournament there; it's so civilized.

[davekay1971]

Hopefully the coaching staff will make sure the guys know to primly cross their legs in NYC's public transit system. As tall as Marshall is, if he manspreads he might get hit with multiple citations. "Duke center Marshall Plumlee arrested for manspreading, will miss ACC Tournament championship game. News at 11"

[devildeac]

Nothing obscene here but these guys at least need to be charged double fares:

http://mentakingup2muchspaceonthetrain.tumblr.com/