On Saturday night, a group of strangers boarded the 1 train in New York City to find it covered in Swastikas and other anti-Semitic vandalism, New York Magazine reports (opens in new tab). One rider, Gregory Locke, took note of the scene and the mood on the train—uncomfortable silence, as you might expect. Then, something amazing happened.
"One guy got up and said, 'Hand sanitizer gets rid of Sharpie. We need alcohol.' He found some tissues and got to work," Locke wrote in a Facebook post along with pictures of the vandalism and cleanup effort. "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."
The story went viral and has already been shared more than 290,000 times in less than 24 hours. Even Chelsea Clinton was moved to share a screenshot.
We will not let hate win. And, another reason to carry hand sanitizer. pic.twitter.com/bgrAJf7SCvFebruary 5, 2017
"'I guess this is Trump's America,' said one passenger," Locke wrote. "No sir, it's not. Not tonight and not ever. Not as long as stubborn New Yorkers have anything to say about it."
(H/T NYMag (opens in new tab))
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Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
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