A New York Times opinion writer has been ripped for claiming that straphangers scared of “half-naked lunatics” menacing Big Apple subways need therapy for “imaginary monsters.”
Elizabeth Spiers sparked incredulity with her condescending response to the suggestion that a “polite society” is “one where people can safely ride the subway to work or take their children out in public without being accosted & menaced by half-naked lunatics.”
“Hi – New Yorker here,” wrote Spiers, who is also a Democratic pollster and NYU journalism professor.
“I’ve safely ridden the subway for 23 years and my child has never been menaced by a half naked lunatic, but these imaginary monsters in your head are addressable with therapy,” she continued.
Her tweet quickly went viral, seen more than 3 million times by Wednesday — with many questioning how serious she was.
“Not satire …,” one person wrote as others questioned if it was actually “a parody account.”
National Review writer Dan McLaughlin — to whose tweet Spiers had replied — was among those amazed that his critic had escaped seeing anything alarming for so long.
“If you’ve never encountered an alarming lunatic on the subway or its platforms, I question what city you’ve been traveling in,” McLaughlin tweeted.
“And how small your circle of friends must be if you don’t know anybody who’s experienced unhinged people in the subways.”
Others also noted how not seeing something firsthand does not mean it is not there.
“Exactly, Elizabeth! I feel the same way about tornadoes,” one person tweeted sarcastically.
“Everyone complains about them, but they’ve never bothered me. I’ve never even seen one and, frankly, I don’t really believe they exist.”
