Monday, May 24, 2010

Probability of Success: Low.

Excuse Me! T Launches Courtesy Campaign
"Give peace and quiet a chance. Please keep your cell phone or live conversations at a reasonable volume. Keep your language clean, too, because the T is a family ride."

The MBTA is launching a courtesy campaign to help remind riders to be polite and mindful of others.

[Pauses to let that sink in]

Yes, you read that right. The MBTA, awash in patronage, pension overruns, and clueless managers who expect free lunches, somehow has money kicking around for an ad campaign - voiced by Boston Celtic Paul Pierce - telling people to use common sense and manners. I figure this will work on Bostonians about the same time the sun turns into a lifeless ball of ice. But hey, you know, a quirky ad showing an inconsiderate businessman or a pregnant woman is going to change people's behaviors!

In times of layoffs, budget cuts, and all-round belt-tightening, someone approved this campaign. It's just the sort of thing that looked great on paper and has most likely been planned for years, but when it came time for rollout, no one stopped and said, hey, you know what, why don't we shelve this for a bit until things move a little closer to the black? Then again, this is the MBTA, all the financial restraint of the Patrick administration with less oversight, so this may very well be the closest they come to the black...

I'm also struck by the dichotomy. They're banking that a slick ad campaign combining voice ads and printed material will overcome decades of slovenly, antisocial behavior; yet suggest to Hollywood that a steady diet of ultraviolent movies and video games might harm our kids and the same cast of characters will swear on a stack of Avatar DVDs that there's no connection. They'll happily take our money to come up with an ad campaign that has about the same probability of success as a Tiger Woods Marriage Counseling seminar, yet turn around and, with nary a hint of irony, state that it's guns that are the reason kids shoot up schools and not ultraviolent video games like Grand Theft Auto and the like.

*sigh* I know - expecting logic or consistency from Hollywood liberals is like expecting fiscal conservatism from Republicans...

That is all.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pffft, like this is new.

A few years ago I saw "Brush Your Teeth" posters on the orange line.

Bostonians have to be told by posters to brush their teeth? Talk about the infantilization of men that socialism causes.

Shootin' Buddy

notDilbert said...

Hmmmmmmmm.........

The offender in 4 of the photos is a well dressed white guy. ....(and I can't tell in the 5th)


....Yep.......of course.......That matches my experience of who the rude, pushy, nasty and imtimadating T riders are.

Veeshir said...

figure this will work on Bostonians about the same time the sun turns into a lifeless ball of ice.

I was riding the green line once when it was full, an older lady got on and there were no seats, so I got up.
Some college kid promptly sat down. I actually had to tell him to get his worthless ass out of the seat so that woman could sit down.

Boston, making NYC look polite since 1764.

Weer'd Beard said...

Actually as a regular MBTA rider I don't think the campaign is really necessary. Overall I've found people keep to themselves, aren't overly loud, and are polite.

Really my complaints are more the Hobos in the stations, and the gang members killing each-other around the stops.

Steve said...

This is the same Paul Pierce who, as AD might say, while drinking milk and studying the bible was shanked by sumdood in the 'bury his first year in town? Lecturing ignorant T riders on courtesy? Yeah, that's a role model we should all aspire to emulate.