#100hardtruths

#46, stay aware, not afraid

According to Benjamin Sutton: “Last night, a small group of artists and activists installed a series of subtly tweaked Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) advertisements in two train cars in the New York City subway system. The five replacement ads, made to blend inconspicuously into the MTA’s If You See Something, Say Something campaign posters — which feature brief testimonies from New Yorkers who’ve alerted agents to suspicious objects — boast tweaked quotations and more pointed prompts like 'Call your elected officials and make yourself heard' and 'Stay aware, not afraid. Scared people are easy to manipulate.' Each poster also includes the number for the MTA’s safety line and the hashtag #Resist.” (Artist Remixes ‘If You See Something Say Something’ Posters in NYC Subways)
“‘I have no problem with the MTA campaign; it’s smart and it’s responsible — it was a backpack that was involved in the Boston bombing, so we should be on the lookout for suspicious bags, and I didn’t want to take that away from the ads,’ the artist explained. ‘But to me, a campaign that’s telling you to be vigilant, but just say something when the problem’s already in front of you, is kind of useless. Let’s try to get a little bit more upstream from the problem. Where is the root of this problem?'”

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To see a poetic response to this hardtruth:

Stay Aware Not Afraid and I'm Unaware

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