Be Polite or Else: New York to Enforce Criminal Penalties on Yielding Seats on the Subway

There has been a steading criminalization of bad conduct in the United States, as discussed in earlier columns. We can add the New York subways push to force people to give up their seats to the elderly and disabled — or face a potential 10 day jail term.

Once again, the motive behind the criminalization of rude conduct is commendable. However, legislators now assume that unless their laws have a criminal component, they are not serious.

The criminal penalties are nothing new, but the new campaign suggests that there is going to be a more aggressive crackdown on criminal rudeness.

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