SF Transit agency condemns controversial "savage" bus ads

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Muni has taken the unprecedented step of condemning one of the paid advertisements on several of its buses. It all started with a controversial ad in support of Israel that included some hot-button words like "jihad' and "savages." Friday, the transit agency got involved with its own counter-ad.

The dueling ads appear almost side-by-side on 10 Muni buses. The original ad popped up last week reading "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat jihad."

Friday, Muni came back with its response -- a bus card saying its policy prohibits discrimination and it condemns statements that describe any group as savages.

"Obviously we think the ads in place right now are repulsive and they definitely cross the line," Muni spokesperson Paul Rose said. "So there's not a lot we can do in light of the First Amendment."

The group behind the pro-Israel ad calls itself the American Freedom Defense Initiative. Pamela Geller of New York heads the group and she says she's now planning another Muni bus ad.

"Those ads will be calling out the institutionalized and systemic anti-Semitism of the government of San Francisco," she said. "They're clearly picking sides. They should be running disclaimers on every ad, not just mine."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations welcomes Muni's counter-ad as a step in the right direction.

"A lot of the damage has already been done; we have heard from many community members both at our organization and other organizations across the Bay Area who say they don't feel comfortable boarding the buses that carry these ads," CAIR spokesperson Zahra Billoo said.

Geller says the publicity has generated a few thousand dollars for her organization.

"We have seen an increase in fundraising, absolutely, absolutely," Geller said. "What do you think has paid for my counter ads to the discrimination ads that are running counter to my ads?"

"This is someone who's thriving on creating fear of millions, if not billions, of Arabs and Muslims across the world," Billoo said.

Geller says her Muni ad campaign cost about $5,000 and is her First Amendment right. Friday, CAIR sent a letter to Muni asking that the money be used to study the impact of what it calls "hate speech" on Muslim residents of San Francisco.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news%2Flocal%2Fsan_francisco&id=8778414

[justashooter 430]

i guess it's a problem now to call a shovel a spade.

[rocks 494]

I don't understand how inciting hatred is freedom of speech? Freedom of speech should not affect the quality of life of others.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

i guess it's a problem now to call a shovel a spade.

She didn't. That's the problem.

[JohnR! 5,495]

Boy, did Geller pick the wrong city for her hatred campaign....

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

I don't understand how inciting hatred is freedom of speech? Freedom of speech should not affect the quality of life of others.

Geller is a cheerleader and spokes-model for racism and bigotry. She does far more damage to her own "cause" than anyone else. I hope she lashes back with the usual fit of anger and stupidity - let everyone see her for what she is.

[JohnR! 5,495]

I don't understand how inciting hatred is freedom of speech? Freedom of speech should not affect the quality of life of others.

For better or worse it is.

I would rather live in a country where I can disagree with you then live in one where I must.

On a positive note, there are but a few buses carrying the placards and in the eye of public opinion she jspust managed to give herself a bad name.

[rocks 494]

For better or worse it is.

I would rather live in a country where I can disagree with you then live in one where I must.

On a positive note, there are but a few buses carrying the placards and in the eye of public opinion she jspust managed to give herself a bad name.

Inciting racial hatred isn't free speech to me, it's inciting racial hatred. I guess I'm not American and I don't "get it"?

[sandinista! 1,816]

No good has ever come of any government imposing such limits on its people.

[JohnR! 5,495]

Inciting racial hatred isn't free speech to me, it's inciting racial hatred. I guess I'm not American and I don't "get it"?

I think the best way to explain what I meant is by referring to The People v. Larry Flynt, which was a famous legal case in the 70's.

In a nutshell, Flynt is the owner of Hustler magazine, which is a racy adult publication. Some politicians in Georgia decided to remove his magazine from the stands in what ended up in a court battle. The entire case was based on the concept of 'pornography' and the court threw it out on the grounds that 'pornography' is subjective, and Hustler was protected under the First Amendment.

The MUNI placards are the flip side of the coin. You can't have free speech without hate speech. For me, I would rather dismiss this sort of propaganda as pure hate speech and let it be, because it will not affect my judgment in one way, nor will removing it from the buses help Geller and her ilk be more rational about the entire subject. On a positive note, they help us identify the nutjobs from those who actually deserve our time and attention.

Hate needs no justification. It is self serving and autophagic.

Edited August 20, 2012 by Gegel

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

I don't really get the race element. Both groups are caucasoid and they are also of the same subgroup.

Edited August 20, 2012 by Sousuke

[sandinista! 1,816]

I think it was brought up generally, not in specific reference to the OP.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

I don't really get the race element. Both groups are caucasoid and they are also of the same subgroup.

"Racist" in the sense of anti-"Arab race." Of course there are Palestinians who are not Caucasoid; however, they are certainly "Arab."

Palestinian Christians celebrating the Eve of the Epiphany (Paramony) at Bethabara, on the Western bank of the Jordan River (West Bank, near Jericho), in Eastern Orthodox tradition.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

"Racist" in the sense of anti-"Arab race." Of course there are Palestinians who are not Caucasoid; however, they are certainly "Arab."

Palestinian Christians celebrating the Eve of the Epiphany (Paramony) at Bethabara, on the Western bank of the Jordan River (West Bank, near Jericho), in Eastern Orthodox tradition.

Right because "Arab" is not race, its a union of different ethnicities. By and large most Israelis and Palestinians are caucasoid - semitic, with minorities of other races within the populations.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Right because "Arab" is not race, its a union of different ethnicities. By and large most Israelis and Palestinians are caucasoid - semitic, with minorities of other races within the populations.

It's perhaps complicated, but the term "Arab" includes people who are linked by genealogical and/or linguistic and/or cultural connections. Many Arab people *do* consider themselves to be members of a distinct ethnic group (as do many Jewish people.)

"Race" is a rather nebulous concept to begin with, anyway. Mahmoud always thought he was white, at least until he came to the U.S. Then he found out real quick that he wasn't.