Mind Your MBTA Manners: This T Car Is Not a Strip Club

We know what you do after hours. We can see you on your way from class to Centerfolds, carrying that mysterious duffel bag, mentally preparing for a night on six inch heels. Or maybe you've never set foot in a strip club, would never associate with those types (short of riding the T with them), can't imagine putting a dollar in a G string. Whatever your situation, you might still be guilty of that awful etiquette violation: riding the poles.

Yeah, those poles? In the T cars? They're there to hold on to. With your hands. Not your armpit, elbow, cleavage, neck, crotch, knee, or other body part. And they're for all people to hold on to, not just your entitled pole-rubbing self. Nobody wants to risk molesting you by grabbing at a pole you're leaning against (actually, some people might, but not us). If you are leaning against a pole, whether you do it languorously, lasciviously, or lewdly, you are committing an etiquette violation and inconveniencing others. Stand up straight, hold on to the pole with one hand, and let others grab their rightful share of pole. (Uh, that sounds bad, but you know what we mean.)

If you are unable to stand and somehow require a pole in your crotch, ask for a seat. Leave the pole dancing for the strip clubs. If you want to get close, try Big Red. If you don't have hands, you're excused from our wrath.