Is It Ever Okay to Take a Picture of a Stranger on the Subway?

You've probably seen them: pictures of the manspreaders, the bag-splayers, or the generally uncourteous subway riders, showing up in your social media feeds after being surreptitiously photographed by a fellow straphanger.

Usually it's to shame people  for breaking some unspoken rule of conduct.

Here's NYC in a nutshell: a mom and two small kids stand while two douchebags manspread as WIDE as they possibly can. pic.twitter.com/dqXarc4xHt

— Kate Bristol 🍓 (@Katelove) July 29, 2017

Rarely, it's to exemplify some kind of gold standard. (But again: it's unclear whether these people gave their permission to be photographed, or whether they were aware of the camera at all.)

Taken today on the C Train. Thiiiiiis is what makes America great. Happy 4th of July, y'all. ❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/2b7Q89E2EI

— Rachel MacKnight (@rachmacknight) July 2, 2017

According to the MTA, photography is allowed on the subway as long as there's no professional equipment involved, so technically you aren't breaking the law by snapping a picture.

So where do you fall in this debate: is it ever okay to take a picture of a fellow subway-rider to post on social media? Tweet using the hashtag #MyWrongOpinion.

Tweet #MyWrongOpinion

This is part of a new series of low-stakes debates called "You're Entitled to Your Wrong Opinion." Have an idea for what should be debated next? Tweet @shubasu with your suggestions.

@WNYC what do I think of calling out manspreaders on social media? Hmm... #WeTheCommuters https://t.co/OZByGf5vPS

— Emily Gover (@edtechjam) August 1, 2017

#bagonseat or #manspreading most people, if asked, would "shape up." The shade is on the #cowards who photo & dont ask 2 sit #MyWrongOpinion

— WesternQueensLand (@wqueens7) August 1, 2017

I regularly take pictures of manspreaders & post on Snapchat for laughs. No public shaming necessary, unless its outrageous #MyWrongOpinion

— Becca Ramos (@MsBeccaRamos) August 1, 2017

#mywrongopinion seems more like virtue signaling. "Shaming" feeds into the narcissistic tendencies of SM. Shaming never corrects anything.

— Geoff Feder (@GBILLY) August 1, 2017

Only time I've photo'd someone on subway. Healthy, young men being seat greedy. I'm over it #WeTheCommuters #MyWrongOpinion #SubwayEtiquette

— Brigette Supernova (@Brig_Supernova) August 1, 2017