Do Neighborly Gestures Have A Place In 2013?

You’ve probably seen and read about this photo already, which was originally posted to Reddit last week by user braffination–and if there’s a reason the man in the beige coat looks familiar to you, it’s because you’ve probably passed him  (if not passed out on him) around the neighborhood.

If you’re unfamiliar with the lore behind the photo, you should know that the beige-coated man in question allowed one sleepy subway rider to doze on his shoulder for about half an hour last week, explaining to another straphanger, “He had a long day, so let him sleep. We’ve all been there.”

The Q train altruist is named Oscar “Isaac” Theil, you can find him at the Newkirk Plaza stop, and several neighbors have come out within the past few days to acknowledge that, yes, he really is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. And though allowing his fellow commuter to rest on his shoulder was really lovely, some public reactions to the photo raise questions about why it’s received the incredible response (over 20,000 Facebook shares, for instance) that it has.

For one, the matter of race and religion seems to be playing a large part in the photo/story’s popularity. The Daily News ran their story with the hed and dek, “Photo of black man sleeping on a Jewish man’s shoulder on the subway goes viral around the world: Isaac Theil said he was just trying to help a tired fellow New Yorker. Photo has made the Orthodox Jew a global celebrity,” prompting a mixed bag of comments about whether it was necessary to specify the men as such, or if not doing so would skirt around an issue that is not addressed often enough. If you’re honest with yourself, what was the first thing you noticed about this photo–and did race and religion play a part in your ultimate interpretation of it?

The other question is, how often do small, neighborly acts of kindness happen anymore? Especially in New York, it feels like most interactions with neighbors are taken with a grain of salt–whether it’s helping someone with his or her groceries, opening the door to your home when someone knocks, or debating whether to let an unfamiliar face into the lobby of your building, it sometimes feels like you have to make the choice between being rude or being vulnerable. Is our lack of openness towards others in our community what makes this subway photo worldwide news?

And as long as we’re talking about neighborly gestures, what’s the nicest thing a neighbor has ever done for you? How do you facilitate neighborly interactions where you live–or do you believe in modern day New York City, caution, privacy, and personal space should trump such interactions?

Photo via Reddit/braffination