Mind your Business or Be Your Brother’s Keeper? Managing Vulnerability in the New York City Subway

• In Event: The Role of Institutional Claims-Makers in Shaping Public Narratives About Crime and Safety

Abstract

This study explores the reception, comprehension, and responses of NYC subway commuters to various public communication campaigns aimed at raising awareness and strengthening informal social control within a deeply ingrained mind-your-business culture, particularly in times of social transformation such as the post-9/11 and post-Covid-19 contexts. Drawing upon 44 in-depth interviews with three groups of riders –low-income, Middle Eastern/South Asian, and East Asian New Yorkers– this empirical analysis examines what New Yorkers “see” and “say.” It examines how riders internalize campaigns’ intended meanings, thresholds of civil inattention, strategies to safeguard themselves from external threats while avoiding being perceived as threats, and their reporting thresholds. By employing an intersectional lens that incorporates factors such as race, class, gender, and age alongside personal victimization experiences within the subway, this study provides a nuanced understanding of riders’ responses to public communication campaigns to enhance informal social control.

Author

• Maria Barrera-Vilert, Loyola University New Orleans