Defying uncaring image, New York subway riders erase swastikas from car

The tale of the strangers aboard a New York subway car who teamed up this weekend to scrub away neo-Nazi graffiti went viral on Sunday, in an incident that highlighted a recent rise in hate and bias crimes reported around the country. Passengers said on social media that when they boarded a subway car on Saturday night they found someone had drawn messages in black marker targeting Jews and Muslims and praising Adolf Hitler, the German leader responsible for the Holocaust. "The train was silent as everyone stared at each other, uncomfortable and unsure what to do," attorney Gregory Locke wrote later in a Facebook post.