Bottoms Up!

Did anyone you know participate in the thirteenth annual "No Pants Subway Ride?" Commuters from around the world dropped trou and got on the train. For many, it was a stirring sight, all of those boxers, briefs, panties and petticoats crowding in on the mass transit platforms across the globe. And what message did the organizers of this event hope to spread? "It is just about fun, and providing a laugh and a smile," said Charlie Todd, who created the event twelve years ago when just seven people took part.
Just for fun. A laugh and a smile? There was no larger point to be made with the three to four thousand New Yorkers who wandered around the underground half naked? Health care? Gun rights? Legalization of something or other? Just for fun. Considering the high in Manhattan last Sunday was forty-seven degrees, and considerably cooler in the tunnels, that takes some pretty dedicated pranksters. A couple of years back, there were forty-nine totally nude artists arrested on Wall Street, part of what is considered by many to be the origin of the Occupy Movement. Their purpose was clear, even if their message wasn't. They also chose August 1st as their day to shed their inhibitions. Maybe that's why the organizers of the Pants-Off were more considerate of their participants. Still, is there any surface on any public transit that you would feel comfortable putting your bare parts on?
Of course, it wasn't just us Yanks going without slacks. The Brits got into it. Our friends below the border left themselves exposed below their borders. There were even some wacky German folk who left their lederhosen behind to join in the laughs.
I applaud their efforts. There is simply far too little levity in mass transit. Might I suggest, as a follow up, Pantless Day at the DMV?