You just never know. Two weeks ago, my column responding to a 60-ish couple photographed by another passenger in the subway, offered advice that was, I thought, in the “Well, duh!” category. Not so, apparently. My iPhone honked all weekend fielding the torrent of angry responses.

The missives were not consistent. One described the column as “ethical but sexist,” another as “unethical but funny.” The “deeply sensitive and hilarious” viewpoint went, sadly, unexpressed.

The dominant concern, however, that defined most messages was expressed most simply by a guy named Frank, who wrote succinctly: “You really needed to emphasize that street photography is perfectly legal. No consent is needed. Ever. There is no expectation of privacy while on public (sic). This has nothing to do with ethics and everything to do with the law. Educate yourself.” Many correspondents echoed that view, some more vociferously.

Well, Frank et al, without sounding overly defensive, the column did state that street photography is legal. To reiterate, I quoted verbatim from the Star’s Public Editor who wrote, in part, “it is perfectly legal in Ontario to take pictures of people lying in the street….” I suppose I could have clarified that this also applies to people who are standing up, but that seemed self-evident.

I should also point out that the TTC is not a “public” space, in the same sense as a park or street. It is controlled by a commission with explicit policies about when, how and by whom pictures may be taken. That policy is on their website, but it permits picture-taking by amateurs only if it “does not interfere with the safe and orderly operation of the transit system and/or our customers.” Commercial photographers require a permit.

More to the point, it’s distressing to hear, in response to this column and others, how many people believe that simply because something is legal, that makes it ethically right. And on that matter I beg, yet again, to differ.

Almost every day, we hear another blast of xenophobic, anti-religious verbal violence from a presumptive candidate for President of the United States. Such venom is apparently legal – Trump has not been arrested or charged – but is it ethically OK? Morally uplifting? Hardly.

In this country, it’s important to remember that Residential Schools were legal, as were the internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War, capital punishment, and restrictions that prohibited women from voting. Legal, yes. Right? Well, no.

It’s also good to note that, just because something is deemed “legal,” that doesn’t preclude further, vigorous discussion about whether it is right and proper. A couple of weeks ago, physician-assisted dying was declared legal in certain circumstances. Does that mean we should all stop debating when, how, why such interventions are appropriate? Again, of course not.

A guy with a cellphone was photographing an almost-elderly TTC couple, and they felt threatened. There was no news event in progress, and no indication that he was a member of the media. He was not a professional photographer with a permit to work within the transit system. He was, simply, a jerk who was harassing them.

Legal? The photography, debatable; the harassment, no.

Consistent with TTC policy? Doubtful.

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Ethical? Hell, no.