Yesterday, videos of Orange Is the New Black's Lea DeLaria handing a prosletyzing subway preacher his ass went viral. For anyone who's been trapped on the subway with some asshole who's tritely thumping his Bible in an attempt to pull you away from the magazine you are reading or the Taylor Swift song you're listening to that's making you feel right at home, the footage of DeLaria shouting over the unsolicited advice on getting to heaven and protecting one's soul was immensely cathartic.

The videos that TMZ and Gothamist posted both started in the middle of the clash of ideologies. DeLaria has since explained to the New York Post that the preacher's sexism and homophobia are what caused her to speak up in the first place:

"He was saying women should be subservient to men and that they should dress a certain way," she told Page Six. "He literally said that the problems in the world were because of homos. That we were all driven by our lust, that we were all sinners and we were all going to hell...When he literally used the word 'homo,' I decided to get up."

DeLaria adds that she has "no problem with people talking out loud on the subway," but she does take exception to hatred:

You must always face evil and take it down. The reason evil thrives in the world, the reason hatred thrives in the world, the reason bullying thrives in the world is because of complacency. As long as we continue to take it, it will continue to thrive.

I think it's so weird that people intolerant to diversity remain living in New York. There are gays and dominant women and people of all walks of life crammed into every nook. To live here carrying such intolerance is utter masochism. Or, if you are as much of a hypocrite as I suspect you are the moment you start preaching loudly that other people should follow your own personal rules, living in New York as a bigot must provide a good source of material. When your trade or hobby involves asserting your arbitrary superiority, though, you should cherish those underlings for providing a comparative model that allows you to feel better about yourself. Thanking them silently, as opposed to condemning them publicly, it seems to me, would be the Christian thing to do.

DeLaria's self-righteousness in the videos and in the subsequent Post interview is well-earned. I'm sure it felt as good to unleash on that guy as it does to watch her do it. If you find her work here aspirational, give it a try yourself: If you see something, scream something. It will entertain your fellow subway riders at least as much as the "Showtime! Showtime!" kids.

[Image via Getty]