New York commuters are venting anger and frustration over Republican Donald Trump’s shock victory by indulging in collective therapy — writing messages on post-it notes and sticking them on a subway wall. / AFP PHOTO /
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York commuters are venting anger and frustration over Donald Trump’s shock victory by indulging in collective therapy — writing messages on Post-it notes and sticking them on a subway wall.
“Am I the only one who is scared?” “I need a hug” and “I am angry” number among the thousands of messages written on multicolored squares of paper fixed to a tiled wall in a tunnel at Union Square station.
By Thursday afternoon, it boasted some 3,000 notes, an astonishing production in just 24 hours since New York artist Matthew Chavez parked himself there with a table and a sign advertising free “subway therapy.”
He got the idea earlier this year of setting himself up in the subway from time to time offering stressed-out New Yorkers opportunities to let off steam by writing little notes.
Trump’s stunning upset in Tuesday’s presidential election has prompted protests in a city populated overwhelmingly by Democrats who voted for Hillary Clinton.
The market for Chavez’s project suddenly exploded.
“I think people are too on fire to have real conversations right now,” he said. “They don’t have to talk to anyone else, they can just express themselves, feel better maybe and then go on with their day.”
His small table piled with Post-it notes stands near a sign on the wall spelling out “E-X-P-R-E-S-S Y-O-U-R-S-E-L-F.”
“It’s great,” said 33-year-old New Yorker Andrea Recarte, originally from Chile. “He is giving us an opportunity to word it, it connects us with many other people who are speechless.”
“We need healthy outlets and art in writing is the healthiest outlet of all,” said Terena Bell, an entrepreneur from Kentucky.
Her note read: “Donald Trump I’m praying for you.”
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