NYC, Boston, and San Francisco straphangers choose love post-election
NYC subway Post-it notes
The weeks after the election have found the country deeply divided, desperately performing a post mortem with shaky hands. Social media has been rife with reports of bigotry and malice. Folks are scared out of their wits as the president-elect casually stomps on the ethics of his new office. But amidst the storm, people are still finding that they are stronger together, their feelings reaching a zenith when focused as one mass.
This the concept behind the 14th Street subway station’s Post-it note display, lined with overwhelmingly positive bits of advice—despite, for some, the somber post-election mood.
The project comes to us on behalf of “subway therapist” Matthew Chavez, who, after listening to people’s rising fears in the days before the election, offered the subway wall as colorful confessional. According to the New York Daily News, Chavez (Levee to his subway “clientele”) described the outpouring as a way to deal with severe election-associated anxiety.
“Some are angry and an outlet for people's fear. But I think the vast majority of them are actually very hopeful. They're about keeping community together, they're about not being crippled by fear.”
The project began right after the election results were announced and has continued to proliferate over the past twelve days. The hopeful messages have inspired other cities to join in as well. Both San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit and Boston’s Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority have let empathy and support take over a wall at one of their stations.
16th BART plaza in SF. Wall of Empathy. https://t.co/CQlN5iznNg— Jeff Hunt ? (@Jeff Hunt ?) 1479146806
Just when you think humanity might give in to its anger, it does things that surprise you. One of the messages at New York’s 14th street station reads, “Make compassion great again.”
Right on.
Share on Facebook
