World Bulletin / News Desk
The diminutive safety pin is packing a punch these days with some Americans wearing the fasteners as a sign of solidarity against intolerance after the election of Donald Trump.
By placing a single pin on their shirts, people hope to convey a message of support to minorities, women, immigrants and others who may feel threatened by the strident rhetoric that carried the Republican billionaire to the White House.
The safety pin social media movement gained prominence in Britain on Twitter as a sign of solidarity with immigrant and minority populations facing a reported surge in hate crimes after the Brexit vote.
Since the US election on Tuesday, the phenomenon has started catching on across the Atlantic, with celebrities including Debra Messing as well as ordinary people posting images of their safety pins on social media.
During a bitter two-year campaign that tugged at America's democratic fabric, Trump pledged to deport illegal immigrants, ban Muslims and called Mexicans rapists and drug runners, claims which have created fears of xenophobia now that he has been elected to office.
Since Trump's upset win there has been a reported uptick in reports of racist and xenophobic incidents, fuelling fears for the period ahead.
The South Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups, tracked more than 200 incidents of election-related harassment and intimidation in the three days following the election.
More than 47,000 people have signed an SPLC petition urging Trump to clearly distance himself from "haters" -- from white nationalists to anti-Muslim and anti-gay extremists -- who are celebrating his victory.
Subway notes, to vent anger
Not stopping with pins, many NewYorkers upset with the elections results have found an alternative method to deal with the unbelievable Trump victory by sharing messages of support on sticky notes that now fill walls of a Manhattan subway station.
Enter 28-year-old Brooklyn artist Matthew Chavez, known as Levee. He set up a table in a long tunnel of the Union Square station where he hands out the blank pastel notes on which straphangers scribble.
He calls this "Subway Therapy." It's free.
More than 1,500 people have shared their grief and anxiety since Wednesday, posting thoughts on the white subway tiles, according to Subway Therapy's Instagram.
One reads, "You will not divide us. Love is everything." Another says, "It doesn't end today."
One says "If they go low, we go high," echoing first lady Michelle Obama.
The uplifting art installation counterbalances what Clinton supporters say is Trump's racism, bigotry and ignorance.
Another sticky note offers soothing words, saying, "Everything will be alright." But a few feet over, another person wasn't so sure: "What do we do now?"
There was an answer amid the sea of impromptu messages.
"We've been through worse (meaning 9/11) and the city will unite," the light pink sticky note said. "We will get through this together because love trumps hate."
source: AFP/gothatmist.com
