Trump’s election: In New York, the return of “subway therapy”

On these small squares of multicolored paper, we can read: “Let’s be kinder”, “Am I going to be fired?”, “Get rid of Trump”, “Conviction for president”.

The idea is not completely new but it goes back to 2016. In a different form, Matt Chavez then called it “Subway Therapy”. “There were no Post-its” at the time, explains this 36-year-old man, in front of travelers – tourists, families, workers – who stop to read or write. “It was just me talking to people. But after Trump was elected that same year, I developed it. I wanted to help people express themselves, share their ideas and come together.”

He launched this concept of “Post-it therapy” – which he has spread elsewhere in the United States, but also as far away as Brussels and Malmö (Sweden) – a week ago, just before Tuesday’s presidential election.

New York City voted heavily for Democrat Kamala Harris against native Donald Trump, but much less than for Joe Biden in 2020. “I notice that people are writing more about the fears and the their fear, but also their strength and resilience,” said Matt. Chavez.

Esra Yalcin, a graphic designer of Turkish origin, came with her daughter, who photographed her passing her square of paper on the white tiles typical of the New York subway.

This fifty-year-old man remembers coming in 2016 after the billionaire’s first election in New York, when she was pregnant with her daughter Lia. “This time, we are writing to people to stay strong,” she said.