New Yorkers shred their tears in Times Square
ADVERTISEMENTAs 2018 comes to a close, residents of New York have been taking the opportunity to get what irks them out of their system - by stuffing unwanted thoughts into a giant trash can that’s been erected in Times Square.
“We think catharsis is a good thing, and particularly, this New York version of catharsis, where we're shredding things and pulverizing these things that we want to let go” says organiser Tim Tompkin of The Times Square Alliance. “We look at the events of the past year, and what are things we want to say goodbye to? And there's been a lot of hostility towards the press, and we think that for the New Years we need to celebrate the things that we value most. Times Square is named after a newspaper. This is a time to say the importance of freedom of the press, the importance of journalism.”
Messages denouncing high electricity bills, gun violence and traffic jams were chewed up on what’s known as annual Good Riddance Day.