BEHAVIOR: Umbrella Disposal
In New York City, we have been experiencing some extreme weather. I was fascinated by the amount of umbrellas on the street after the recent storms in March 2010. I've noticed more umbrellas than usual during this storm season. This of course got me thinking about patterns of behaviors concerning disposal and what kind of statements people might be making during the act.
What's interesting about the umbrellas is that they're often left at the point of destruction. Instead of carrying them to a trash can, it simply becomes litter. Why is the broken umbrella different than a coffee cup, or a newspaper? Maybe mood exacerbated by extreme conditions drives a person to make a statement through the act littering?
LIFE magazine captured the moment that precedes this disposal. Is her frustration so palpable that throwing the umbrella to the ground becomes a unintentional marker for here anger? A stamp of disapproval if you will.
Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images
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