A Living Landmark

From the Eiffel Tower to the London Eye, some of the world’s best landmarks were meant to be temporary. With the Occupy Wall Street protests growing bigger by the day, are we witnessing the birth of New York’s latest landmark?

However long the protest continues, New York City has seen a boom in tourism recently thanks to the ever-expanding demonstration against the greed of Wall Street’s bankers. Zuccotti Park has been transformed into a hub of angry New Yorkers collectively showing their discontent with the US economic situation.

As a tourist spot, the protest has everything. The sight of determined protestors dishing out free badges and t-shirts to visitors has resulted in an explosion in tourist numbers. And those looking for the perfect photo opportunity have been quick to shun corporate advertisements that clog up Times Square for some real life documentary photography.

Like many visitors, Shawn Lahey, a factory worker from Poughkeepsie, up-state New York approved, “I think it’s great – they’re trying to make a point.”, but he doubted whether the protest would make a difference.

Udeykin, a 23 year old Russian-born Iowan expressed her reasons for participating. “Right now we don’t have a goal – except to back away from the system that’s not working. This is a way to feel free, to feel normal.”

New York City, which receives a whopping 47 million foreign and domestic tourists each year, might just see a rise in visitors buying cheap flights to the New York, the world’s culture capital.

Source: MSN

Photo: david_shankbone