St. Patrick’s Day is undoubtedly a reason for celebration, but one man sparked outrage by filming himself throwing 100 green paper airplanes onto a building in Chicago, Illinois. While for some, it looked harmless, the stunt was quickly labeled as mass littering, and many people are now calling for the St. Patrick’s Day celebrant to be fined by the city for each airplane he threw, which could theoretically reach around $150,000, more or less.
Instagram user and influencer chicago_paper_airplane is the man in question, and on March 18, he supposedly went up to the building at 345 N LaSalle St. with 100 green paper airplanes to celebrate the Feast of Saint Patrick. He then threw all the airplanes from a high altitude to the tune of Dropkick Murphys’ “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” song.
Apparently, the Instagram user has been throwing airplanes off Chicago’s buildings for a long time now, though this might be the first time he threw away 100 pieces of folded paper off a building. For many, it was entertaining and reminded them of the child within themselves; one Instagram commenter even referred to the airplanes as “Planes of utter joy and laughter.”
Others, however, were not exactly happy with the idea of throwing away paper on the already polluted city streets. Littering is persistent in Chicago and can actually incur fines ranging from $150 to $1,500, and paper airplanes– if left unretrieved– generally count as littering in the Illinois city. For that matter, 100 paper airplanes in the worst-case scenario (and how petty a judge is) could range from $15,000 to $150,000.
People Online are Calling Out the Instagram User
Of course, a $15,000 to $150,000 fine assumes each plane is one count of littering, though there’s also a chance that throwing all 100 at once only counts as one case of littering. It is unlikely that the masked man will be fined, however, since his identity has so far remained hidden at the time of writing. Still, that doesn’t stop people online from criticizing him and the way he celebrated St. Patrick’s Day.
“I wish there was another pov from the street of this 🤣💚🍀” comments another Instagram user, and while that one is more neutral, another questioned, “How many people do you pissoff from littering😂.” Some, however, had a more environmentally friendly suggestion, such as “That would be so cute if you threw the paper that has plant seeds in it.”
However, one also has to remember that, at the very least, paper is biodegradable, so even if the paper plane enthusiast didn’t pick up the trash, it might eventually take care of itself. Other commenters also pointed out that businesses and corporations contribute more to city litter than an influencer ever could in a day.
