With brand ambassadors already grabbing the first few spots in the NYC iPhone 5 line, Occupy Wall Street demonstrator Ryan Lash was one of many who saw the opportunity for some free publicity. On Thursday morning, a group of demonstrators decided to "Occupy Apple", grabbing a handful of spaces towards the front of the line with the intention of selling their spots.
But not to worry, the money wasn't for themselves, it was going to be donated to charity. But according to Lash, who has been doing Occupy demonstrations for a year now they didn't advertise the fact because “If we tell them it’s for a donation, they will not buy our spots.” Although we aren't sure this would be entirely true, some of the Occupy demonstrators in line wanted to share a few words about Apple.
One cardboard sign read, "Apple puts profits in offshore accounts so they can dodge paying taxes," while another one said "Its OK, keep buying things you dont need. #OccupyApple". In an interview with TechCrunch, Lash argued “Technology should be free and incorporated into public services.” When asked which charity the money would be donated to, Lash reported that they hadn't figured it out just yet.
We aren't sure how many, if any, spots were actually sold before the doors were opened today, or whether or not any of the demonstrators ended up buying one. Who knows, they did spend all of that time in line after all.