Hugging is something that's only really done between people who are familiar with each other. Nobody in your new job is going to walk up and give you a bear hug. If they did so uninvited, you'd probably think they were a bit strange, and they'd probably think you were a bit weird if you asked for one. But still, the desire to be hugged remains unfulfilled.
Juan Mann experienced the overwhelming loneliness of arriving at an airport with nobody to hug him as he got off the plane (been there; done that; know how un-fun it is), and started the free hugs movement in response to it (original youtube vid here). Typically, the authorities had a problem with it. (Why? Because voluntary and consentual hugging in public in broad daylight is going to cause sexual harrassment...or something.)
Now I think we've already covered how cool I think movements like this are. It's not because they de-stabilise the political something-or-other, it's because they're about people who feel motivated to reach outside of themselves. It restores my faith in humanity when I hear about people doing silly things to make random strangers happy.
Skip to a few days ago. I had just written my botany exam. It's not that I think the exam went badly (I actually think I may have done well in some bits), but if the exam didn't go badly, my career options are limited, especially in this global economy. So I walk out of the exam and what do I find? A bunch of random people holding "free hug" signs standing on the front step of the exam hall.
I had a hug. Actually, I had several hugs. I can definitively say two things: 1) I finally found the fun Christians on campus. Without mentioning God in any way, they achieved the objectives of their religion (I found out from someone later that the free hug folk that day were from the geek church in town), and 2) banning free hugging is ludicrous, because unexpected hugs are just what you need sometimes. Even Obama understands that a hug is the best thing for some moments. I leave you with these words from the CNN National Security twitter feed:
Juan Mann experienced the overwhelming loneliness of arriving at an airport with nobody to hug him as he got off the plane (been there; done that; know how un-fun it is), and started the free hugs movement in response to it (original youtube vid here). Typically, the authorities had a problem with it. (Why? Because voluntary and consentual hugging in public in broad daylight is going to cause sexual harrassment...or something.)
Now I think we've already covered how cool I think movements like this are. It's not because they de-stabilise the political something-or-other, it's because they're about people who feel motivated to reach outside of themselves. It restores my faith in humanity when I hear about people doing silly things to make random strangers happy.
Skip to a few days ago. I had just written my botany exam. It's not that I think the exam went badly (I actually think I may have done well in some bits), but if the exam didn't go badly, my career options are limited, especially in this global economy. So I walk out of the exam and what do I find? A bunch of random people holding "free hug" signs standing on the front step of the exam hall.
I had a hug. Actually, I had several hugs. I can definitively say two things: 1) I finally found the fun Christians on campus. Without mentioning God in any way, they achieved the objectives of their religion (I found out from someone later that the free hug folk that day were from the geek church in town), and 2) banning free hugging is ludicrous, because unexpected hugs are just what you need sometimes. Even Obama understands that a hug is the best thing for some moments. I leave you with these words from the CNN National Security twitter feed:
Being Hugged is awesome. There's nothing better than cuddles!
ReplyDeleteFully! There's something especially awesome about receiving an unexpected hug!
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