December 29, 2006
The Price Is Right: Hug It Out
From left to right (roughly): Vivian Li, Zoe Higgs, Matthew Corker, Melinda Montgomery, Adam Martin and Kerri (aka: Adam's girlfriend).
While most people are uncomfortably hugging their relatives and McDonald's employees are still rolling their eyes when you ask for a free smile, six UBC students/Torontonians were out at Yonge and Dundas yesterday voluntarily hugging people.
This epidemic is known as the Free Hugs Campaign and was started a couple years ago in Australia by some dude cleverly named Juan Mann, who is undoubtedly the love child of Jesus, John Lennon and Chris Robinson.
Huggers have been spotted in the downtown core prior to yesterday, but the "Hug Master" of this current escapade is known as Matthew Corker. He started last week around Vancouver and is on his way to bust out the hugs in New York next week. Now what's special about this wonderful and loving homosapien is that he told us something a little hurtful. Honest, but still hurtful. He said that upon his travels and comparatively speaking: Vancouver was more open to the free hugs than Toronto. Yeah, that's what he said.
Come on Toronto! Don't live up to the stereotype that we're cold -- it's unbecoming of you. Now the only way you can make it up is to hug whoever is in the room with you for at least seven minutes. If you're alone, hug yourself for one hour, it's only fair. Don't question us, it's healthy. Keep this infection spreading like wildfire and all those other awesome things that spread quickly. Do it now. Thank you.
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This post positively reeks of cute.
Maybe we just hate ourselves too much to want to inflict our own bodies on theirs.
We have been contacted by many people asking us to make "free hugs" a Newmindspace event. It is not really our style, however, so we're glad somebody else took the initiative!
For some reason it seems like people in Vancouver look cleaner. I'm serious. Like their hygiene is better or something. I would definitely hug somebody on the street more readily there than here.
I've been trying to figure out exactly why, based on this photo, I hate them so much... I think it's because the above picture greatly resembles the sort of stock photos used on The Onion to illustrate satiric pieces about generic, disturbingly cheery and clean-cut teens.
e.g. http://www.theonion.com/content/node/43958
How can you possibly hate them? They're just all so...so...happy!
Oh my, just when I needed a hug the most...I've gotta go find these people.
Fuck, I could have used these people today.
Yeah, it's a little too cute, but sometimes "too cute" works.
i agree with you, jonathan. yuuuuuuck. grosssssssss. ewwwwww. i'd stay away from them....
Frankly, this creeps me out. I don't want strange 20-somethings hugging me.
Also, what about dirty old men who want to cop a feel?
Good God, how lonely do you have to be... Anyway, it makes me suspicious that I can't see everybodys hands in that pic.
I think I can see why Vancouver gives better hugs. :(
If you can't see any hands in that pic, you may want to consider getting glasses.
There are six people in the photo, meaning there are most likely 12 hands, of which only 4 are visible. What's going on with the remaining 8 or so?
Boy, that's even less funny when I have to explain it.
Yeah, I'd say this whole plan just reeks of teenage chipperness in a way that isn't really helping anyone, save for making the organizers feel good. Disturbingly cheery indeed.
This is great. I saw these guys 2 years ago in Sydney, and it's nice to see that the movement is spreading:
www.flickr.com/photos/sabocracy/339302557/
As a Vancouverite living in Toronto who loves Australia, hugs all around.