Why I am Not Feeling the Love From the “Free Hugs Campaign”
Credit: YouTube
When does a hug not feel all that affectionate?
Perhaps when that pervy relative wraps his arms around you and squeezes real tight? Or perhaps when a bear does it?
Or maybe a hug feels less comforting when it is given by folks whose only aim is to make light of your feelings.
For example, this recent viral video of the response the Free Hug Campaign received after giving out free hugs at both a Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders rallies.
Check it out below:
You can almost hear Sarah Mclachlan weeping into a basket full of orphan puppies.
Of course, the video is supposed to touch our hearts. We are supposed to see the contrast in environment between what goes on at a Trump rally and what happens at a Sanders rally and feel that everything bad in this country could be fixed if Black folks and White folks would just come together and hug it out. It’s what the campaign is good at. And according to its website, the Free Hug Campaign lives by the mantra “sometimes, a hug is all what we need.”
More specifically:
“Free hugs is a real life controversial story of Juan Mann, A man whose sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives.
In this age of social disconnectivity and lack of human contact, the effects of the Free Hugs campaign became phenomenal.
As this symbol of human hope spread across the city, police and officials ordered the Free Hugs campaign BANNED. What we then witness is the true spirit of humanity come together in what can only be described as awe inspiring.”
If you recall, this campaign is also behind another viral photo, which featured a young Black boy hugging a police officer during a Black Lives Matter protest in Oregon – or as CNN called it “the hug shared around the world.”
On the surface it is pretty innocuous – with the obvious exception of being accosted by a random stranger for a hug. I don’t care if he is holding a sign and being followed around by an entire production crew, I’m just not into random people touching me.
And you have to admit: the idea that all we need is love is certainly enchanting. Who doesn’t love love?
But in most instances, a hug is simply not enough.
A hug didn’t stop the folks at the Trump rally from assaulting and then pepper spraying a 15-year old girl in the face (Which is evident by what we see in their own video.)
A hug did not heal the heart of the racist woman yelling, “White is better.”
A hug is not going to stop the perpetually poor Whites in the mountains and plains of America’s heartland from being perpetually poor.
A hug is not going clean the water in Flint – or any other hood and rural area with failing infrastructure.
A hug will not heal all of the trauma and violence we as Black people have faced here in America since our ancestors were savagely brought to these shores.
A hug can only be sympathetic. It tells the hurt or victimized party that you feel their pain. And that whatever issue they are going through can be cured or rectified by changing one’s emotions But beyond that, it doesn’t actually offer any other recourse to actually help those get out of their pain.
This is especially important as the pain that a hurt or victimized party may be experiencing could be the result of both systematic or institutional oppression. And those are the kind hurdles that require us to do more than hug it out – like take actual action, engage in actual conflict; and yes, even be confrontational.
And that is my ultimate problem with the campaign. It takes no sides. It calls no one out or issues a call to action. It does not agitate us into thinking. Heck, it is not even about being a good listener.
Instead, this campaign plays it condescendingly safe. It tells us to be neutral and complacent in the face of what are real injustices and angsts in the world. And that love is all we need.
When what we really need is more people willing to be unafraid to do the work of actually moving this country forward.
