My comments on the free hugs campaign

My Comments on the Free Hugs Campaign

One thing has bothered me about what Juan is doing. In one interview he said that his rules included no names, no phone numbers, no relationships and no dates. I immediately was bothered by this. I didn't like the idea he was already imposing rules.

Then I read this...

"People think it's a great way to pick up, but I've had nothing - no dates, no numbers. It's not what I'm out here for."

Anyway, he says, that just leads to trouble. One of his helpers began dating the girl from the ice-cream shop and "he's not allowed to give out hugs any more". (Source)

That seems a bit heavy handed or authoritarian of him. And in light of the authorities in Sydney banning him at first, this seems a bit ironic.

Anyhow, then I watched the video of the Sick Puppies Interview where the lead singer says he met Juan on the street in Sydney when Juan was giving hugs. Then they became friends So what happened to the no names, no numbers rule? Something seems wrong here.

I personally think it is a good idea to help people make connections. The hugs on the street are good but sometimes we need hugs in private, and I am not talking about sexual hugs. I just mean emotionally supportive hugs. I really don't see how you can prevent huggers from making new friends through this. In fact, that seems to be why Juan started it all -- so he could make some new friends when he came back to Australia from London -- something which to me is totaly understandable.

Some other little things bother me a bit. I am still not sure where Juan got the idea for this. Jason Hunter in Atlanta, who has a company which seeme to have been been promoting free hugs for longer than Juan, says that Juan emailed him and said he was going to do the same thing. Yet Juan never mentions Jason Hunter publically, as far as I know. (See hugs5.htm)

Also here are two comments left on YouTube when they watched Danielle's reaction.

Rainbowphoenix1

i didnt have any emotion when i watched this clip, cause juan was one of my best mates for years, and he made me walk the plank to cover for somebody else that i feel was in the wrong. mates dont do that, they apparently hug each other.

Rainbowphoenix1

good luck to him. just never forget your friends. they are worth much more than a hug

And then today I found this comment on this interview page

Rainbowphoenix1 (1 day ago) man, my name is Dee, and i was one of juan manns good mates for quite a while. i dont understand why in these interviews he says that he returned to Australia to find all of his friends gone. thats not true. we were here to greet him and we resumed where we left off before he went to London. i have photos of me and others out on the hug days with him, so c'mon mann, i dont wanna jump on the bandwagon, just remember the sgt pepper night, shango, and the crest. its easy if you try!!

So I am a just a little wary. Not much, let's say 1 out on the scale of 0 to 10. But I would like to clear these things up. Or hear what Juan has to say, and what his friend or ex-friend has to say.

Steve
Nov 1, 2006