Comments on: Free Books, not Free Hugs

By: Jen

Jen — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 18:56:41 +0000

LOL @ “Free Germs”

By: Brian Herzog

Brian Herzog — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 13:33:44 +0000

Oh, maybe this accounts for everyone's trepidation: Beware Hugger Muggers

By: Brian Herzog

Brian Herzog — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 19:02:38 +0000

@Jen: I get you, and I don’t think you should feel bad at all for not participating. I like the idea of “Free Hugs” because it encourages openness and friendliness, but if the free hugs people cross the line and try to force something on you, then it’s counter to the point. Perhaps you could carry a “Free Germs” sign with you and see how they feel about physical contact then.

By: Jen

Jen — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 18:24:25 +0000

I work in a university campus library. We occasionally have students who do this on campus. I am not fond of strangers touching me and it bothers me when they start commenting in a negative way when I refuse the hug. I don’t mind them giving out hugs to people who want one but I do mind being insulted when I choose to not participate. I don’t call the police though, it’s easy enough to keep on walking by them.

By: Gamer Librarian

Gamer Librarian — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 19:39:10 +0000

It sounds like an anime convention. People with Free Hugs signs are very common (and occasionally lead to congestion in the halls).

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Wed, 03 Nov 2010 06:43:11 +0000

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By: Brian Herzog

Brian Herzog — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 20:31:00 +0000

I know, right? And here’s an odd coincidence: a little while later, some high school kids came in saying they have to preform a “social experiment” as part of their sociology class. This happens every year, and usually they just walk around in a chicken costume or something, to see how people react to out-of-the-ordinary situations.

This year’s kids wanted to put coats on every chair in the building, to see how people would react when there was nowhere to sit down. As much as I like social experiments, I had to tell them no this time, because that would have interfered with peoples’ library use.

By: ellie

ellie — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 17:43:26 +0000

Obviously public response is likely to be different depending on a number of factors, but this just reminded me of:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AdQo1qBy1E

By: Mary Jo Finch

Mary Jo Finch — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 16:32:40 +0000

Did you at least give him a hug before you sent him away?

By: Lichen

Lichen — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 13:33:34 +0000

It’s a sad state when it’s okay to say nasty things in the name of politics, but we call the cops on the Free Hugs guy.