# SPs, a penny for your thoughts



## MegaTuxRacer (Sep 7, 2011)

Alright, so I have had some sort of fascination with this video. I was wondering what everyone else's reactions will be to it. Please watch it and post what it makes you feel, think, etc.


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## seeg (Jan 7, 2010)

It reminds me of the fact that part of the human condition is to judge others at face value, be that through skin colour, bodysize, or whatever. People see 'something' that is different and automatically judge it.

On a positive note though, a number of years back that could've been a black person having to hide inside a costume to get a hug, but times have come so far in regards to accepting ethnic minorities as equals so they no longer have to 'hide'. Hopefully with a concerted effort, the same will happen for disabled people.

It also makes me sad that people can be stigmatised for something that they have no control over and that everyone is just human inside, with human emotion, no matter how they look or behave.


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## NotedBook300 (Sep 24, 2011)

When there's one trait (uncontrollable or otherwise) that makes itself the forefront of identifying variables, I think we tend to lose sight of the other facets of what makes a human a human. I was diagnosed with high-functioning autism. When I was a kid, I was largely identified as "the autistic kid," not only as though autism was my sole trait, but also as though I was the only one with that trait (noting the definite article). It was rough growing up knowing that I had other traits that other people could identify with, but elected (knowingly or otherwise) to pay them no mind.


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## firedell (Aug 5, 2009)

I was wondering what everyone was on about, I was like "Wow you got that, from this video?" Then I got to the end. xD 

It's kind of sad really, but it's really true about our culture. Only recently are was starting to accept social differences, but not on a large scale. So I'm not sure how long it will take for society to stop thinking about looks, and judging people on their appearance. We live in a world that is all about looking "beautiful". It shouldn't happen, but it does.


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## alionsroar (Jun 5, 2010)

Things I thought: 
It must be a struggle taking that costume off. 
He looks like a Clockwork toy moving his arms out like that.
I've seen this before, (it was actually a video about someone giving away free hugs in the street dressed normally but with a sign. I thought the video might be similar.)
It reminded me of the bear from Jungle Book.
Ew. 
He seemed smug for a moment.

On watching it again:
Something about how I try to put on a mask in public to be acceptable.
I don't take photos with strangers, I stay away from them.
I do tend to be more cautious around people who seem out of the ordinary. I think I don't know what to expect with unfamiliar people. I don't know if I would go hug someone in a bear costume.
If one wanted to be a criminal and gain people's trust, it's better to pretend to be like them.


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## MandiKind (Oct 27, 2011)

The video made my eyes tear up at the end...I liked watching the people's reactions toward the "bear". Some of them in the background actually looked frightened, which I thought was funny. It also made me think about how many people really are loving. He got a ton of hugs! I'm sure the guy wouldn't have got many (any) hugs without the costume...However, I wouldn't say it's because of his physical appearance. I don't think people would walk up to ANY stranger in street clothes and give them a hug for no reason no matter what they looked like. 

I think the guy genuinely deserved all of those hugs.


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## elissabowden (Apr 27, 2009)

lol bear hug. that video is awesome. i didn't understand what the video was getting at even after he took off his bear head. i guess i just never see people that way (not to sound self righteous). but i think it's great. shows that people are people and we all connect in the same way. love it.


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

~ I like the architecture

~ Looks like a cool place to live/shop

~ Reminds me a bit of the 3rd street experience at Santa Monica where it has nice architecture and street performers/buskers

~ This is probably Europe, though

~ It's funny that people don't know how to respond to something unexpected.

~ But then everyone obviously just wants an excuse to get love and hugs~~~ !!! <3

~ Very sweet. 

~ People clearly feel safer with animals and cartoon characters than other human beings.


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

I'm gonna be honest, though, who presumes that some ugly dude wants people to hug him?

People are mostly held back by fear of what the other person wants.

Wearing a bear suit is like a carrying a sign that says, "hug me."


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## arleccio (Feb 1, 2012)

what it makes me feel: I'm moved to tears. 
Every time I see people doing something like this, something they would never even think of doing in their daily routine, I am genuinely touched.

They could have put anyone in there. I agree with @elissabowden, when he took off the head my first thought was not: omg! he's disabled! 
Granted, he's not the most handsome guy, but I would not have noticed him on a street anymore than anyone else. 

In defense of the people who seemed to be confused and just watch the scene: most people only know how to act because they already know someone who is disabled. Many people are afraid to inadvertently offend and therefor stay away. 

I have seen strangers hug just because one of them had a sign saying: FREE HUGS. No costumes needed. It just needs someone brave enough to start...

But the video is awesome. Gonna share it now...


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## MilkyWay132 (Jul 15, 2010)

I couldn't really tell he was disabled until the video mentioned handicaps. I don't find him too ugly either. But it is sad that he felt the need to disguise himself in order to win peoples' approval and affection. I think he shouldn't have to do that, but rather be accepted for who is.


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## Inveniet (Aug 21, 2009)

It made me realize once again that everyone just want closeness and that a furry bear (or other similar disguises)
breaks down the social conditioned distance we all have to each other.

The handicap message at the end I felt was a bit over the top.
It implied that only handicaped people will not get hugged by strangers.
I also noticed that as soon as one gave the bear a hug others followed.
Few people likes to be the first to do anything.


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## SugarForBreakfast (Jun 25, 2012)

Honestly? 

My first reaction was "OH, 'The Funeral' by Band of Horses! That song was from Kyle XY!", even before the credits showed the song. 

The last 9 seconds were the most shocking, of course.


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## Vtile (Feb 27, 2011)

Many people didn't have teddy when they were kids.


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## angeleyes (Feb 20, 2013)

At first, for some reason, I thought about the old Starsky and Hutch series, as in the character Huggy Bear. The end of the video was quite thought provoking.
i'm guessing-is the point who gets more hugs? Those who advertise or those in disguise?


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## maoie (Jan 13, 2011)

Makes me feel a bit sad really. But it does bring out the typical question of the external vs the internal. And which do we value most.


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## LittleOrange (Feb 11, 2012)

Awww.....:sad: Actually I think the first person who hugged him was an ESFP :laughing: I loved the video! It´s very fun and warm. It got a little sad in the end. There is some truth in it though.....why do we need to disguise ourselfs? I think people are afraid of being vulnerable and of getting attached to someone. Hugging a bear is somehow not as personal as hugging a real human being so it´s easier for them imo.


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## uncertain (May 26, 2012)

It feels like such an ad to me. I guess it's because of the music. If it doesn't have the music, it will be different

I have a strong sense that I will feel very differently if I'm actually in that place.

It's a warming video though. I love that kind of innocent, pure, and caring intention, a really valuable thing in today's society when humanity is so... However, that kind of closeness is very different from the real closeness I have with close friends and family. But I will probably still have a moment of closeness if I hug him because he is a total stranger and I won't think too much or worry about anything, which is interesting.


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## azdahak (Mar 2, 2013)

The video attempts to engender a change in attitude by guilt: you hugged the man before you knew he was a freak -- feel ashamed, for everyone is really beautiful inside. But we're conditioned to avoid "other" for self-preservation for a good reason: the dangerous-looking man has a high degree of probability of actually being dangerous. John Wayne Gacy understood this and worked as a clown to lower his victims defenses. 

Of course the message could also be that all socially offensive people should be appropriately beautified to be acceptable. For instant we could invent operations to fix people's big noses, or come up with drugs to keep figitty school kids in heir seats. Just paint over the slums in bright colors so they're less offensive: http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/files/2010/11/santa-marta-panorama-adjusted-.jpg

Maybe people in Zurich just like bears?


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## MegaTuxRacer (Sep 7, 2011)

azdahak said:


> The video attempts to engender a change in attitude by guilt: you hugged the man before you knew he was a freak -- feel ashamed, for everyone is really beautiful inside. But we're conditioned to avoid "other" for self-preservation for a good reason: the dangerous-looking man has a high degree of probability of actually being dangerous. John Wayne Gacy understood this and worked as a clown to lower his victims defenses.


I think that comparing this particular man to John Wayne Gacy is a bit of a misnomer. Especially since I can't think of a single message that ever that states that he looks particularly dangerous. Maybe Of Mice and Men, but that's it.


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## ferroequinologist (Jul 27, 2012)

Handicapped? While the word "handicap" is what appears at the end of the video, it seems to me that this man has a facial disfigurement. Facial disfigurement is something I can relate to. When I was in kindergarten, I was in a traumatic accident that left my face rather visibly scarred. I understand the sentiments of this video, but honestly, for the most part, people with facial disfigurement want one thing--anonymity. They, for just once, would like to be just one of the crowd, not "the guy with the scars", or whatever. Like an earlier poster, I grew up being identified by one thing--my scars. Worse, in school, I was Herman Munster or Frankenstein or Scarface, or other, horrible names. Being already sensitive (I didn't find out until I was in my late forties--last year--that I was an ISFP, nor what an impact that had on my reaction to the attention my scars caused), all that pushed me into isolation. Just to blend in and not be pointed out for being a freak (as an earlier poster called us) would be a blessing, but it seems that, so long as we are "freaks" to some people, this will never happen.

A point of discussion: it seems that disfigurements and handicaps draw the same response from people that highly contagious diseases do. When someone says, "It's not like I have a disease or something..." the truth is--it _is_ like we have a disease or something. People are repulsed in exactly the same way--they are afraid of catching whatever disability or disfigurement the other person has. It is quite deeply imbedded in our beings, genetics. I guess it's too much to ask people to treat us like we were normal, when we aren't really...

The down side is that it does have deep ramifications in our social skills/abilities. All my life, I've suffered from weird reactions to things, or worse, reacted in ways that I didn't realize were not normal or considered healthy. It was only this past summer, while reading up on this new thing called MBTI that I discovered all this. I've been trying to change my behavior, but honestly, it's not easy--the responses to people are quite conditioned into me, and I seldom realize how I've reacted until afterwards. Just to give you an idea, here's something a British fellow worked up. It's called the "SCARED" syndrome. 

*you feel*
self conscious
conspicuous
angry
resentful
empty
different


*you behave*
submissive
clumsy
apathy
regressive
excluded
defenceless


*They feel*
sympathy
caution
anguished
reluctant
embarrassed
dread


*They behave*
staring
curiosity
awkwardness
rudeness
evasiveness
distance

The thing is, after a while, you apply this in all social interactions, without even realizing it.

Sympathy is _not_ what people with disabilities and disfigurement want--they just want to be treated normally--like anybody else. Good luck...


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## azdahak (Mar 2, 2013)

MegaTuxRacer said:


> I think that comparing this particular man to John Wayne Gacy is a bit of a misnomer. Especially since I can't think of a single message that ever that states that he looks particularly dangerous. Maybe Of Mice and Men, but that's it.


Don't read too much into it. I didn't intend a direct comparison. I was just suggesting that we're biologically and socially conditioned to avoid "strangeness" as dangerous, in whatever context that is defined. We feel uncomfortable around out groups and what defines "other" can be very subtle.

I recall once visiting a friend of mine who lived in a rural California town of mostly corn-fed blond/blue eyed types. I felt so out of place because I (of Polish extraction) looked so much -different- than them. Someone even made a comment about it to me -- like what an unusual hair color I had -- brown, lol. It just goes to show how good we can be at defining even the slightest discrepancies to be "different". 

So whereas people would be suspicious to hire a 40-year old male baby-sitter, they will hire a 40-year old male clown, or trust a 40-year old priest with their children. The bear costume is safe, cartoony, and even inviting. Hitler or Mother Theresa would get the same hugs wearing that. My point was that serial killers often take advantage of "bear costumes".

I'll get out of the woods now and stop crapping up your experiment.


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## MegaTuxRacer (Sep 7, 2011)

azdahak said:


> Don't read too much into it. I didn't intend a direct comparison. I was just suggesting that we're biologically and socially conditioned to avoid "strangeness" as dangerous, in whatever context that is defined. We feel uncomfortable around out groups and what defines "other" can be very subtle.
> 
> I recall once visiting a friend of mine who lived in a rural California town of mostly corn-fed blond/blue eyed types. I felt so out of place because I (of Polish extraction) looked so much -different- than them. Someone even made a comment about it to me -- like what an unusual hair color I had -- brown, lol. It just goes to show how good we can be at defining even the slightest discrepancies to be "different".
> 
> ...


I work in an office primarily made up of people from India. The second most prevalent demographic is hispanic. I am no one of about 10 or 20 white people on a project of 150+ people. Not only am I surrounded by different, the different is different in proportion to the rest of the US. It's not a big deal and never was.


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## azdahak (Mar 2, 2013)

MegaTuxRacer said:


> I work in an office primarily made up of people from India. The second most prevalent demographic is hispanic. I am no one of about 10 or 20 white people on a project of 150+ people. Not only am I surrounded by different, the different is different in proportion to the rest of the US. It's not a big deal and never was.


I'm not talking about racism. I work in academia with people from all around the world....but they're not an "out group", they're work colleagues. I meant what ferroequinologist was referring to.


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## MegaTuxRacer (Sep 7, 2011)

azdahak said:


> I'm not talking about racism. I work in academia with people from all around the world....but they're not an "out group", they're work colleagues. I meant what ferroequinologist was referring to.


Oh, well that post is too long. I thought you were talking about different in general.


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## JamesSteal (Apr 14, 2013)

I've always wondered if the people giving out free hugs would still hug you if you walked up to them dressed as a klan member.


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## monemi (Jun 24, 2013)

a little sad he had to hide. But some of us would have gone to him for a hug if he'd just had a free hugs sign. Just not as many people. The bear's cuddly.


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## Elaminopy (Jun 29, 2011)

The first thing I noticed is that no one was sure what to think until someone went over and hugged him. Then everyone was like, "Oh, someone's hugged him! That means it's socially acceptable to hug him now!" And him wearing a bear costume in the middle of a normal crowd made this an unusual event, so that changed the social rules for normal everyday life and it is considered okay to hug a stranger in that situation. It just shows how much Fe affects everything.

In the end when we found out he was handicapped in some way, it was obvious that the video was to show that people will come up and hug a handicapped person in a bear costume because his handicap is disguised and how we judge people by their appearance. If he had just been standing there without the costume on, it wouldn't have gone that way. However, had he not been handicapped and looked how people consider normal, he still wouldn't have received many hugs by just standing there with his arms out. It wasn't because he is handicapped that he had to wear it to receive hugs. It was because he is a human that no one knew. The act of wearing the costume made him a friendly one-dimensional cartoon character who only has happy, innocent thoughts and is incapable of selfishness or maliciousness. He's also soft, squishy, and doesn't have sweat on his fur. There are no hard bones underneath nor do people have to feel a stranger's skin pressed against theirs, which are things that might cause people to hesitate hugging him otherwise.

Those are the thoughts I had about the video. It was also a little annoying because of all that.


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## Caged Within (Aug 9, 2013)

It made me angry. I don't like thinking that the guy in the bear suit feels unloved and unappreciated by those around him, simply because he has a handicap.


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## rubber soul (Sep 14, 2010)

"Damn, those dogs are really tolerant; mine would have bitten the bear suit guy if she even got that close. She'd probably try to run away though."

I'm known for being really deep and philosophical, guys.
But I did tear up a little, no shame.


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## spoo93 (Aug 22, 2013)

It almost made me cry, and I never cry.
All the little things added up in the beginning to make it even more emotional, people hesitating, mother trying to keep her child away from him.
It's sad how he had to put on that suit to be accepted.
I probably wouldn't have hugged him either way though, too sensitive about my personal space.
Interesting video nonetheless.


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