Free Hugs Campaign... for AC? :D
http://www.freehugscampaign.org/
Watch the video! It'll make you feel really good, I promise 
But hey! People around the world (Scotland, or Chicago, USA for example) are organizing their own Free Hugs campaigns....
I think we need one for AC! Just a bunch of furs getting out cardboard signs that say "Free Hugs" and wandering around Pittsburgh 
Potential problems and drawbacks:
-Fursuiters and other obvious furries may put some people off, who are just familiar with furry enough to know kind of what it is, but don't have a good enough understanding to NOT be freaked out by it.
-There will be an insane amount of hugging at con anyway (though you can't have TOO much!)
-It'll draw people away from the con events, although I doubt there would be hundreds of furries out there holding signs ;p Half a dozen would be sufficient.
-Law enforcement has been known to shut these kind of events down in various places in the world, even though the idea that a Free Hugs campaign is illegal is ridiculous..
-It might negatively contribute to the stereotype that furs are a bunch of gay creepy men! (Not the other Free Hugs people were seen that way, but I'm sure that's already on alot of people's minds and the free hugging in the streets probably won't totally help that!)
-The furs might be too busy hugging each other to hug the random passerbys!
Pros and advantages:
-Hugging is awesome!
-It might actually bring people into the fold with the whole furry con thing!
-It may be a POSITIVE public activity for the furry community, who could use good publicity!
-It might just make some people (hopefully a lot!) smile when they otherwise might not have!
I gotta say, thats awesome and pretty touching when you read the story with it.
*hugs* everybody should watch this one
Tiger kitty ready for AC, at your service,
Verdauga
Furry fandom is a constant free hugs campaign
you don't need to start one to get people hugging
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I love you all ..
except for the people I don't like..
Xenia Onatopp , she's all woman 
That was pretty touching. Why did the cops want to stop somthing that makes people happy.
becuase they can. if they are able to find a reason to ticket somebody, they will, whether it be disorderly conduct, or disturbing the peace, its a rather good source of income for the city.
It's easy to think that about police, but it's not quite true.
I suspect that someone complained or said that one of the huggers had groped a kid or something. Cops hate getting complaints like that when they know that they're BS, but they have a duty to act on it anyway.
well yeah, thats always true too, a lot of people have issues with other people.
My understanding was that the issue was along those lines--australia (where this took place) has a rather far-reaching public insurance program, and if someone were injured (yeah, i know, injured while hugging--go fig), the state could be held liable. Nothing had happened, but the state was concerned that something could. I figure it was just one of those official paranoia deals.
So technically they didn't tell him he couldn't do a free hugs campaign; they just said he needed to pay several million dollars to insure it. *grimace*
The thing to remember is to OFFER a hug, not force or demand one.
And its important to remember to not be offended if someone doesn't take up your offer.
This might seem obvious, but in experience, it isn't always.
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David M Stein, DI
"Not Unlike the Toaster, I Control the Darkness"
-- Abby Normal, "You Suck"
-Fursuiters and other obvious furries may put some people off, who are just familiar with furry enough to know kind of what it is, but don't have a good enough understanding to NOT be freaked out by it.
That's kinda funny you say that ..
Normally I would say it's the total opposite.
From my experience fursuits attract people like MAGNETS..
Well it depends what the fursuit looks like anyway..
Let's just say that things like a nazi fursuit might not get too much popularity o.o
-It'll draw people away from the con events, although I doubt there would be hundreds of furries out there holding signs ;p Half a dozen would be sufficient.
Well on the first day of the con not much is going on .. so it would'nt exactly draw people away.. And on the other days the pannels end after a while and past a time you have a lot of free time .. so I guess there's a way to conduct a free hugs thinigie without missing anything
-It might negatively contribute to the stereotype that furs are a bunch of gay creepy men! (Not the other Free Hugs people were seen that way, but I'm sure that's already on alot of people's minds and the free hugging in the streets probably won't totally help that!)
There ARE girls around too you know
and this is typically american to make a relation between a thing like a hug and homosexual tendancy.. I never understood it as it's pretty common in french canadian or italian families up here..(can only talk for those two)
I think a hug given out with your hands HIGHER the the wiast won't pass badly
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I love you all ..
except for the people I don't like..
Xenia Onatopp , she's all woman
There ARE girls around too you know Sticking out tongue
and this is typically american to make a relation between a thing like a hug and homosexual tendancy.. I never understood it as it's pretty common in french canadian or italian families up here..(can only talk for those two)
I think a hug given out with your hands HIGHER the the wiast won't pass badly
Sadly, a lot of ppl in the us do still seem to think that all touch, particularly all touch that involves men, must be either violent or sexual. Go fig.
Having a mixed gender group could alleviate some of that image, of course, and may seem more appealing--some folks, for whatever (often silly) reason, feel more comfortable accepting hugs from females.
This seems to be less the case among furries, tho. And knowing furries, i'm not sure it would matter too much inside the convention space what kind of group you had; somebody's gonna get huggled. *grin* Outside on the street...there it might be better to have some diversity.
I just said it was a stereotype, not that it was the truth ;p
With those 'drawbacks' I drew up, I was mostly just playing Devil's Advocate. Personally I think it's a really good idea to do it myself ;p
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AIM: DraconumPB / MSN: / Mail/Gtalk:
There ARE girls around too you know
and this is typically american to make a relation between a thing like a hug and homosexual tendancy.. I never understood it as it's pretty common in french canadian or italian families up here..(can only talk for those two)
Yeah your right I'm Italian and my family hugs all the time if some come into town and stuff. My grandparents even kiss everyone on the checks like in the movies. Ehe...
I have been, for most of my life, not comfortable with giving or receiving hugs from humans. My mate is helping me a lot. But I am still not used to it. Maybe I just need more positive experence with it. I have no problems hugging animals though.
Everyone has their own personal space needs. And that's ok.
--dester'edra, shameless cuddle-slut
if i make time and find those who are doing the free hugs, im in.
*curls up in a ball* No touchie! Bad bad bad!! o_o
*Alondro grew up, cold and alone, in the vast Piney wilderness of Southern NJ. Thus, he fears all physical contact* ;P
If you look about.. I made a topic.. I'm bringing a free hug sign ^_^
No need to bring one specifically, they seem easy to make impromptu! But yeah, awesome!
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AIM: DraconumPB / MSN: / Mail/Gtalk:
Free lion hugs. I would want to do this in fursuit, but like you said earlier it may urk some of the pitt residence. Maybe I'll have a little free hug campaign inside the hotel, after all furies need hugs too.
-Rawr
i know this isn't exactly on the correct topic and all... well directly that is...
but i had the delight of spending one day at Tekkoshocon this year (if you are unfamiliar with it, it's an anime convention held in Monroeville, Pennsylvania)... the group i was with apparently knew quite a few people and soon the group we wandered around with was like 8 people... after stopping for a bit in the artist's alley... the conversation was turning to glomping (i'm not sure quite what it is... but i assumed it was something similar to an irrational hug)... and i thought about and started poking fun at the thought of having a glomp race... as to see how many you can get in one minute... the lady that my friends was talking to started laughing and mentioned how much she'd love to see that... lo and behold... she has a camera... being as it was my smart idea... me and the girl i had been talking to get suckered into what became the first glomp relay... and it turned out fantastic...
the video is now on youtube under glomp relay... and the lady whom was videotaping i believe is actually the manager to the voice actor to one of the Elrich brothers (Full-metal Alchemist)...
i know it may not be the safest idea to take hugging out on the streets of Pittsburgh... but what if AC held something like this inside the con?... i had a blast doing it and nobody seemed to upset by it at Tekko... any thoughts on that?
That was brilliant. I would think that something like this would work brilliantly at AC!
*chuckles*
Alondro, apparently. *points up at alondro's post*
For that matter, there are a fair number of folks who don't like hugs from anyone, big blue dragon or not. Most notable are those who are past victims of rape or moestation, but there are lots of other ppl who are really protective of their boundaries, and plenty of others for whom hugging isn't a de-sexualized act.
As long as you wait to glomp/hug ppl until they indicate that they're receptive, tho, you should be fine.
--desteredra: small blue dragon, hug addict
I always make sure that it's okay with them first and let them come to me. I'll never force anyone into something that'll make them feel uncomfortable.
there are [...] plenty of others for whom hugging isn't a de-sexualized act.
No comment for fear of TMI
But see also
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/mutts.asp?date=20070608
Ron
i always hug people regardless of whats going on or where i am ^_^ its my form of greating.
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