Your Taxpayer Dollars Hard at Work in Union Square
May 19, 2008 – 9:02 am
Saturday morning, I headed to Union Square to bask in the sunshine and munch on a bagel. Instead of the usual group of protestors making obscene remarks about Bush and Cheney, there was a kinder, more pleasant brand of demonstration: Free Hugs!
A group of three or four college-aged guys were carrying around signs offering “Free Hugs!”
As far as I know, all hugs are free - unless you’re Eliot Spitzer. But regardless, it looked like a harmless gesture, and several people - men, women, young, and old - joined in and embraced.
Well, it was all fun and games until two Parks Department employees came along.
The male Parks Department employee started to berate the men and told them that what they were doing was sexual harassment. I found this particularly amusing, since they had hugged far more men than women in the ten minutes that I was sitting there.
The two employees continued claiming it was harassment and they would have to leave the park, or “move along,” as they condescendingly requested of the men. This attracted a crowd. Soon, dozens of Greenmarket shoppers were watching this debacle go on for several minutes.
Then, one bystander felt inclined to intervene. He didn’t exactly help by calling the Parks Department employees “facists,” but he invoked the words “democracy” and “free country,” to the applause of the Free Hugs demonstrators. Of course, at this point, things started to get heated.
After another five minutes or so of pleading their case and fighting over how something can be classified as sexual harassment when it is done voluntarily, it seemed as though the Parks Department employees were fighting a losing battle. Dozens of bystanders applauded when they finally started to walk away.
To add some fuel to the fire, I yelled in their direction as they walked away, “yeah, that’s right! Go back to doing what my money pays you to do and stop harassing these people!”
For that, I got a free hug from the guys. They asked me if I felt sexual harassed by their hugs. I most assuredly did not.
16 Responses
I guess it depends on of it’s a full two-armed hug, or a one-armed dude hug.
By Beejus on May 19, 2008
LOL — good for you! lol
That’s all we need is people banning hugs. Sheesh.
By Tina-cious.com on May 19, 2008
just another story from you that ends with you hugging multiple dudes.
By lozo on May 19, 2008
I never get to see this kind of stuff where I live. I’m envious!
By Sherri on May 19, 2008
lozo: Would it be weirder if I told you I did that in front of my girlfriend?
By Chris on May 19, 2008
I felt sexual harassed* just from reading this post, but I really liked it, so I think it’s okay.
* (you DO have to take it!)
By Todd on May 19, 2008
Funny, the NYCParks employee I saw at Madison Sq Park on Sunday afternoon was actually doing his job. Lame tourist couple thought taking posed photos of male IN the fountain was a good idea.
Uh, no.
NYCParks, not for freaks anymore.
By jane on May 19, 2008
Some chicks are into that…(dudehugging, not fountainposing)
By Sarah on May 19, 2008
weirder? no. hotter? you bet.
By lozo on May 19, 2008
im gonna go hug someone right now.
By jamie on May 19, 2008
First it starts with a hug. Then is leads to violent rape. Hugs are a gateway sign of affection.
By Tina on May 19, 2008
freaking power hungry parks department nutjobs.
go pull some weeds!
By jamie on May 19, 2008
Last spring a whole bunch of us had climbed the fence and were in the big green at Thomkins Square park. Park dept employees came by with megaphones screaming at us to leave. None of us moved. None of us yelled back, We just sat there, turned up our i-pods to drown them out and even after they threatened to call the cops we didn’t budge. Not with anger, we just didn’t care. It was sunny out. I thought it was really funny that they wanted us out of there for no good reason. The parks people like to pretend they have power. But people sitting in the sun doing nothing can have more. There were about 30 of us.
By eastvillagechick on May 19, 2008
NYC is out of control yo.
By d on May 19, 2008
Just goes to show that THIS is how we should be running our government. When all of us band together against injustice and tyranny, then we shall prevail.
By Mel Gibson on May 20, 2008
Thanks for blogging about us. I organize the free hug events every Saturday in Union Square at noon. We thought these guys were particularly ridiculous.
Luckily they went away and haven’t come back since. Today however, the park rangers made the Hare Krishna’s stop playing music (which everyone loved and was dancing to) because they didn’t have a permit. It was just in time for the Christians to start preaching hellfire to everyone. (which everyone hated.)
Feel free to come get free hugs again any Saturday.
By Anthony D'Onofrio on May 24, 2008