There are all KINDS of things that strike me as silly about this article about “how rapidly the ritual [of hugging] is spreading” among teenagers as the new basic form of greeting, among friends, acquantances, or even (gasp!) “people you don’t even know.” Seriously?
Well, yes, the article does take itself very seriously, thank you. This new prevelance of hugging-as-greeting is described variously as “a grass-roots phenomenon,” “the ‘hello’ of their generation,” and “a rapidly spreading “ritual.” Some elders, like Dona Eichner, provide a sense of perspective: “I hug people I’m close to. But now you’re hugging people you don’t even know. Hugging used to mean something.” And some others, such as junior high Principal Noreen Hajinlian, think it has gone so far as to necessitate a school-wide ban: “It was needless hugging — they are in the hallways before they go to class. It wasn’t a greeting. It was happening all day.” NEEDLESS HUGGING – The Crack of the Aughts.
Apparently, the writer Sarah Kershaw – along with some of these other hug-haters – has never heard of R. Kelly and his timeless masterpiece from 1994, “Bump N Grind,” which provides a strong counter-argument to the idea that there can be something wrong with a little bumping and grinding, let alone hugging your homegirl in the hallway. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t see nothing wrong with it either Kells. Nothing wrong at all.
R. Kelly – Bump N Grind:
-Drew
East Village to Brooklyn 