Humans of New York author and creator, Brandon Stanton, so eloquently and flawlessly captures the vulnerability encapsulated within the human experience. His ability to elicit these exquisite stories from strangers going about their normative day is admirable and staggeringly impressive. His commitment to recounting and capturing one’s individualized and highly specified story is truly beautiful beyond words. Posted upon his popular platform, these stories are later read, shared, recounted, and possibly, internalized–they are inspiring and humbling to millions, including myself. Brandon Stanton’s human empathy and compassion is beautiful beyond words. Hence, I am inclined to share some of my favorite posts :)
- A poignant and touching description of poverty, stemming from a citizen of poverty-stricken Detroit.
I grew up in the suburbs. I used to think that I could write a prescription for a poor man: ‘Get a job, save your money, pull yourself up by the bootstraps.’ I don’t believe that anymore. I was ignorant to the experiences of poor people. I’d invite anyone to come and meet the people who live in this neighborhood. Right now we are surrounded by working poor people. These are the people who sell your tools at Sears and fix your roofs, and take care of your parents, and mow your lawns, and serve your meals. They’re not getting a living wage. There’s no money left to save. There’s nothing left if they get sick. Nothing left if their car breaks down. And God forbid they make a mistake, because there’s nothing left to pay fines or fees. When you’re down here, the system will continue to kick dirt in your face. You can’t pull yourself up when there’s nothing to grab onto. We aren’t paying our brothers and sisters enough to live. We want them to serve us, but we aren’t serving them.”
2. A profound and earnest epiphany regarding the importance of life experiences. Some of the salient life lessons and experiences cannot be taught by a textbook—they are learned outside of the classroom walls.
“I was a gang member for a couple of years way back then.” “What made you want to join?” “You know- the cars, money, girls.” “What made you stop?” “Prison… I was there for 5 years.” “Have you ever killed anyone?” “I shot people.” “Any advice you would give to those who are in gangs or want to join?” “Honestly, when I was growing up I had so many people come and tell me don’t do this and don’t that. But really, you have to live it to experience it. I can’t go and tell someone, ‘Stop doing this and stop doing that.’ How else would they learn? You have to let them live.”
Important Note: This is Humans of Chicago post. To my knowledge, this is run by an autonomous individual unaffiliated with the founder of Humans of New York.
3. A firm evaluation of what true love is. Love is unconditional. And if it comes with fixed conditions and severe regulations, then it’s not love.
“When I was younger, I’d always leave the house dressed like a man, but then I’d change my clothes. My mother told me the devil was in me. My father said that I was useless. They even took me to the doctor to find out what was going on. But my grandfather always supported me. He was more open-minded than my parents. I think it’s because he worked at a 24-hour restaurant and met all the people who came out at night. Even when I was a child, he’d see the clothes I wore, and he’d tell me: ‘If you were a girl, you’d be very beautiful.’ When I finally told him everything I was feeling, he said: ‘You’re a great person, and I’ll never be afraid of what’s going on with you.’” (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
4. A heart-wrenching depiction of this woman’s lived experience. Fleeing danger, she has suffered an insurmountable and unquantifiable amount of pain and suffering. Unfortunately, across the United States, many conservative media outlets, alongside certain despicable politicians, vilify these individuals—painting them in a light that is undoubtedly misguided and ill-advised. Rather than believe these outward lies, please, spread empathy—not ignorance and discrimination.
“My husband and I sold everything we had to afford the journey. We worked 15 hours a day in Turkey until we had enough money to leave. The smuggler put 152 of us on a boat. Once we saw the boat, many of us wanted to go back, but he told us that anyone who turned back would not get a refund. We had no choice. Both the lower compartment and the deck were filled with people. Waves began to come into the boat, so the captain told everyone to throw their baggage into the sea. In the ocean, we hit a rock, but the captain told us not to worry. Water began to come into the boat, but again he told us not to worry. We were in the lower compartment and it began to fill with water. It was too tight to move. Everyone began to scream. We were the last ones to get out alive. My husband pulled me out of the window. In the ocean, he took off his life jacket and gave it to a woman. We swam for as long as possible. After several hours, he told me he that he was too tired to swim and that he was going to float on his back and rest. It was so dark we could not see. The waves were high. I could hear him calling me but he got further and further away. Eventually, a boat found me. They never found my husband.” (Kos, Greece)
5. A thought-evoking take on our current sociopolitical climate, as briefly mentioned above.
“For the last eight years, I’ve been the head of communications for the UN Refugee Agency. My job is to make people care about the sixty million displaced people in the world. I wish I could tell every single one of their stories. Because if people knew their stories, I don’t think there would be so many walls. And there wouldn’t be so many people drowning in the seas. But, I don’t think I anticipated how difficult it would be to make people care. It’s not that people are selfish. I just think that people have a hard time caring when they feel insecure. When the world is unstable, people feel vulnerable. And vulnerable people focus on protecting what they have. They focus on their own families. They focus on their own communities. It can be very hard to welcome strangers when you’re made to feel threatened. Even if those strangers are more vulnerable than you.”