Fighting hate with hugs

Something needed to change, and she was just the person to do something about it.
Luann Buechler, a transformational speaker and author who lives in Byron, gave out hugs to Trump supporters and protestors to try to dispel some of the political divisiveness at President Trump’s rally in Minneapolis on Oct. 10.
“I am tired of the negative energy in our world these days,” she said. “I wanted to put some positive energy into a space where people are angry with each other.”
She estimates that she hugged hundreds of people.
“I just open my arms and they come over,” she said. “There were hundreds that didn’t [want a hug] but’s that’s okay, you got to start somewhere.”
She mentioned that people from both sides were very happy to receive hugs from her.
“Both parties received it well,” she said. “I think everybody is tired of the fight.”
That political fatigue carried over to the rally, as Buechler mentioned there was little to no conflict before the rally started.
“It was calm and peaceful. The city of Minneapolis did a really great job keeping the two sides separate,” she said.
This was her first time spreading love outside a political rally, and she hopes to continue doing it.
“My intention is to hug across America during the 2020 campaign and this was my test run,” she said.
Buechler’s next stop is to give out hugs at the Iowa Caucus on Feb. 3, but she doesn’t know yet if she’ll do anything else before then.
Her goal is to make giving out hugs a lasting movement and she already has a website (ihugmovement.com) and gofundme.com page (search: ihug Movement Campaign) to get the movement going.
“We are building a community of people who are willing to hug their neighbor, friend, family, colleagues and community, even when they may fail to see eye-to-eye on the issues,” she said.
She noted that both sides know that there needs to be more positivity so people shouldn’t be nervous about approaching others and offering something as simple as a hug.
“Everybody should be giving out hugs,” Buechler said. “I hope more people go places where there’s negative energy happening and try to turn it around by doing something positive.”
In addition to giving positive energy, hugs are also good for our health.
“It’s proven science that hugs increase your happiness. We need human touch,” she said.
It may be a cliché, but the only thing that separates extraordinary people from the ordinary is giving that little extra and through the ihug movement anyone can become extraordinary by bringing the country closer together one hug at a time.