WASHINGTON — He stood with a clipboard in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Northwest D.C., asking anyone passing by, “Are you sure you don’t want one?”
What Ty Gruszewski was offering was spelled out clearly on his clipboard in big block letters: “FREE HUGS.”
Yes, Gruszewski said, it was a reaction to the 2016 presidential election. He said the news that Donald Trump is the president-elect felt like a dream.
“Surreal, is the word that a lot of people use — I tried to ignore it for as long as I could,” Gruszewski said with a wry smile.
But here he was, offering free hugs to strangers, because, “I just wanted to bring some love out in the streets today.”
“I saw a lot of long faces, a lot of hopelessness, I just wanted to let people know there are a lot of good people out here,” he said.
Bernice Yalley took him up on the offer of a free hug. She joked she had tears in her eyes as she did so. Yalley said she was still processing the news that Trump would be the next occupant of the White House.
“I was hopeful until about 2 a.m., I called a friend in Hawaii, she told me to have hope, and then I kind of just packed it in,” Yalley said.
Yalley said she’s actually considering leaving the country.
“I was planning on leaving to go work overseas for some time anyway, and this just kind of helped me seal the boxes” that had been sitting in the corner of a room in her home, she said.
Still, Yalley said Gruszewski’s small action gave her some comfort.
“I think a lot of people [who] are upset and hurt were angry and fearful,” Yalley said. “I think once those feelings settle, we will reunite, especially in a city like D.C.”
