Empathy

Pro Infirmis is a Swiss organization that assists people with disabilities. They conducted an experiment involving a man, Fabian, dressed in a bear costume giving out hugs. Their tagline for this video is:

Pro Infirmis conducts an experiment: there are only a few people who don`t have empathy with disabled people. Nevertheless, the passenger seat in the public bus next to Fabian often stays empty. Handicapped people are a regular part of our society.

A friend of mine sent me this video a few weeks ago. I had seen it before, perhaps in another blog, but somehow it did not speak to me that first time like it has this time. I have been unable to get the video out of my mind for the past couple of weeks.

Why do handicaps and mental illness carry such social stigma? Obviously our lack of empathy reflects our lack of understanding. This ad by Pro Infirmis should really open eyes.

“Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all." - Bill Clinton (b. 1946)