Three German students surprise a homeless guy

A feel good story...some people still care about others.

That's awesome and I haven't even turned the sound on yet!

The Germans have always been a comforting people. - Sheldon Cooper

originally posted by: ColeYounger
The Germans have always been a comforting people. - Sheldon Cooper

Exactly what I was thinking.

a reply to: nighthawk1954

Fantastic video.

Wish 'micro-benefits' like this would go viral.

a reply to: nighthawk1954

Perhaps there is hope for humankind! Syx.

What'd he get, two-fiddy?

These guys just got marketing, brownie points, and the belief that they somehow actually helped a homeless guy out.

He seemed mildly annoyed, if anything.

I see a bubble of make believe everthing okay, then leave this guy back to his poor luck.

It doesn't take long to show humanity to one person...

The world would be a much better place to face and assist others in times of crisis...

It all seems so difficult, but isn't it amazing what a bit of noise from a plastic bucket, a guitar and a couple of voices can do.......

a reply to: pl3bscheese

I believe you missed the point and apparently have a very pessimistic view of the world, I do no think he was annoyed, I think he was shocked that anyone stopped and interacted with him.

Human interaction is worth more than money, the desolation that comes with no one caring would be unimaginable.

The impact upon those children who gave money to help is something they will not forget either. It begins by reconnecting with our each other. This video is an example of this.

a reply to: elementalgrove

I'm not sure how you got pessimism from my post. I was rather positive, albeit realistic.

You wanna help this guy out, buy him a meal and talk to him about his issues... Chris Farley style. That's something I can support (and have done on several occasions). Spend more than a few minutes with a guy. He didn't even ask him his name!

This was staged, and just ridiculous. I'd be offended being in that situation and someone exploiting me like that, without my permission as well!

There's a lot of good going on in this world, but I don't see it in this video. That's just my take, and you have your own. No worries. You like teenie bopping music with a bunch of clueless fools invading what little peace you may have, all good.

originally posted by: elementalgrove
a reply to: pl3bscheese

I believe you missed the point and apparently have a very pessimistic view of the world, I do no think he was annoyed, I think he was shocked that anyone stopped and interacted with him.

Human interaction is worth more than money, the desolation that comes with no one caring would be unimaginable.

The impact upon those children who gave money to help is something they will not forget either. It begins by reconnecting with our each other. This video is an example of this.

Exactly! Bravo!

I'll give one more stab at this.

The people who shot this video spent at least 20x more time in the pre & post production of this video, than they did with the man.

They made MONEY off this video. It's had 4 million views from people sitting comfortably in their homes, smiling, and thinking somehow the world is a better place... just cause.

There is an ad on the video. They are collecting monies. Don't you think it would make more sense for these individuals to have asked the guy his name, where he squatted in the city, and periodically came to give him ... I don't know, all, or at least a chunk of the monies they made from this?

No, but I'm being "pessimistic" for pointing out the absurdities.

Meh.

There goes my optimism!

a reply to: pl3bscheese

You are right in the sense that they could have done more. This is generally always the case.

It is awesome that you have taken the time to do so, I have as well.

The more I think about it I see your point about it being simply advertising that may be all that it is, however there are positive and negatives in the situation. I choose to see the positive, the opportunity for those kids to give as opposed to walk past is what stands out, perhaps he will try to master some drum beats himself, use the hat they gave him, and attempt to do some street performing.

It is in dwelling upon the negative that I got pessimism from your post.

Yeah I'm somewhat disillusioned by the video.... Humanitarianism would have been to not record, take that guy off the street for 30 minutes, invite him for a meal, and have a yarn with him.....

I see the niceness of what the video portrays, but its not realistic, just gives warms and fuzzies, but in the end, the guy gets nothing out of it himself...which is what this project was really supposed to have done...is it not?

Brownie points for both points of view!

Wow.

How jaded are some of you????

Did this solve all of that man's problems? Of course not. But I'm not sure how anyone can criticize an act of kindness (however trivial) motivated by the broader purpose of spreading the message to others about the importance of reaching out to the 'invisible' people around you.

Good grief.

a reply to: loam

Totally agree with Loam on this one. It's not perfect but what is? It gave me a great pause for reflection... What are the possibilities? How can this be moved forward? The concept is in the ether now and that's what counts!

a reply to: loam

Seriously?

This was staged. He is an actor. It looked so incredibly fake and felt wrong on so many levels, turns out it was on all accounts.

You don't think people know of homeless? This is like those cancer/autism "awareness" bracelets that people wear and you purchase for a buck or two. Nothing about awareness, and everything about feeling as if you're doing something when you're not.

a reply to: pl3bscheese

originally posted by: pl3bscheese
He is an actor.

Do you have evidence of this?

ETA:

Never mind. I went to look for this myself.



From one of the comments:

So basically you created a totally fake scenario with an actor just so you had the person's permission. In order to create a video that you hoped would go viral and put a lot of money from advertising, into your pockets, whilst spinning it off as basically "Well, we're trying to promote good vibes and positivity/humanity whilst we're at it". Normally I would be one to complain and say that you and your friends are really no different at all from any other bunch of Youtubers, who will do anything to make a 'buck'. But at least you were honest enough to tell us that the entire thing was completely staged.

Ok.

I see your point. I'm not thrilled with that either.

What a shame.

a reply to: loam

Yes. It's in the video description.

Before filming we asked ourselves the following question: Can we simply film a person in distress and put it up on the internet, without asking them or knowing their history? Our answer is quite clearly no, which is why we have hired an actor to take on this role.

Quite clearly no... so how are people supposed to feel when they are lead to believe this is the case in the video? It just doesn't make any sense whatsoever!

a reply to: pl3bscheese

Gotcha. Like I said, not thrilled by this either.

At least they were somewhat honest.