True story?

[LongTimeListener]

Their whole schtick is essentially this post. Here is their most recent update:

“I’m trying to beat cancer for the fifth time. The first time was in 1997, and the doctor told me that I’d only live for six months. I’ve had it in my armpit, my knee, my back, and twice in my groin. Life keeps throwing me curveballs. I keep hitting them.”

Or: "I just have this phone because I like small phones. It’s not really a good symbol of conservation. Conservation isn’t some huge sacrifice. It doesn’t mean you can’t have nice things. I’ve got a nice flat screen TV at home, great furniture, a sauna, sporting goods, and all the clothes I can wear. Conservation just means that you aren’t constantly getting rid of perfectly good stuff to replace it with stuff that you don’t need. A perfect table is perfect for hundreds of years. You don’t need a new one every couple years. Our culture is called ‘materialistic,’ but that’s not even correct, because ‘materialism’ implies that we value our possessions. And we don’t. We get rid of them, then we destroy Africa to get more **** that nobody needs. There’s no more pressing problem right now than the depletion of the earth. The earth can tolerate a lot of punishment, but if there isn’t a change in the way we consume, there is no way it can survive. We will gladly give money help people in need. But we can’t equate the act of conservation with helping billions of people for generations to come.”

It's always single sourced, left-leaning statements. I just find it kind of odd that it's been brought up now. Like a drunk uncle stumbling upon the fact that the Kardashians exist or something.

Well, OK, but this one is a much-discussed post from five days ago. I've seen it about 10 times on my FB feed.

I still don't get why YF bringing it up is some violation of newsworthiness or cultural knowledge.

 

[Batman]

Humans of New York is navel-gazing pap.

Is that even a real organization? Sounds like a spinoff of The Human Fund.

At least we've solved the mystery of where Caleb Hannan went.

 

[Big Circus]

Is that even a real organization? Sounds like a spinoff of The Human Fund.

At least we've solved the mystery of where Caleb Hannan went.

It's just social content. Posts like that are all they do.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Baron, I'm gonna need proof that you're not full of **** when you talk about, well, pretty much anything. Not information from Google. Proof.

Here's a hat for you to wear.





(FYI: I got the pic from a Yahoo search)

 

[Double Down]

I like Humans of New York. I think it's interesting storytelling in short form. Everyone who complains about the Cult of Schlongform should embrace the *idea* of HofNY, at least. Because people love that ****, and when done well, it's quite good.

I also think this pic feels a bit like a plant, but Stanton (the guy who does the pics) has a pretty great track record. I'm giving him the benefit of doubt.

 

[YankeeFan]

I like Humans of New York. I think it's interesting storytelling in short form. Everyone who complains about the Cult of Schlongform should embrace the *idea* of HofNY, at least. Because people love that ****, and when done well, it's quite good.

I also think this pic feels a bit like a plant, but Stanton (the guy who does the pics) has a pretty great track record. I'm giving him the benefit of doubt.

Alright, so admitting to sgreenwell's criticism to some degree, while I've heard of Humans of New York, I can't say that I know a ton about it.

Is it crowd sourced, or is it all one guy's photos?

And, does he purport to tell true stories, or does he tell stories based on the pictures?

 

[Big Circus]

I like Humans of New York. I think it's interesting storytelling in short form. Everyone who complains about the Cult of Schlongform should embrace the *idea* of HofNY, at least. Because people love that ****, and when done well, it's quite good.

I also think this pic feels a bit like a plant, but Stanton (the guy who does the pics) has a pretty great track record. I'm giving him the benefit of doubt.

Keys being "interesting" and "done well." HoNY, to me, is neither of those.

 

[Double Down]

Alright, so admitting to sgreenwell's criticism to some degree, while I've heard of Humans of New York, I can't say that I know a ton about it.

Is it crowd sourced, or is it all one guy's photos?

And, does he purport to tell true stories, or does he tell stories based on the pictures?

It's one guy, Brandon Stanton. He's a professional photographer and, I guess, kind of a journalist. (Documentarian is probably more accurate.) All the people in the photos are real people he finds in New York and interviews, and all the quotes are supposed to be accurate.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Who said I had proof?

It's an open question.

What do you think? I don't think it's true.

Why don't you think it's true? Besides Hillary getting involved?

 

[Riptide]

Here's a hat for you to wear.





(FYI: I got the pic from a Yahoo search)

Is this the gay kid? So he's a Republican?

 

[YankeeFan]

Why don't you think it's true? Besides Hillary getting involved?

Just doesn't seem real to me.

First, the idea that he spots this kid crying at the very moment he's overwhelmed with worry about being gay seems a little odd.

Second, it's NYC, and it's the week gay marriage became legal everywhere in the U.S. Now, maybe he doesn't follow the news closely, but being gay is hardly something that is looked down upon in NYC. Unless his family speaks ill of gays, where did he get the idea that it would be so terrible?

Third, if the kid is actually worried about it, then why would the photographer put him out there for the world to see and judge? Do we out kids as gay now? Did his parents agree to it?

Fourth, if it was real, the kid and his parents would have been interviewed by Anderson Cooper tonight on CNN instead of Donald Trump. When a story like this goes viral, we find out who the people are behind the story all the time. Add in the Hilary factor, and this kid would have been identified. Unless the Today Show is holding him for an exclusive tomorrow morning, it doesn't ring true to me.

 

[Songbird]

Maybe he lives on the second floor.

 

[Double Down]

Keys being "interesting" and "done well." HoNY, to me, is neither of those.

Like, in its entirety? I strenuously object. Some are far better than others, but to me it's not all that different than what Avedon did, except Stanton was proof that you could find the shared humanity with something a simple as an iPhone instead of a large format camera in a studio. People who say they don't like them seem to assume they're all pap and "faux inspirational" but that's not true. That may be what shows up in your Facebook feed, but the variety of what he shoots and chooses is great.

My Favorite Humans of New York | Messy Nessy Chic

 

[YankeeFan]

Maybe he lives on the second floor.

Don't tell me Luka wasn't real?

(God I hated that song. It was so popular one summer, and it was totally the kind of song that would get stuck in your head -- like right now!)

 

[YankeeFan]

Like, in its entirety? I strenuously object. Some are far better than others, but to me it's not all that different than what Avedon did, except Stanton was proof that you could find the shared humanity with something a simple as an iPhone instead of a large format camera in a studio. People who say they don't like them seem to assume they're all pap and "faux inspirational" but that's not true. That may be what shows up in your Facebook feed, but the variety of what he shoots and chooses is great.

My Favorite Humans of New York | Messy Nessy Chic

Looking at his site now, it seems pretty cool.

But, if he did make up the story behind this photo, then he's probably done it before.

 

[Big Circus]

Like, in its entirety? I strenuously object. Some are far better than others, but to me it's not all that different than what Avedon did, except Stanton was proof that you could find the shared humanity with something a simple as an iPhone instead of a large format camera in a studio. People who say they don't like them seem to assume they're all pap and "faux inspirational" but that's not true. That may be what shows up in your Facebook feed, but the variety of what he shoots and chooses is great.

My Favorite Humans of New York | Messy Nessy Chic

I'll give it a whirl. I admit I haven't seen anything other than what gets shared into my feed, which skews inspirational and weepy. I always saw it as a dressed-up Upworthy, but I'll check out your link.

 

[Double Down]

Here is a link to his actual site. The one I linked in the previous post is someone who aggregated their favs (and now that I think about it, probably is committing a copyright violation). Some of them are really powerful.

http://www.humansofnewyork.com/archive/2015/

 

[sgreenwell]

My suspicion would be that he "sweetens" the statements a bit. Like, factually accurate, but he's cutting out the hemming and hawing, and making it into (at times) a fully-formed and articulate paragraph. I mean, I realize it's New York City vs. the small Rhode Island town that's my coverage area, but some of those statements he's getting just seem too long and focused to not be refined up a bit.

Re: This specific one, it doesn't strike me as being that out of line with a bunch of other ones he's posted. It just has the added connection of Hilary and gay rights, so I guess that's why it has attracted way more of a fervor.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Don't tell me Luka wasn't real?

(God I hated that song. It was so popular one summer, and it was totally the kind of song that would get stuck in your head -- like right now!)

One of the funniest double-takes I've seen was at a bar when I was in college, and, for whatever reason, the DJ played the song. This group of girls started cheering and singing it, then, when they realized what the lyrics were, suddenly stopped.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Just doesn't seem real to me.

First, the idea that he spots this kid crying at the very moment he's overwhelmed with worry about being gay seems a little odd.

Second, it's NYC, and it's the week gay marriage became legal everywhere in the U.S. Now, maybe he doesn't follow the news closely, but being gay is hardly something that is looked down upon in NYC. Unless his family speaks ill of gays, where did he get the idea that it would be so terrible?

Third, if the kid is actually worried about it, then why would the photographer put him out there for the world to see and judge? Do we out kids as gay now? Did his parents agree to it?

Fourth, if it was real, the kid and his parents would have been interviewed by Anderson Cooper tonight on CNN instead of Donald Trump. When a story like this goes viral, we find out who the people are behind the story all the time. Add in the Hilary factor, and this kid would have been identified. Unless the Today Show is holding him for an exclusive tomorrow morning, it doesn't ring true to me.

1. It's New York. Anything is possible.

2. Could be his family. Could be other kids. 13 is a really ****ty age to be.

3. Maybe the kid already outed himself, and has been having problems, which is why he was crying. Maybe his parents wouldn't have agreed to it, which is why the kid did it.

4. Trump has a name, and would get much bigger ratings than an unknown kid who suddenly went viral. Besides, if Cooper bumped the already-scheduled Trump for the kid, Trump and his fellow screechers would be screaming about bias.