I stumbled on this guy's channel one day about a month or so ago and it was one of the strangest corners of the internet I've seen in awhile that isn't fetish based or completely grotesque. I still don't really understand it at all.
The gist I got from things after watching a few videos is that there is one guy, the camera guy, who runs a blog + this channel, he goes down and records hours of footage day after day of Union Square Park where a motley crew of actual real autistics, homeless people, hippies, jobless skateboarders, hipsters, and other welfare recipients hang out every single day.
There has developed some type of community like a bizarro Tim Berton adaption of Misfit Island from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, where theres a core group of regular park goers who all know each other well, see each other daily, have some kind of bond, different people within the group dislike some others and have friendships with others, there's a whole complicated web of alliances and feuds between them. Every now and then some extra characters show up like random Jewish missionaries, a guy with a voice impediment who wears a suit and yells at various autistics threatening to call their moms on the phone.. I saw a crackhead who was also a bodybuilder in one.. then there is sometype of ongoing warfare involving "Free Hugs" which is actually a scheme that the autistics use to coerce people into giving them a "donation" after giving a free hug out which has led to the arrest of one of them (black) on assault charges on a female minor(?). There's fights, ballbusting, happy moments, angry moments, chaos, mob mentality, in other words, what you are seeing here is a near-perfect real life personified version of the subreddit as if it took place in real life.
Strangest of all this guy who records all this has this dedicated cult following for his channel and blog, who watch and comment on all of these videos as if this was an ongoing movie, the fans pick different park squatters like they're their favorite characters in a movie or TV show, support them, criticize them, root for them or shit talk them, idolize them, I've even seen some of the park regulars show up in YouTube comments to argue with people and shit talk the commentators right back. The entire thing is an internet black hole that offers absolutely nothing of value for anybody, but once engrossed the urge to dig deeper into it is too much to resist
Yeah I got into the videos for a month or so a while back. The guy doing the video taping has run into problems and run afoul of some of the park people a time or two. I also laugh when they catch a guy who is peeping at women, doing upskirts and shit with their video cameras and they go off on the guy. I think that is why the videographer has problems sometimes because they thought that was what he was doing. I grew bored by them though and moved on.
Yeah same here... maybe it's more interesting if you actually live in NYC and have seen these people around while walking by or going there, but I don't really understand the fandom that seems to be in the comment sections of his videos, I understand watching it as a fly on the wall type of thing to see weird stuff but can't imagine getting invested enough in it to start favoring certain people over others etc. It's hard to tell if people are doing it ironically like they're all living memes or they genuinely follow the whole story line and cast of characters
You talking about Normal Bob Smiths "amazing strangers" website and videos. They were all shot in union square a few years ago. The guy in the thumbnail dressed all weird they called Wendell. Google normal bob smith for his website it explains each wacko that hang around the park.
It appears to be a mentally challenged millennial man or woman being attacked by a bunch of black guys for taking the hat of some other crazy black guy who seemed to be dressed in layers of rags he had made into a dress.
Ugh. The fact that people actually stand there and watch these assholes for more than 5 minutes is enraging. I guess they're "people watchers" like the Opester
13 comments
n/a redtheftauto 2017-01-30
Uma
http://thewitcher3.wiki.fextralife.com/file/The-Witcher-3/uma.jpg
n/a braunheiser 2017-01-30
I stumbled on this guy's channel one day about a month or so ago and it was one of the strangest corners of the internet I've seen in awhile that isn't fetish based or completely grotesque. I still don't really understand it at all.
The gist I got from things after watching a few videos is that there is one guy, the camera guy, who runs a blog + this channel, he goes down and records hours of footage day after day of Union Square Park where a motley crew of actual real autistics, homeless people, hippies, jobless skateboarders, hipsters, and other welfare recipients hang out every single day.
There has developed some type of community like a bizarro Tim Berton adaption of Misfit Island from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, where theres a core group of regular park goers who all know each other well, see each other daily, have some kind of bond, different people within the group dislike some others and have friendships with others, there's a whole complicated web of alliances and feuds between them. Every now and then some extra characters show up like random Jewish missionaries, a guy with a voice impediment who wears a suit and yells at various autistics threatening to call their moms on the phone.. I saw a crackhead who was also a bodybuilder in one.. then there is sometype of ongoing warfare involving "Free Hugs" which is actually a scheme that the autistics use to coerce people into giving them a "donation" after giving a free hug out which has led to the arrest of one of them (black) on assault charges on a female minor(?). There's fights, ballbusting, happy moments, angry moments, chaos, mob mentality, in other words, what you are seeing here is a near-perfect real life personified version of the subreddit as if it took place in real life.
Strangest of all this guy who records all this has this dedicated cult following for his channel and blog, who watch and comment on all of these videos as if this was an ongoing movie, the fans pick different park squatters like they're their favorite characters in a movie or TV show, support them, criticize them, root for them or shit talk them, idolize them, I've even seen some of the park regulars show up in YouTube comments to argue with people and shit talk the commentators right back. The entire thing is an internet black hole that offers absolutely nothing of value for anybody, but once engrossed the urge to dig deeper into it is too much to resist
n/a DaveNone 2017-01-30
Yeah I got into the videos for a month or so a while back. The guy doing the video taping has run into problems and run afoul of some of the park people a time or two. I also laugh when they catch a guy who is peeping at women, doing upskirts and shit with their video cameras and they go off on the guy. I think that is why the videographer has problems sometimes because they thought that was what he was doing. I grew bored by them though and moved on.
n/a braunheiser 2017-01-30
Yeah same here... maybe it's more interesting if you actually live in NYC and have seen these people around while walking by or going there, but I don't really understand the fandom that seems to be in the comment sections of his videos, I understand watching it as a fly on the wall type of thing to see weird stuff but can't imagine getting invested enough in it to start favoring certain people over others etc. It's hard to tell if people are doing it ironically like they're all living memes or they genuinely follow the whole story line and cast of characters
n/a SpaceEdge 2017-01-30
You talking about Normal Bob Smiths "amazing strangers" website and videos. They were all shot in union square a few years ago. The guy in the thumbnail dressed all weird they called Wendell. Google normal bob smith for his website it explains each wacko that hang around the park.
n/a DaveNone 2017-01-30
It appears to be a mentally challenged millennial man or woman being attacked by a bunch of black guys for taking the hat of some other crazy black guy who seemed to be dressed in layers of rags he had made into a dress.
n/a dassabessdoe 2017-01-30
I saw some of this guys videos though /r/publicfreakout, there's alot of weird shit in there. Also, check out the pocket sized hunchback, adorable.
n/a JoeCumiaSr 2017-01-30
This video is a hoot
n/a lemskroob 2017-01-30
there is not a single person in this video who should be allowed to keep their life or freedom
n/a bluedhift 2017-01-30
Sloth from the Goonies' daughter?
n/a holodog 2017-01-30
Union Square is a gathering place for degenerates who would've died in infancy in a just world.
n/a Lil_Teddy_Sheckler 2017-01-30
Ugh. The fact that people actually stand there and watch these assholes for more than 5 minutes is enraging. I guess they're "people watchers" like the Opester
n/a RamonFrunkis 2017-01-30
I honestly don't know which creature you mean. Captain Fantastic, the heroin addict from Jessica Jones, or what I can only describe as.. Kuato