Man spreads love with 'blind trust' hugging social experiment

A black Alabama man has attempted to counter racial tension by standing in public wearing a blindfold and inviting passers-by to hug him.

Video of Montgomery resident David Sadler waiting blindfolded outside a baseball game venue with a sign offering free hugs was posted to Facebook on July 28.

“You do not have to fear me,” the sign reads.

“I count… You count… We count! I trust you. Do you trust me?”

The video shows people of all ages and races approaching Mr Sadler to hug him.

In the caption, Mr Sadler emphasises his wish for love to “win over fear”, explaining his goal is to “restore hope and self-worth”.

Facebook users have since thanked him for spreading the message of peace.

“This brought tears to my eyes my brother!” user Georj Lewis wrote.

“Great to see the ‘good news and good intentions’ of people in a time that is so full of confusion, mess and stress.”

Mr Sadler’s campaign comes in the wake of the “Free Hugs” social movement, first launched by an Australian under the pseudonym of “Juan Mann” in 2004.

The goal of the movement was to spread hope and counter “social disconnectivity and lack of human contact”.

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