The Robin Hoods of Tik Tok

In a world in which we learn to ignore others in order to protect ourselves, a handful of intrepid young people are making names for themselves by doing the exact opposite. They come from different backgrounds, different life experiences and different ways of doing things. They share two characteristics: They see people and choose not to walk away. In the process, they have amassed millions of YouTube and Tik Tok followers, and have been showcased in the media. Their goal was originally none of that. For each of them the goal was far more simple: meaningful contact with a complete stranger.

Peter Bond is known as the Robin Hood of NYC. He is a 29-year-old Filipino who came from very modest circumstances and worked at Chipotle in New York. By taking extra shifts, he was able to amass a small savings account. This allowed him to walk around New York, engaging people on the street, asking for a dollar. In return, he gave them $20. He now has many thousands of dollars to give away, fueled by donations from others. But, aside from the noteriety, his life hasn’t changed one bit.

Zachery Derenioski was born in Canada and failed out of the U of Windsor. He struggled to get back on track, went to Melbourne, Austrailia on a student exchange program, and eventually entered the U of Sydney Med School. What soon followed was a torn knee, and a surgery that impaired his mobility and stopped his ability to play sports. COVID capped it off. Derenioski spiralled and went into a severe depression. He thought of suicide.

That was the frying-pan-over-the-head moment when he became aware that the world was filled with human suffering. He took to the streets with a sign that said “If you need a hug, come and get it.” People responded. He was the Hug Man of NYC, until someone started a Go Fund Me page for him. Soon the hugs were accompanied by cash. The cash and the online followers continued to grow, until there didn’t seem to be a limit to either.

Now Derenioski makes mental health videos and continues to give out countless amounts of money.

Jimmy Darts, 26, whose real name is Jimmy Kellogg, was born in Minnesota, explains his money-giving this way: “I’ve been doing this my whole life, since I was a little kid. Growing up my parents for Christmas, they’d give us all like $200 and they’d say a hundred is for you and a hundred is to give away to a stranger. So, they really taught us at a young age to kind of give back, help out. Then just this last year, I started filming it.” Darts is funded by crowdsourcing. This gives him the money to continue to make his parents proud.

While animals are truly astonishing to watch on YouTube or Tik Tok or Insta or Facebook, you can also go on these sites and find the people just mentioned (as well as others). Some of the videos are as fascinating as animals bonding across species. They are humans bonding across all the barriers that naturally divide us. Sometimes, the only views of humans we have are those who are either killing others, passing legislation that ignores the well-being of others, or spending countless sums of money on lavish lifestyles that feed their celebrity status. These videos will remind you that there are other ways of living.

The stories go on and on, as does the popularity of the donors. And, in the name of equal time, let’s also add that there have been detractors, people who are offended that kindness is being rewarded.

Life in the Boomer Lane has a response to this. In a world in which unkindness has been rewarded (sometimes quite handsomly), unkindness becomes an accepted form of behavior. On a small level, we cut people off in traffic. On a larger level, we protect ourselves from the suffering of those who are far away and we vote for politicians who demonize people who we are told are threats to us.

What these Robin Hooders are doing is not “rewarding” kindness. The modest financial rewards given are a pittance, compared to the massive rewards industry gains (and government goes along with) when the welfare and safety of people is not considered. The most important thing these people do is to normalize kindness, both by showing people in need and/or people randomly chosen on the street and the “Robin Hoods” that respond to them. In a world that sees kindness as weak, they are showing it as a strength. It is a powerful revelation.