“The Liberators: Born Free” is an organization that strives to promote human interaction among all members of society through viral videos and dance.
Caleb Jones, junior business administration major, said he has never heard of the organization, yet identifies with many of their beliefs.
“I believe getting out of your comfort zone is one of the best things you can do,” Jones said. “Once you start creating opportunities for people to interact, others will also begin to interact.”
The group promotes its ideals through DJ sets, video productions, “Bass Wagon Parade Parties” and yoga. Each of these events is catered for specific groups of people. Ultimately, they try to encourage social interaction amongst strangers.
According to the group’s website, their motto is “We harness the power of human connection, video production and forward thinking dance music to inspire crowds to share acts of freedom, love and kindness with one another.”
Jones said he enjoys meeting people from around the world at Mississippi State University. Jones said he does not believe the organization would be successful because people would remain in their cliques.
“I think many people would just Snapchat it, causing it to trend,” Jones said.
Elizabeth Whitten, freshman undeclared major, said she also had never heard of the group. However, Whitten had similar thoughts regarding the group’s potential success if brought to Starkville.
“Some people would join in, but social interaction needs to be better, almost everyone is cliquey here,” Whitten said.
An example of The Liberators work is a video, which can be found on YouTube, entitled ‘Blind Trust Experiment- Aboriginal Girl Puts Her Faith First.’ The concept behind this video is the frequent mistrust of Aborigines in Australia. A young woman stands on the beach, blindfolded, and holds a sign that reads: “I trust you, do you trust me? Let’s hug.” She stands with her arms open, serving as an open invitation for hugs from strangers. Finally, one woman breaks the social stigma and hugs the woman. This starts a chain reaction and the hugs continue.
Another video entitled ‘Perth Train Party Video 2014’ shows a man getting on a train. He starts playing music and invites everyone to start dancing with him. Before long he has almost everyone on the train dancing. They broke the social stigma of what is acceptable while riding the train that day.
Whitten said studentss should be responsible for fixing the lack of social interaction on campus. She also said students can branch out by joining numerous organizations offered on MSU’s campus.
Kelly Dyess, sophomore chemical engineering major, said she has higher hopes for the students of MSU if presented with a group like The Liberators.
“I think people would join in because if people see others having fun, then they will want to join in and have fun too,” Dyess said.
