Connecting through kindness
Let’s face it, the Internet can be an angry, divisive place. That’s why it’s so important to highlight the good that can be found online, rare as it sometimes is.
As an example, let’s take Christopher Pupiro. He’s from Chicago, he’s 24, and he loves baseball and basketball. He also loves helping people. He really loves helping people. In fact, he’s helped over 350 people on Koko so far. If you’re not an active Koko user, let me assure you this is a big accomplishment. Chris’ commitment to helping others is enviable.
I recently got a chance to speak with Chris and I asked him to recount one of the more memorable exchanges he’s had on Koko. He told me about an interaction he’d had with a young Muslim girl. She was struggling at school and was being taunted for wearing a hijab. Chris sent her some kind words, offering hope and validation. She wrote him back, thanking him profusely. “I will never forget how grateful she was”, Chris told me. “She said she loved me even though she didn’t know who I was.” It’s important to note that, on Koko, users can only exchange at most three messages between each other. Chris was able to elicit this profound reaction with just one paragraph of text.
Chris is a Christian, of Puerto Rican descent, and I can confirm he’s never worn a hijab (he told me as much). And yet he was able to reach out to this girl and empathize with her in a deep and profound way.
This definitely says more about Chris than anything else. But it also reminds us that empathy is a well from which anyone can draw, anytime. It’s something you can always offer to anyone, even people who’ve had different lived experiences. As Jamil Zaki says in his wonderful TED talk, ‘empathy is not just a precious resource, it’s a renewable one.’ In this particular case, Chris was able to empathize not because he’d worn a hijab himself, but because he’s also faced discrimination. “I know what it’s like to be belittled due to my culture and where I come from… I just naturally like being a positive light in a cruel world and love being good to people because that’s what we all need.”
You can follow Chris on Instagram at illmaticunderdog27
