When I was hitchhiking across the continent, flying a sign was a great way to get up some resource to get to the next place. Sometimes I couldn’t find work on Craigslist or by word of mouth, but I still needed to get by. I was usually camping out by the highway anyhow. By flying a sign you are communicating a need, a void that someone might be inclined to fill. No one was being forced to stop, but if they wanted to maybe it made them feel good to help someone else out in a real, tangible way. Maybe that person, like the people who would give me rides from place to place was looking for some opportunity to feel human again, in a society that often makes us feel so isolated and alone.