This past Wednesday, Pink Day was held in Canada. Pink Day is an annual day where people wear something pink and take a stand against bullying. This originated in Nova Scotia at a high school where a young man wore a pink shirt one day to school. The bullies gave him a terrible time about it. Instead of feeding into this garbage, students decided to wear pink shirts to show these bullies that they would not be pushed around by them. Over time this caught on and became a national issue. However, it is now going international. I know I wore my pink on Wednesday and without a doubt took a stand.
I grew up in South Carolina and was the instigator of the Anti-Bullying Law that now exists there. This law mandates that schools take a stand against bullying and must hold programs once a year or they will be fined. In other words, this crap will not fly in South Carolina any longer. So, when I saw that Wilder Elementary School in Sumter celebrated Pink Day, I was tickled to death. Two police officers Anthony Dennis and Major Hampton Gardner set the bar by wearing pink that day. The school also took an interest and together, this prompted the fifth graders to put this together. On Wednesday, kids wore pink along with faculty and the two officers. Boys generally wear darker colors and if they wear pink, a lot of times they get bullied because this is more of a feminine color. I know this is what prompted the young man in Nova Scotia to be abused by his peers. On Wednesday, one Wilder student stated he was wearing pink and that tough guys wear pink to. Wow! How refreshing to go to school, choosing to wear whatever color is wished and others accepting it.
We need to let go of these stereotypes and stop giving one another a hard time just because we do or see someone wearing a color they choose or shirt or whatever. If someone wants to wear pink, why should it matter? What is wrong with trying to be an individual? As citizens, we are entitled to that life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Well in the USA we are but am sure Canada has their own laws and liberties like we do. If wearing pink makes a big tough guy happy, so be it. If wearing pink makes anyone happy, so be it. I like the color pink as it is bright and bright colors create positive energy. Please, stop giving others a hard time for wanting to be themselves. Why is it so important to conform? We are all entitled to liberties and bullies, stop trying to violate those! I am glad Pink Day exists and I hope those bullies were put in their place because they deserved it. Most importantly, I am happy to see that the law in South Carolina is working. To me, this is huge progress.
Resource Cited: http://www.theitem.com/article/20090228/ITNEWS01/702289947/-1/ITNEWS
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thanks for your contributions to a better society, as you may know bullying not only occurs in our schools but in the workplace as well. i am searching for someone to coordinate an anti bullying campaign and help get a version of the healthy workplace bill introduced in south carolina, so far i have not had contact with any victims to collaborate with, i know i cannot be the only one. a lot of people feel defected or too ashamed to speak out.
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