Photo from Boys and Girls Club

Another day to wear pink, all in the name of anti-bullying. But what difference does one day of wearing pink really make?

I’m watching my 10-year old live through the pain of girl gossip and exclusion, and today those who contribute to that bullying will also be wearing pink. Ironically, these young minds will also buy into the belief that they are not the bully we are referring to, maybe because they believe that their individual contribution is so small it almost doesn’t matter. But judging from the pain in my child’s lonely heart, it does.

I’m willing to bet that many civil servants are experiencing that wicked irony today too. Same with the many workers who have been kicked to the curb for seeking pay increases, pursuing employment standards through unionizing, speaking up in the name of justice, and just generally trying to do the right thing in the face of a corporate machine pulling in the wrong direction.

Wearing pink means nothing when it’s all-too-easily donned by those who bully.

I don’t know what the specific answer is, but wearing a pink t-shirt —though born in the spirit of authentic action—is not it. Maybe we can begin by stepping-up education to our children, and providing access to meaningful, non-punitive vehicles of communication for employees.

And maybe, just maybe, the right to wear pink ought to be earned, not self-appointed.

Britt Santowski
Sooke PocketNews