Even if the racist aspect where only a misperception, you can bet the two lessons would be taught: Racism is wrong and threats of violence are wrong. What you would not hear is that it doesn't matter if he were a KKK member or not.
Posted on 09/14/2007 12:25:48 PM PDT by Daffynition
CAMBRIDGE — Two students at Central Kings Rural High School fought back against bullying recently, unleashing a sea of pink after a new student was harassed and threatened when he showed up wearing a pink shirt.
The Grade 9 student arrived for the first day of school last Wednesday and was set upon by a group of six to 10 older students who mocked him, called him a homosexual for wearing pink and threatened to beat him up.
The next day, Grade 12 students David Shepherd and Travis Price decided something had to be done about bullying.
"It’s my last year. I’ve stood around too long and I wanted to do something," said David.
They used the Internet to encourage people to wear pink and bought 75 pink tank tops for male students to wear. They handed out the shirts in the lobby before class last Friday — even the bullied student had one.
"I made sure there was a shirt for him," David said.
They also brought a pink basketball to school as well as pink material for headbands and arm bands. David and Travis figure about half the school’s 830 students wore pink.
It was hard to miss the mass of students in pink milling about in the lobby, especially for the group that had harassed the new Grade 9 student.
"The bullies got angry," said Travis. "One guy was throwing chairs (in the cafeteria). We’re glad we got the response we wanted."
David said one of the bullies angrily asked him whether he knew pink on a male was a symbol of homosexuality.
He told the bully that didn’t matter to him and shouldn’t to anyone.
"Something like the colour of your shirt or pants, that’s ridiculous," he said.
"Our intention was to stand up for this kid so he doesn’t get picked on."
Travis said the bullies "keep giving us dirty looks, but we know we have the support of the whole student body.
"Kids don’t need this in their lives, worrying about what to wear to school. That should be the last thing on their minds."
When the bullied student put on his pink shirt Friday and saw all the other pink in the lobby, "he was all smiles. It was like a big weight had been lifted off is shoulder," David said. No one at the school would reveal the student’s name.
Travis said that growing up, he was often picked on for wearing store-brand clothes instead of designer duds.
The two friends said they didn’t take the action looking for publicity, but rather to show leadership in combating what they say is frequent bullying in schools.
There's no problem with having social standards, as long as they are somewhat reasonable and are enforced appropriately. Personally, I think a standard that prohibits men from wearing pink is a little unreasonable, but as long as it isn't enforced with violence or cruelty I wouldn't get that worked up about it. Calling someone a "fag" is borderline cruel but not enough to get too involved, IMO.
What if he wore a white hood like a KKK member. Would a statement like "Take that off you racist bigot or I'll remove it for you," be okay with you? Granted the last part is borderline.
That's a good question, and I'd be very tempted to let a comment like that slide (if I didn't say it first myself). I'm not very bothered by homosexuality, but I am very bothered by racism. Still, absent any other facts the KKK member isn't threatening anyone and doesn't deserve to be threatened. So I would not approve of the comment. I would approve of something like, "That hood represents something disgusting, and if you believe in what it stands for then I think you are disgusting too."
Let's say the comment was, "Take that off or I'll break your nose." Even with that statement you would certainly make sure the kids understood that racism was wrong as well as threats of violence. Or I would hope that's what you would do. And I bet you wouldn't rank the wrongs.
Obviously, I would disagree with that comment as well. I would make sure the kids understood racism was wrong, but I would still hold threats of violence to be the greater wrong.
Of course, it should be pointed out that wearing a white hood is MUCH more reliable indication of racism than wearing a pink shirt is of homosexuality. And, some would argue that wearing a KKK hood is inherently threatening, whereas a pink bunny ears makes one about as unthreatening as possible.
Even if the racist aspect where only a misperception, you can bet the two lessons would be taught: Racism is wrong and threats of violence are wrong. What you would not hear is that it doesn't matter if he were a KKK member or not.
When I was in school it was a big no-no to wear white socks.
CAMBRIDGE STATION — The story of two Nova Scotia boys who got more than 400 schoolmates to wear pink to support a bullied younger student has swept across North America and made its way to Europe.
Travis Price and David Shepherd, Grade 12 boys who organized a drive to back a new Grade 9 student who was harassed for wearing a pink shirt on the first day of school last week, have been deluged with e-mails and interview requests from near and far.
Their story was first published Thursday, and now the tale has reached well beyond the confines of their school, Central Kings Rural High.
CBS in New York came calling Friday, and the largest daily newspaper in Spain is picking up the story.
"I’ve talked more in the past couple of days than I have in my whole life," Travis said.
Accolades continue to pour in. The story has hit Internet blogs and discussion groups across the continent and e-mails have come in from many parts of the U.S. as well as from Bermuda, Norway and Switzerland.
While Travis and David appreciate the recognition, "we don’t want to move the focus from the situation onto us," said David, who is leaning toward joining the RCMP after high school.
"People say, ‘You’re celebrities, you’ll go down in the history books of the school,’ but that’s not what we set out to do."
"People say you’re famous, heroes or celebrities," added Travis, who plans to take criminology next year. "We’re not, we’re just two kids who stood up for a cause."
He and David say they are responding to every e-mail they get. By Friday morning, they’d received 30 e-mails from around the world, and more had landed at The Chronicle Herald, asking that the messages of congratulation be passed along to the boys.
They’ve already been on two local TV stations, CBC and Annapolis Valley radio stations and a Montreal talk-radio station and have had an interview request from a station in Ontario.
Kings-Hants MP Scott Brison contacted them on Facebook and Premier Rodney MacDonald faxed a letter to the school.
People are joking that they’ll be on Oprah next.
"We’re not allowed to go on Oprah unless we take our mothers," David said, laughing.
Because of the boy’s efforts, half of the school’s 830 students wore pink on a day of support for the bullied boy, whose name has not been released for privacy reasons.
Since then, "the response of the school community has just been enormous," Travis said. "It makes me feel like we’ve done a really good thing."
He and David, having been bullied themselves in the past, decided it was time someone stood up against bullying after six to 10 older kids harassed the younger boy last week for his choice of shirt colour.
E-mails sent to the Grade 12 duo directly or through the school have congratulated them, and some have related personal stories of bullying, Travis said.
Some e-mails to The Chronicle Herald were one-line responses, simply saying "awesome" or "very cool" or one of a host of other descriptions of the boys and their actions.
Nancy and Bill Curtis of Pennsylvania, who found the article on a website, wrote: "Kudos to you for this article . . . and (to) the kids!! Please tell them that I applaud them for what they did and the way they carried it out. Maturity and action together — what a combination!!"
Travis and David are writing a proposal to the Annapolis Valley regional school board for an elementary school program that would "talk about bullying and all the pain it can cause," David said.
School principal Stephen Pearl, whom the boys are jokingly calling their agent because he has been handling so many interview requests and e-mails for them, said the basic message of all the calls and e-mails is "could you please pass along congratulations to the boys for standing up."
"Others say it’s great to see a school where people stand up for each other," Mr. Pearl said.
He said student councils from other schools in the province have been calling to get information to hold their own pink day.
Are the other students allowed to comment? Do you think the girl would have prevented the comments by wearing something different? If someone calls her a slut, would the lesson be "It doesn't matter if she is a slut or not?" No. Threats of violence are wrong. That does not translate into immorality being no big deal.
These bully stories are hand selected for a political and social agenda.
LOL!
A look at that physique would tell a bully with a grain of sense that he is not amenable to much bullying.
Part of what makes this pink shirt story scream out AGENDA is that other solutions would have been so easy. I forgot about the rules at the voting booth one time and went there wearing my BUSH sweatshirt. What happened? Someone loaned me a jacket. If this kid were truly threatened, someone could loan him a shirt or a jacket for the rest of the day. He could have called home and asked if someone would bring him another shirt. Even without those immediate solutions, the problem would have been solved the very next day when he wore a different shirt. But no. We had to make a drama out of it and make sure the lesson gets out that it is no big deal for a guy to be a homosexual in this school. It is so obvious that I can't see why people fall for it. But oh they do.
It's interesting you would choose this example...I was actually thinking of using it myself, but in a different context.
To answer your questions: Of course the students are allowed to comment, and the girl probably could have avoided the slut accusation by dressing differently. Does that make it appropriate to call her a slut? In this situation, I don't believe so.
There are tactful, dignified ways to express moral disapproval of something. This is especially true when the behavior being protested doesn't directly harm or threaten anyone else. So if I were a teacher and I heard a student call Ms. Spears a slut, I wouldn't have the namecaller suspended...but I would have a talk with her about the proper way to express yourself. I would also have a talk with Ms. Spears, except for the fact that I'd have a sexual harassment suit on my hands for doing so.
Just out of curiousity, suppose a student was wearing a regular tank top on a summer day, nothing too revealing. A Muslim student approaches her, holds out a sweater, and says "You better put this on, you dirty slut!" As a teacher, would you take a hands-off approach to this act of social boundary-setting?
LOL!
Why should he have to change a complete innocent behavior just to satisfy a bunch of bullies? Is that the lesson we want to teach our kids- to just tuck tail and comply when someone threatens?
We could probably get OBL to stop issuing threats if we would just put our women in burqas. But, thankfully, we choose to stand up to bullies.
But no. We had to make a drama out of it and make sure the lesson gets out that it is no big deal for a guy to be a homosexual in this school. It is so obvious that I can't see why people fall for it. But oh they do.
Wait, I thought we established that this guy is not a homosexual for wearing a pink shirt. So where is the "homosexuality is okay" message in this story?
What would I do? I'll add to your story that she felt threatened. I would give the guys their sweater back and tell them to leave her alone or get expelled, then I would loan her my sweater. I would tell them that while being a slut is a moral wrong, wearing a tank-top doesn't make her a slut.
My niece was teased mercilessly in middle school because she had unusually long legs. Everyone called her Big Bird and she was quite upset about it. It was sad, but really there is not much you can do. It's a tough age and kids have opinions about things. Clothes are easy. Just wear something different. There was nothing she could do about the length of her legs.
BTW, the rest of her body grew to match those legs and all those boys who teased her wanted to date her a few years later.
Why would trying to appease the bullies make them stop bully-ing?
This is the same BS the anti American war protesters spew. If only we stopped doing the things they hate us for (i.e. being the U.S) they’d stop targeting us.
Your suggestions would not have stopped the bullies. They would have merely switched to some other perceived weakness. It was never about the shirt or what it *might* mean. It was ALWAYS about perceived weakness. In-group vs out-group.
Once the majority acted to reverse the roles and make the bulliers the out-group and the pink shirts the in-group, the bullies were publically humilated in such a way that they will be looking for easier game else where.
The only way you can say the bullies wouldn't have stopped is if you can show they have a violent history. Since we are not talking about a detention facility, I assume they have no such history.
It should be news to no one that pink is considered a girl color. Outside of a brief time when it was fashionable for boys to wear pastels, it has been the case that boys won't be caught dead in pink my entire life. Ask the general public if it is a good idea for a 9th grade boy to wear a pink shirt for his first day at a new school I'll bet no one of any age will think it is a good idea.
Sissies. They’re all still sissies.
BTW, when I was in the 3rd grade I went to an almost all black grade school (I’m white). Pretty much every day I was told I was going to be beat up after school. In fact it was such a problem that none of the white kids were allowed to go outside for recess. We had to stay inside. So why did we have to stay inside when we did nothing wrong? Well, we were not in the politically correct group. But also, it was the fix that worked against a real threat. It wasn’t punishment. It was protection. And I will bet you that the threat the pink shirted boy faced was less than presented. Maybe not. Nevertheless, when threats are REAL you take the measures that work. It’s when they are not real that you tend to decide to score political points.
Prisoners in pink: Deterrent or scarlet mark of danger?
Punishing prisoners for sexual misconduct by making them wear pink places them in peril, a South Carolina inmate says in a lawsuit against the state's penal system.
The suit is the latest development in a nationwide effort by prison and jail officials to tap the power of pink to subdue criminals.
In the South Carolina case, Sherone Nealous claims that forcing inmates to wear pink is discriminatory and makes them more likely to be assaulted by other inmates. Nealous is serving time at the Allendale Correctional Institution for assault and battery with intent to kill, aggravated assault and assault and battery on a police officer.
"When the inmate population views an inmate wearing a pink jumpsuit, it is known that the clothing was assigned by (the Department of Corrections) as punishment for sexual misconduct," states a legal memorandum filed by the department. It "conveys no suggestion that the inmate wearing the jumpsuit is a willing participant in homosexual activity or otherwise vulnerable to … assault."
Jon Ozmint, director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections, and Russell Harter, an attorney representing the prison system, declined to comment further because of the ongoing litigation.
Court documents say pink was chosen as the identifying mark for inmates involved in sexual activity partly because other colors were taken — yellow for segregation units, dark green on death row — but also because the system's prisoners don't like wearing pink, which "contributes to its deterrent effect," the memo states.
South Carolina's pink policy applies to male and female inmates. Josh Gelinas, a spokesman for the S.C. Department of Corrections, said he doesn't know of other prisons that use pink jumpsuits for those engaging in sexual activity.
Elsewhere, though, pink is used in creative correctional ways.
Sheriff Clint Low, in Mason County, Texas, was looking to cut down on repeat offenders in his small-town jail. Not only did he put all inmates in pink jumpsuits, he put them in pink shoes, pink underwear and pink socks. He painted cell walls pink and put in pink sheets and towels.
The effect: a 68% reduction in return customers, Low said.
"It's not about trying to humiliate people. It's simply that with them not liking it, they're embarrassed by it, and they don't want to come back," Low said.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Phoenix is a pioneer in the properties of pink. He started dying prisoners' underwear pink because they were smuggling them out to sell on the black market for the jail logo.
"Why would I give them a color they like?" he said. "They're in jail."
There may be more to the pink effect than outlaws not liking the color, according to Alexander Schauss, who first documented the effects of pink jail cells in the 1970s.
Before painting "drunk tanks" pink at the U.S. Naval Correctional Center in Seattle, the facility had an average of one assault on staff per day, said Schauss, senior director of natural and medicinal products research at AIBMR Life Sciences, in Puyallup, Wash. After it went pink, there was only one assault over the next six months, he said.
East St. Louis, Ill., has seen dramatic drops in vandalism and assaults by painting buses pink, and at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, violent inmates placed in all-pink rooms became less aggressive, Schauss said. Even thinking of pink has been shown to have a calming effect, he said.
Sounds like something Rodney Carrington came up with ..... If a big ole boy is gonna whupp yer butt in a fight then just take yer pants off and say OK !
Seems to take the fight out of bullies per his take on the matter.....
You can make it socially unacceptable to pick on somebody, like these guys did. Peer pressure can work both ways. The bullies humiliated their victim, and they were humiliated in return by the whole student body.
I see nothing wrong with the solution. It was appropriate to the circumstances.
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