Editor:
Wednesday, Feb. 23 is Pink Shirt Day, or as I prefer, Stop Bullying Day.
It is a day we are encouraged to wear a pink shirt to support the notion of putting an end to bullying, to show solidarity with a boy who was harassed and assaulted for wearing a pink shirt to school.
Think about this for a moment.
A child beaten by other children for wearing a pink shirt. Beaten for wearing a colour associated with the feminine. Beaten for what? For being different? For not being man enough?
I’ve experienced how easy it is and horrible it feels to become the target of bullying. I have also felt the relief when the bullies targeted someone else. I remember with cowardly shame, the occasions I have pointed out someone’s “otherness” so they, instead of me, would be the focus of a bully’s attention.
I know now that focusing on people’s differences divides us and opens the door to bullying (and as history continues to show, much worse!) I know now that by not standing up to bullies, by not standing up for those being bullied, I become the bully.
Want to be man enough? Show your masculinity by wearing pink on Wednesday.
Most importantly, show your masculinity by standing up to bullies wherever you find them and for whoever their targets might be.
Ross Idler, Christina Lake