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When I'm Old, I Shall Wear...
Oct. 20th, 2010 06:44 pmI know, I know, I've been quiet. It's a thing. I guess I haven't felt the dire need to rant much lately. I mean, things have caught my interest, sure, but I guess I've been a bit burned out on it. But y'know - life continues apace.
I did make note of this Spirit Day thing, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I don't believe that anyone should be bullied for any reason; I don't believe that people should be hounded or persecuted for who they are. I just don't think that a) it should be relegated to matters of sexual orientation and b) wearing purple seems so ... arbitrary. There are any number of reasons people might wear purple today, or any other day. There are a lot of people who might end up wearing it just to feel part of the crowd, or because they feel like this one day of observation will somehow earn them karma points and they don't have to do anything else. I kind of expect it to be one of those things people say when trying to justify their lack of homophobia after a homophobic statement of some description, or after they allow this kind of bullying to continue without stepping in to stop it. "I wore purple on Spirit Day" may, for awhile, follow statements such as "Some of my best friends are gay!" or "I went to Pride!" in the litany of 'What do you want from me?' statements. This is the exact same problem that I have with Black History Month, or the minute's silence London tried to impose out of respect for those who died in Haiti. I have no problem whatsoever with the message, but I think a lot of people believe that these little gestures somehow mean they don't have to do anything else, and they can forget the issues until the next big, culturally mandated day of observance comes along.
In short, I believe that if you want to stand up for a cause, stand up. Start Wearing Purple might be how it starts, but it shouldn't be how it ends. Empty gestures do not help unless they are filled with something; counting those who believe in the ideal presented in theory should put that into practice later. Standing with someone means more than wearing a colour. If you're in school, it may even mean literally standing beside someone who's getting bullied and telling the bully to back the hell off. A person can do that whatever colour shirt they're wearing. I just hope people - even a few people - will start stepping up to what the Wearing of the Purple actually means instead of seeing the single day's observance of this ... meme (because let's face it; this is a well-meaning meme on the order of BoobQuake, which at least had a valid point in that "Hey, look! God does not smite us down for showing cleavage!") as 'good enough'. If people are still getting bullied - for their sexual preferences or any other reason - and people just let it happen ... well, then it's not good enough, is it?
I'm not a total cynic, but I am enough of one to not trust public, culturally mandated observance-meme. I want to see action. I have stood up for the bullied in my life, and I'd do it again if the opportunity presented. While wearing purple for a day is a good start, but I just hope it means more to people than a day's wardrobe choice.
(I suppose if all else fails, we can move Spirit Day to 17 September and we can have a Holly King/Oak King-meets-Drazi kind of thing with St Patrick's Day. And yes, I know that making light of it doesn't help.)
I did make note of this Spirit Day thing, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I don't believe that anyone should be bullied for any reason; I don't believe that people should be hounded or persecuted for who they are. I just don't think that a) it should be relegated to matters of sexual orientation and b) wearing purple seems so ... arbitrary. There are any number of reasons people might wear purple today, or any other day. There are a lot of people who might end up wearing it just to feel part of the crowd, or because they feel like this one day of observation will somehow earn them karma points and they don't have to do anything else. I kind of expect it to be one of those things people say when trying to justify their lack of homophobia after a homophobic statement of some description, or after they allow this kind of bullying to continue without stepping in to stop it. "I wore purple on Spirit Day" may, for awhile, follow statements such as "Some of my best friends are gay!" or "I went to Pride!" in the litany of 'What do you want from me?' statements. This is the exact same problem that I have with Black History Month, or the minute's silence London tried to impose out of respect for those who died in Haiti. I have no problem whatsoever with the message, but I think a lot of people believe that these little gestures somehow mean they don't have to do anything else, and they can forget the issues until the next big, culturally mandated day of observance comes along.
In short, I believe that if you want to stand up for a cause, stand up. Start Wearing Purple might be how it starts, but it shouldn't be how it ends. Empty gestures do not help unless they are filled with something; counting those who believe in the ideal presented in theory should put that into practice later. Standing with someone means more than wearing a colour. If you're in school, it may even mean literally standing beside someone who's getting bullied and telling the bully to back the hell off. A person can do that whatever colour shirt they're wearing. I just hope people - even a few people - will start stepping up to what the Wearing of the Purple actually means instead of seeing the single day's observance of this ... meme (because let's face it; this is a well-meaning meme on the order of BoobQuake, which at least had a valid point in that "Hey, look! God does not smite us down for showing cleavage!") as 'good enough'. If people are still getting bullied - for their sexual preferences or any other reason - and people just let it happen ... well, then it's not good enough, is it?
I'm not a total cynic, but I am enough of one to not trust public, culturally mandated observance-meme. I want to see action. I have stood up for the bullied in my life, and I'd do it again if the opportunity presented. While wearing purple for a day is a good start, but I just hope it means more to people than a day's wardrobe choice.
(I suppose if all else fails, we can move Spirit Day to 17 September and we can have a Holly King/Oak King-meets-Drazi kind of thing with St Patrick's Day. And yes, I know that making light of it doesn't help.)