It’s Thursday! And you know what that means! Of course you do, because you are reading this blog!
The last couple of posts on Head Full of Red have been fairly light-hearted and up-beat, with a hint of sarcasm and a whole lot of silly! This week, I would like to tone it down and talk about something more serious. This something is a problem that involves bullying and Redheads, and a joke that was taken way too far.
From the Beginning
It is to my understanding that the idea for the so-called “Kick a Ginger Day” began as a result of a South Park episode in which people with red hair were made fun of. As one who has never actually seen said episode, I can’t really comment on the content. What I can say is that, just because you see something on television does not mean you can turn it into a reality and then blame the producers for your inappropriate behavior. Take responsibility for your actions! Stop using a scapegoat! Since when has it ever been okay to kick someone??
Period.
To some, it’s all just a big joke. For those on the receiving end, it’s a daily struggle.
You’ve Gone Too Far
13-year-old, Aaron Mishkin. Kick-a-ginger-day victim
In 2008, a Facebook group was made by a boy from Vancouver, Canada, called “Kick-a-ginger-day” which inspired a number of students in the area to seek out peers with red hair and kick them in the shins. The victims went home with bruises and were afraid to come to class.
It hasn’t gone away.
Apparently the official day is November 20th?
In 2013, reports of redheaded students being singled out and attacked by fellow students are still being made.
I also came across this little gem:
“What are three things a ginger doesn’t have?? A soul,friends,and parents who are proud.”
– Death to Gingers
“what’s got red hair and ugliest being on earth?”
– Death to Gingers
And if that didn’t offend you, there’s plenty more where that came from :
Click here to visit “Death to Gingers“
I can’t even express how much this disgusts me…
Excuses
The one thing that every person who allegedly insulted or attacked someone with red hair says:
IT WAS JUST A JOKE.
Was it really?
It’s one thing to have fun with your friends and banter back and forth where no one’s feelings are being compromised. If you’ve been following Head Full of Red, you know that I deal with such teasing from friends on a regular basis when they refer to me as a ginger. It is an entirely different thing, however, to target someone based on their physical differences and abuse them for it. This is a hate crime. It is repulsive. It needs to stop.
If you have so much energy to put towards negativity and harm, think of all the wonderful things you could do for the world if you would only use that energy to be a decent human being, instead of acting like a good-for-nothing low-life who only brings shame to humanity.
In the End
Well that may have been a little harsh, but I think it was necessary.
No one deserves to be bullied or attacked.
Despite all the negativity I covered in this post, you may be happy to know that there are a lot of good things going on in the world in support of the fight against violence towards redheads.
I will leave you with a few:
Kick a Ginger Day: END IT NOW!
Next Week
Thanks for reading! Coming up next will be a personal story of my experience with Kick a Ginger Day. Stay tuned!
Here’s a video from Bon Iver, an American folk band, whose music is simply lovely.
Click to watch!
And I couldn’t help but to add this one as well, because the piano is beautiful:
Click here to watch!
Head Full of Red 