Like any good cause, it shouldn’t take a proclamation to make people aware of the problem but the anti-bullying message is certainly one worth rallying around.
Every one of us has been forced to deal with bullying behaviour in our life. Whether it was back when we were kids in school and two or three of the bigger boys would threaten and cajole other kids to get candy, or it was an abusive boss who screamed and intimidated to get his way, many of us know the drill.
That’s why it’s easy to get passionate about anti-bullying day, we’ve all been there and we wish it wasn’t that way. It shouldn’t be that way.
And the fact that Pink Shirt Day originated in Nova Scotia when two young men stood up to bullying through solidarity resonates with all Canadians. Someone young took a courageous and creative stand and it’s turned into a national campaign to stop bullying in its tracks.
How perfectly appropriate is that?
So you too can participate by simply wearing pink on Wednesday and help send the message that bullying won’t be tolerated by the masses.
Or just help spread the word that bullying isn’t something that we must all endure – like some ancient rite of passage that makes us tougher – but is real abuse that hurts and harms and leaves lasting effects that can linger a lifetime.
The old adage that we should treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves is something that we should live by every day of the year.
However, it rings louder on Pink Shirt Day.
-Vernon Morning Star
