Wearing Purple
I didn't see the 'Wear Purple' thing spread as much here as other places, but I'll post my thoughts here anyway because I'm sure everyone's at least heard of it and I want to see if anyone thinks like me.
I don't like set days to 'remember' things or 'honor' things. I never have and I never will. I've said it before. I'll say it until I'm blue in the face. It allows people to believe that as long as they care on that one set day, they've done their part and they never have to care again. Like this 'wear purple' thing. How hard is it to wear purple? I get the idea. I like where it's coming from but it's not that hard to do. And honestly, all it's doing is turning it into a fad. 'We're cool because we're wearing purple and making a difference.' By October 21st, everyone is going to move on with their lives. It's been spread around for weeks and the day is going to pass and people will move on with their lives. Those kids won't. But their names and faces will be forgotten as soon as the day is over because all these trendsetters have done their part. And that's assuming that half the people involved even really knew what was going on to begin with.
Another point I'd like to make: We claim this is for all LGBTQI youth struggling with who they are. Okay. Great. Now would someone explain to me why only gay males are the faces of it? They're only the 'G' in LGBTQI. Last time I checked, we had 5 other letters. Five other types of outcasted individuals to show support and love for. I googled and found at least one lesbian who committed suicide recently: Aiyisha Hassan. Where is her name? Her picture? I stopped googling for more names only because it was overwhelmingly depressing to read the articles for cause of death.
I like the idea. I do. I understand why people need to do it and want to do it. I just don't think it's been thought through to the extent that people should have. It was scrounged together as some easily spreadible, easily doable fad and that's the part I don't like. Wear purple. Awesome. Go for it. But don't forget the reason. And don't forget that there are more than 6 people that have suffered because of this. It's not just a phase that happened in the past few weeks. It's not just going to stop because we wear purple. It's not just going to suddenly be brought to light because we wear purple. Wearing purple is just that...You're wearing purple. Now how many of you will actually stop bullying if you see it happening? How many of you will see the tears of people hated by others who never even took the time to know them?
I don't like set days to 'remember' things or 'honor' things. I never have and I never will. I've said it before. I'll say it until I'm blue in the face. It allows people to believe that as long as they care on that one set day, they've done their part and they never have to care again. Like this 'wear purple' thing. How hard is it to wear purple? I get the idea. I like where it's coming from but it's not that hard to do. And honestly, all it's doing is turning it into a fad. 'We're cool because we're wearing purple and making a difference.' By October 21st, everyone is going to move on with their lives. It's been spread around for weeks and the day is going to pass and people will move on with their lives. Those kids won't. But their names and faces will be forgotten as soon as the day is over because all these trendsetters have done their part. And that's assuming that half the people involved even really knew what was going on to begin with.
Another point I'd like to make: We claim this is for all LGBTQI youth struggling with who they are. Okay. Great. Now would someone explain to me why only gay males are the faces of it? They're only the 'G' in LGBTQI. Last time I checked, we had 5 other letters. Five other types of outcasted individuals to show support and love for. I googled and found at least one lesbian who committed suicide recently: Aiyisha Hassan. Where is her name? Her picture? I stopped googling for more names only because it was overwhelmingly depressing to read the articles for cause of death.
I like the idea. I do. I understand why people need to do it and want to do it. I just don't think it's been thought through to the extent that people should have. It was scrounged together as some easily spreadible, easily doable fad and that's the part I don't like. Wear purple. Awesome. Go for it. But don't forget the reason. And don't forget that there are more than 6 people that have suffered because of this. It's not just a phase that happened in the past few weeks. It's not just going to stop because we wear purple. It's not just going to suddenly be brought to light because we wear purple. Wearing purple is just that...You're wearing purple. Now how many of you will actually stop bullying if you see it happening? How many of you will see the tears of people hated by others who never even took the time to know them?