Powell River residents will be standing up against bullying today, February 27, by wearing pink. The day is Pink Shirt Day, also known as Anti-Bullying Day in Canada.
Pink Shirt Day has its origins in the efforts of two Nova Scotia high school students who stood up for one of their schoolmates who was bullied after he wore a pink shirt to school. When they heard what happened, David Shepherd and Travis Price bought 50 pink shirts, which they distributed to other students to wear the next day at school. Their aim was to create a sea of pink to show support for the bullied student and to take a stand against bullying. After word of their campaign spread, hundreds of students showed up wearing their own pink clothes.
Bullying is cruel behaviour toward others and always contains four elements: it is an aggressive act that is usually repeated; the bully has more power than the victim, who can’t hold his or her own; the hurtful behaviour is not an accident, but intentional and the bully usually appears to enjoy seeing the victim in distress; and the bully rarely accepts responsibility and often says the victim “deserved” the hurtful treatment.
Bullies come in all shapes and sizes. Typically we think of situations in schools, but it can start well before that and can continue on through life.
Every seven seconds in Canada, a child is bullied. We need a day to be aware of the bullies in our midst and the damage they do to innocent victims.
Children who are bullied can retain long-lasting psychological scars and face a higher risk of developing anxiety disorders, depression and suicidal thoughts in later years. Addressing bullying in children can prevent a range of problems in adults.
Bullying can take many different forms, such as verbal or physical attacks, social ostracism or cyberbullying, the pernicious spread of hurtful rumours and gossip on the Internet. Wherever it exists, it is ugly, unnecessary and causes innocent people to suffer. Victims of bullying, witnesses of bullying and bullies themselves all experience the real and long term negative impacts of bullying regardless of its forms.
Wearing pink may not seem like much, but it helps raise awareness. Pink Shirt Day promotes awareness, understanding and openness about the problem and a shared commitment to a solution. Everyone can learn much more about the issue and about the tools needed to stand up against bullies and step in when we see it happening. Developing those skills will help to eliminate the emotional and psychological scars from bullying that haunt and shape people’s futures.
