Wear Pink 2008
NOTE: Information on this year’s – 2009 – Pink Shirt Anti-Bullying Day can be found at www.PinkShirtDay.ca. Below is a review of last year’s event.
Bullying is a major problem in our schools, workplaces, homes, and over the Internet. Over the next few weeks on The Christy Clark Show, I will be helping raise awareness on these issues and my guests will hopefully give us all the tools needed to stand up against bullies and step in when we see it happening.
Then on February 27th, 2008 I encourage all of you to wear something pink to symbolize that we as a society will not tolerate bullying anywhere. I wish I could take credit for this idea but it comes from two incredible Nova Scotia high school students. Here is a snippet of the Globe & Mail article which inspired me:
“David Shepherd, Travis Price and their teenage friends organized a high-school protest to wear pink in sympathy with a Grade 9 boy who was being bullied…[They] took a stand against bullying when they protested against the harassment of a new Grade 9 student by distributing pink T-shirts to all the boys in their school.
‘I learned that two people can come up with an idea, run with it, and it can do wonders,’ says Mr. Price, 17, who organized the pink protest. ‘Finally, someone stood up for a weaker kid.’
So Mr. Shepherd and some other headed off to a discount store and bought 50 pink tank tops. They sent out message to schoolmates that night, and the next morning they hauled the shirts to school in a plastic bag.
As they stood in the foyer handing out the shirts, the bullied boy walked in. His face spoke volumes. ‘It looked like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders,’ Mr. Price recalled.
The bullies were never heard from again.”
Here is a quick 30 second video summary of what took place:
Will you join in by wearing pink on February 27th? Do you have a story about being bullied, how you stopped a bully or about how bullying has affected a loved one? Share your experiences here by leaving a comment or calling me direct at (604) 331-2714.
If you are a student, print off THIS LETTER and give to your Principal / Headmaster / etc. so that your school can get involved. Also, drop me an email to let me know who you are and which school you attend.
More information and details about this project will be posted here soon. Please join in! Also, join the Facebook Group by clicking the image below.
Entries (RSS)
Thank you for helping bring this to BC.
As a child I was repeatedly swarmed in the years from grade 1 until grade 6. This occurred nearly daily and schools didn’t do much about it back then. I ended up repeating grade 4 because I withdrew while in school from the effects of all the bullying.
Why did they bully me? Well a few times I got in between kids picking on a kid with epilepsy. Saying all sorts of old tales about why he was having his seizures and being cruel. I got in the middle trying to stop it when some kids were bothering others over their race. Also I happen to be multiply handicaped and was integrated into school at a time it was very much taboo to do. My parents didn’t feel I belonged at residential school. So I even at times faced hostility from other teachers. At one school in the town I had been to, the principle was part of a social service organization my father was also in. He and I had a chat on it and he didn’t like the teachers conduct either but at the time there wasn’t much recourse over that either.
I could of been like one of the kids that died from the attacks. I was lucky and survived long enough that eventually kids moved on from the physical assaults. Maybe a movement like this will stop the psychological and long term physical damage. Some of my health issues I deal with are linked to the abuse from bullying I experienced as a child.
It was awesome today! my school was filled with pink. I’m so glad people are willing to wear pink and say no to bullying. I was proud to be one person that said no to bullying. It may not seem much but it made me feel like I didn’t want to let others get hurt. I was happy to come to school today and see pink. Some teachers forgot and was asking other teachers if they had something they could borrow. Well one of the K teachers ended up making a hat out of pink construction paper. I thought it looked silly but its the thought that counts. GREAT JOB! TODAY WAS A SUCESS. SAY NO TO BULLYING TAKE A STAND!
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!GO PINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NO BULLYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!AND ONCE AGAIN GREAT JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am a 64 year old woman who was proud today to wear pink. My 71 year old lawyer husband also wore a pink shirt to work. It was quite wonderful to see so many people all over the lower mainland joining in and wearing pink and smiling at one another to acknowledge that we were all in this together. I saw so many school children of all ages and genders wearing pink shirts.
I am so pleased to hear that you plan to carry this forward next year and hope that spousal bullying will be a focus on one of the programs next year.
Please have tee shirts available for us to buy – perhaps as a fundraiser!!
Great Job Christy and CKNW!!!
You go girl!
Silence only breeds tolerance but together we can make a difference!
God Bless.
Hi Christy, this is victor. I just wanna say that its a good thing that a lotta ppl r taking a stand against bullying and i myself have been bullied throughout my whole life, *mostly* physically and verbally but what i wanna ask is, is there really an end to bullying? will wearing pink and taking a stand against it make it go away? bullying has always been a part of human history and it always will be in the future no matter wat happens. It leads people to doin things they dont want to, for example i used to have urges of jus finishing off the people who used to continously bully me but ofcourse i stopped myself from doin so since im not good at holding grudges but the only answer that i see towards bullying is violence which shudnt be an option for anything right? If not then how can helpless people out there stop the bullies from bullying them? ive done it bfore, ive fought back a few people who used to bully me but it jus doesnt seem to stop and i dont think anyone out there can do anything bout it, it never ends and one day the person being bullied will have to pay the price.
I would like to throw my support behind No Bully For Me.
(Hi Karen, Hi Stephen).
A former Target of workplace aggression up to and including psychological abuse and bullying. After following all procedures I was supposed to follow, there simply seemed to be nowhere to turn – and I was completely flummoxed.
It was then I realized I needed to join some sort of support group or outreach program or some combination or derivitive thereof in order to forge ahead and move past this upheaval.
I literally stumbled across No Bully For Me. I happened to hear the last 15 seconds of some interview – to this day I still have no idea where or when. But the words I made out were Thank You and No Bully For Me.
In need of being able to make sense out of a “nonsense”-ical situation (in addition to dealing with the trauma) I was able to find out about available resources and other information enabling me to pick up the pieces.
I simply cannot say enough about the No Bully For Me support group for adult Targets of workplace bullying. It is such a relief to be able to discuss this out in the open – in a safe, calm and confidential place where everyone – including the friends or relatives or caretakers of Targets are welcome. It is not about doom and gloom – we share practical tips and enjoy brainstorming. Laughter is also shared along the way. There are people who attend regularly, pop in once only, or come every few meetings.
If you are being targeted by a bully and/or are being mobbed in your workplace, please know that there is help and support at No Buly For Me.
And finally, I would like to thank you Christy and CKNW for being willing to include the topic of workplace bullying.
Beth
I think it’s great what the two kids in Nova Scotia have done. I also think it’s great that so many people have jumped on board to challenge bullies and bullying. However, I think it is unfortunate that, in the hands of other people such as Christy Clark, the campaign has been stripped of its original context which was to challenge homophobic bullying, specifically. The kid was teased for being a “fag” because he wore pink. Challenging bullying as a generic issue is great, but stripping it away from the fact that some people are targeted because they are perceived as “different” misses out on educational opportunities. So, let’s not only challenge bullying, let’s also challenge fear and hatred of difference that shows itself in homophobia, islamaphobia, misogyny, and other forms of hate.
Gerald.
I wear Pink and i’m not gay
Hi! The Grade 6B class at Greentree Elementary School in Drumheller, AB saw the coverage on the news and is so enthusiastic that we are letting them wear pink on Friday the 29th! They want so badly to do it and even though we are a couple days late, the kids are jumping on board and looking forward to it!
Hello Christy,
Bullying today:
From the cradle to the grave
nature gone astray.
ya we did this a few days ago in our elementry school
it was awsome!!!!!!!!!!!
I sometimes get bullied and i dont like it
Im not wearing pink because i forgot
Sorry
I dont like pink
Stop Bulling Please Canada
this webite was a great idea and it has supported kids all around Canada in my small town and i also got many invitations from multiple friends some from toronto,ottawa and even a few from british columbia (i got these ones through facebook) so i know that this site has helped many
i agree with nolan
People that help the people getting bullied are COOL!!!!!!!!!!!
i’m so sorry i didn’t know about the pink day , i wish you would have made more publicity , i received a video from by brother on my facebook with the difference in time i only saw it the next day , i am 45 yrs old , i’m from Tracadie ,New Brunswick , Canada , i was bullied walking home from school everyday , in the little grades ,from a boy , they were twins, one was an angel the other was a bully , he would take my scarf and bully me all the way home even destroying my snow man right in my yard , he even bullied our dog teasing him at the end of his rope everyday he came to deliver the newspaper,till the dog coudn’t take it anymore , one day when he came to deliver the paper , the dog was in the house that day , and he just saw him pass in our yard and he jumped trough the window , and chased him up the tree , i don’t have to tell you we laughted our head off , I’m very proud of those 2 boys . for standing up to that little boy . You bet i will be the first to wear pink next year and i will put his name in front of my t shirt , i was bullied by J-G P.
Hi Christy,
So glad to see that awareness is being raise about bullying. My daughter attends a school in the North Vancouver School District. She is in grade 7 and does not have a signal friend in her grade at that school. Isn’t exclusion a form of bullying? The school wanted to counsel my daughter but my daughter didn’t want councelling. She thought the problem is with the people that have excluded her. I happen to think she is right. But because my daughter didn’t want the councelling it stopped there. There is a real problem at this school with exclusion. My daughter spends her recess and lunch walking around by herself and nobody ever asks her to hang out. The exclusion is starting to filter into the internet. One girl in particular has started speaking to my daughters friend that she has made from another school and is trying to be friends. I can only guess why at this point because those girls never like each other until recent. Girls are sneeky and they bully in such a way that is not notice, only by the victim. I have asked the school to contact parents, to date they haven’t. I think that until parents and school come together on this issue things won’t really change. Even if you don’t print this I would just like some advise, thanks for your website Christy.
Hello
Not quite sure how to get this started, I’ve never addressed this topic in this manner before.
Hi, my name is Al; I am a victim/survivor of bullying.
If that sounds similar to how some people working to cope with a disease might address a room, the resemblance is purely intentional.
For isn’t that how it is for those of us who have been subjected to terrifying levels of bullying, we have been told for so long by so many we are defective, diseased, that we become consumed trying to find and cure these flaws.
Being asked in disdain “what is wrong with you?” daily forces you to start asking those questions of yourself.
I am now in my early forties, and my life is in shambles.
I have no system based schooling beyond grade 10, school was as fearful a place as one could imagine, getting away was equivalent to escaping from hell.
I have never been able to maintain gainful employment, a snide remark, or less than polite criticism, even a friendly jibe, can reignite uncontrollable conditioned responses, ranging from blushing from embarrassment to physical nausea.
I have been in therapy off and on for years, but to no avail. There tends to be a common theme among clinicians, “lets get you out there and make you a productive member of society, we will give you counseling, training and job placement, here try this prescription.
Do we give soldiers who are shell shocked a pill and send them back to the front?
Sounds a bit too dramatic considering the subject?
Fair enough, this next question is closer to the reality.
Do we give torture victims a pill and send them to work along side those who conducted their torture?
Still think that sounds extreme?
If you do, you have not been subjected to continual and repeated bullying.
Ask someone who has been through it, who is going through it, how it feels being forced to face your tormentors on a daily basis, knowing what awaits you.
That level of fear inflicted on a continual basis could not be thought of as anything less than slow torture.
I have become introverted, finding time spent around other people, particularly groups and strangers, exhausting.
Self doubt is ingrained, when your thoughts focus on trying to find the things wrong that others have so tenaciously pointed out, reinforcing your strengths becomes a deliberate conscious effort.
Really that is just the tip of the iceberg, the list of negative effects from bullying im sure would fill several texts.
It is nice to see society finally catching on to just how detrimental bullying is, I personally can attest to just how damaging bullying at school and at home can be.
But I cannot help but once again feeling left out of the loop.
I cannot maintain employment, but have been denied any type of help based on a disability.
Wherever I turn for help there is a roadblock, whether it is lack of understanding, or maybe it’s just easier to let someone fall through the cracks, I don’t know.
I am a highly intelligent person, and have been told that works against me, if I am able to sit down and explain intelligently what is wrong with me, and why I am this way, then I must be able to get a job.
To a certain extent I agree, I can get a job, in fact ive landed pretty much every job I went after, they just don’t last more than a day or two. Followed by weeks of self evaluation and anxiety.
There needs to be a concerted effort to treat us walking wounded, the bullying survivors who like me fight each and every day just to survive.
My own situation finds me facing another failed relationship, no job, no money, fading hope and the very real likelihood that very soon I will be homeless. Something I have experienced before in my late teens, the prospect seems much scarier now than it did then.
Those around us see only what is in front of them, on the surface I am a man in his early 40’s that cannot hold a job and support his family.
On the surface to those with nothing more than an opinion at stake I am a bum.
As the clock on my life ticks by, it becomes harder and harder each day not to believe them.
I write this now not knowing who might ever read it, not knowing if by this I could ever find help, the only thing I am sure of as this comes to a close, I have so much to offer and I have been struggling through this my entire life and I’m not ready to give up yet.
Sincerely
A McD
What a joke. What about a SUCK IT UP WEAKLING day? Why is it assumed that strong people are wrong? Did it never occur to you that those kids who get “bullied” at school get bullied for a very good reason?
Kids can tell when there’s something wrong with another kid. Bullying is a perfectly normal, even HEALTHY way of protecting the normalcy and health of the social unit by ostracizing defective elements.
Ever see a cool or popular kid get bullied? Not until he or she screwed up and threatened the health of the social unit. This is how a society SHOULD work.
The decline of our modern society isn’t from bullying. It’s from bleeding hearts like you who are weakening it from the inside out.
I my opinion bullying is a way of getting attention in a negative form as this is the only way the bully can do it…If I can’t be the best nice person I will be the best at being a (bad)bully SAD…Then they get a group of suck up followers. Does anyone think that uniforms in schools would help eliminate some of the bullying problems? I know a lot of status/popularity is based on how you are dressed at least that is one area the schools can control..this would put everyone on the same fashion level…If you need individuality do that after school..after all we are there to learn
I my opinion bullying is a way of getting attention in a negative form as this is the only way the bully can do it…If I can’t be the best nice person I will be the best at being a (bad)bully SAD…Then they get a group of suck up followers. Does anyone think that uniforms in schools would help eliminate some of the bullying problems? I know a lot of status/popularity is based on how you are dressed at least that is one area the schools can control..this would put everyone on the same fashion level…If you need individuality do that after school..after all we are there to learn. Uniforms must be a good thing as we have some parents waiting in lines for days to get there kids into these schools. Congratulations to the Pink Boys…you are fantastic …thanks for taking a stand you created a long list of followers.
i think this is a great oppurtunity for people to stand up to bullying
we just had this happen at my school in February and it worked very well
the only thing i am wondering about is:
why is it pink that is the chosen colour? Pink is supposed to represent Breast Cancer awareness.
why not purple? (another feminine colour, also the national gay colour) or any other colour?
stop bullying!!
it’s really funny and strange.
my birthday was in 27 february and i like pink colour.
i agree with this statement.
wear pink and no bullying!!
regret,
steph ^^v
MY daughter was bullied for a whole school year in 5th grade then again for 5 months in high school. It is a horrible experience and frustrating. In my house we were all fighting I was doing what I knew was right and my family was saying to fight her or ignore it. Fighting isn’t the answer and ignoring it doesn’t work. What I have come to find out bullying to me is a form of stalking they just keep on and on. This is what my daughter told me it would feel like in class. When she was in 5th grade and I was employed at her school no one did anything about it, not even when she came to me with a bruise on her arm from the bully. This experience taught me to be a stronger and more up front or else type of mom. So when this happened again in high school I wasn’t going to back down. I let my daughter deal with it on her own because she wanted to for 4 months then the beginning of the 5th month, my daughter’s life was threatened it was my turn to deal with this. I was at her school at least 3 times a week talking to the assistant principal, who this girl completely ignored and disrespected until the police were involved. It is ashame how these kids won’t respect the principals or even the police at times. When the officer mentioned to the girl I was getting a restraining order and if she in anyway ignored it she would be going to jail. WOW all of a sudded seemed like my daughter had a new best friend. We need more principals that are willing to get involved and confront these issues head on instead of heading to their office and letting the Vice principals dealing with it. I will be wearing my pink you better believe it!
Hi webmaster!
Hi webmaster!
Hi all ! I’m from Vietnam. i’m in grade 10. Nice to meet all of you. I like this website ,and I admire you. I think everyboby has his own outlook…Here is my nick on yahoo messenger: ghostprincess93, i want to chat and make friend with all of you^^
Hi webmaster!
I’m Vietnamese. I also wanna wear PINK….
you’re so stupid. pink is for breast cancer, not because your kid is getting beat up in school
Hey, Brian. It’s NOT stupid. Nothing can be defined as meant for JUST one thing… So, why make it like that.
Christy…. is this happening again in 2009?
Why is the WearPink.ca website protected by a password??
I would like to see Feb 27 become anti bully day EVERY year
across the country, and the world.
I was looking for some pictures of pink when I came across this and I think it is great that you are doing something about this. The effects of being bullied last a lifetime and no one should have to fear going to school. I was one who was bullied and picked on endlessly, aside from the abuse I was going through at home. Thank you for doing this. I also think someone should reach out to the bulliers because we are not born mean and hurtful, it started somewhere and it is usually in their own homes and they have no other way of dealing with it so the cycle continues.
we r having a pink day at r school so my school is Metcalfe Public School!g2g
I think we should all wear pink i have been spreading it over to my friends and we are participating in it at Metcalfe Public School
i think that this day is good and will help people stand up and say stop bulling me and all of the other people that get bullied because i was bullied as i was in school and i think this is a good idea to do this i think that this day should go for years to come thanks for lissing
at metcalfe public scool were doing pink day!!!!! and were doing a bake sale for jer’s vision (all the food will be pink)
i think it was a good idea to make a day to help kids that need help because of bullying and i was bullyed by my best friends from grade 3 to grade 6
hiii, i think pink day is a good idea!=]♥
i think we should all ware pink even if you dont like the coulor just to suport a cause.
I think this is a great idea my little brother gets picked on i have even passed it on to him and my parents
i think pink day is a wonderfull idea it shows people that it dosent matter who you are and what you belive in…… my school metcalfe public is putting together a fundraiser together to support pink day! with the money we are going to donate to jer’s vision
PINK day is great.:] hi megan hansen and skyle wolf and katie.BFF for live love you guy ..and everyone eles after josh kemp
I fully support Wear Pink Day, and will be doing so again this year, however, I will also make it clear to the staff at my school that this day began when two students in Nova Scotia decided to stand up to students who were being HOMOPHOBIC and bullying another student about being gay because he wore pink. Nowhere in Christy’s original article, from what I read, does it specify that homophobia was at the centre of this. We still, in 2009, tend to hedge around spelling out the roots of the teasing and hatred. I teach grade one, and in the last week students have been reported because a grade one called a grade two “faggot” and several children in a grade 5 class called a classmate a
“gaytard”. “That’s SO Gay” is still used in high schools all over British Columbia as a
put down, meaning something is “dumb” or “uncool”. Homophobia will never end unless we call it what it is. If you live in the Fraser Valley, come and attend the Social Justice conference on February 20 and 21. The keynote speaker is Alex Sanchez, an internationally acclaimed author who recently released “The God Box”. For more information, go to the Social Justice website of the B.C.T.F.
that is such a good idea
Dear Jeff,
people aren’t bullying you. The reason they’re picking on you online is that you’re 32 and spend most of your time chatting up 13 year olds on the internet.
Sometimes, it’s bullying; sometimes you deserve it.
Read this and decide for yourself http://kckellyville.com/boards/index.php?topic=5062.0